WEST Lothian council’s SNP group has called for a vote of no confidence in the ruling Labour-led administration.
The meeting of the full council follows the opposition group’s recent walkout after their bid to debate the future of community centres was rejected.
And in fallout ahead of the meeting they accused the Conservative depute Provost Peter Heggie of excluding “opposition voices.”
Councillor Janet Campbell, the SNP group leader, said the group had called the special meeting following “repeated use of council rules to block open debate and exclude opposition voices”.
She added that Councillor Heggie’s decision to reject the motion was “a choice not a Standing Order”.
The opposition group also questioned why the Conservatives had withdrawn an amendment on community centres tabled for the same meeting.
But this week Conservative group leader Councillor Damian Doran-Timson scoffed at the SNP’s “faux outrage” and slated “political posturing and playing games” ahead of the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday.
He added: “The Conservative amendment was not withdrawn and would have been submitted to full council if their [SNP] motion had gone ahead.”
Councillor Campbell said: “We have no confidence in this administration. Blocking debate on issues as important as community centres undermines democracy and damages trust. Every councillor should have the chance to speak up for their community.”
She added: “The Conservative Depute Provost chose to use the discretionary ‘matter in hand’ rule to prevent SNP councillors from debating the future of West Lothian’s community centres -despite growing concerns about the administration’s plans and the risks they pose to vital local services. It is important to note this was a choice, not a Standing Order.”
Councillor Doran-Timson added: “The West Lothian SNP are [up to] political posturing and playing games. It is a shame they don’t try and work for the residents of West Lothian instead.
“Their faux outrage and staged walkout at the recent full council meeting was an embarrassment and insult to local people.
“As it is now known, the SNP knew some time before the meeting that their motion on community centres would be ruled incompetent.
“The Depute Provost was informed by the governance manager that the SNP motion was incompetent and should he not have followed this guidance he would have been liable to have been reported to the Standards Commission.”
Depute SNP leader Pauline Stafford had lodged the motion asking for a stall on the decision over the future of community centres.
When the motion was ruled incompetent all 15 SNP councillors staged a walkout from the meeting of the full council.
She said on Friday: “This is about more than just one decision – it’s about the health of our local democracy. The SNP is ready to work across the chamber to protect community centres, keep them sustainable, and ensure they remain locally run.”
A spokesperson for the council told said that Standing Orders provide that a special meeting may be called by one quarter of the 33 members of the council asking the clerk in writing for a meeting and specifying the business of the special meeting.
“The Clerk received a requisition, signed by all members of the SNP group, on 23 September. The date, time and place for the special meeting has been determined as 7 October at 10am. A notice calling the meeting will be issued in due course.”
Referring to the decision to dismiss the motion to the last full council, they added: “The decision taken by the Depute Provost to rule that the motion should not be heard was taken in accordance with Standing Order 20(2) of the Standing Orders for the Regulation of Meetings. The Depute Provost provided the reasons for taking the decision as required by Standing Orders.”
