A Highland councillor was last night pondering his future after being expelled by the SNP group.
Five months after a temporary suspension for “an internal matter,” Inverness member Allan Duffy was yesterday (WED) ejected altogether.
Group leader Maxine Smith said he would be obliged to relinquish his party membership.
While considering an appeal to party headquarters, Councillor Duffy said he was keen to stand at next year’s council elections, possibly on an independent ticket.
The 40-year-old ex soldier and father-of-three joined the SNP after an 11-year spell in the Army in 2008. He was elected four years later to serve the Inverness West ward.
Ms Smith said: “Over an extended period of time, councillor Duffy has failed to meet the expectations of an SNP councillor. As a consequence, he’s been expelled from the group.
“Allan has had every opportunity to carry out his duties giving due regard to his position as an SNP councillor. On several occasions this has been brought into question.
“This ultimately resulted in the group unanimously agreeing that Allan was not carrying out his work as we or the party would expect.”
She added that she was “saddened that this has had to happen” and that she bore him no malice.
Mr Duffy said he had been accused of not attending a licensing committee and a number of community council meetings despite offering apologies in advance.
He added that the group had opted to “discipline” him rather than support him through a difficult period of his personal life.
Ms Smith insisted that the group had “fully supported him through it.”
The expulsion leaves the council with a minority 32-member independent administration and opposition comprising 18 SNP, 13 Liberal Democrats, seven Labour, six Highland Alliance and four non-aligned members.