A CONSERVATIVE administration at a Scottish council is set to face a vote of no confidence after a number of councillors quit the party.
On Monday, Dumfries and Galloway Council confirmed that seven councillors had quit the Scottish Tory group, which runs the council, in a row over the administration's direction.
Four of the councillors who quit – Andrew Giusti, Chrissie Hill, David Inglis and Richard Marsh – have now gone on to form a new group called Novantae, while the remaining three – Ian Carruthers, Karen Carruthers and Andrew Wood – have formed a separate independent group.
The move means that the Scottish Conservative group has shrunk to just nine members, while there are 11 SNP members, eight Scottish Labour, one Scottish LibDem and 14 independent/other.
A vote of no confidence in the administration has been confirmed for June 16 at 2pm.
The SNP group, now the largest group at the council, submitted the motion and said the current leadership was "weakened, rudderless, and unable to govern".
Councillor Katie Hagmann, the SNP group's business manager, said: “The Tories no longer have the confidence of this chamber, and more importantly, they no longer have the confidence of the people of Dumfries and Galloway.
“The resignation of several administration members has laid bare the dysfunction and instability at the heart of this Conservative administration.
Hagmann described the vote of no confidence as “a moment of accountability”.
She added: “The Conservative administration is collapsing under the weight of its own failures. It’s time for a fresh start and a leadership that will put the needs of our communities first.”
The party said that their motion had received backing from other groups at the council.
The council's current leader, Gail MacGregor, said she would "love to continue in the role".
The Scottish Conservatives councillor told ITV Border News: “Under my leadership for the past two years I’ve managed to steer a very steady ship with support from across the parties and having to make some compromises.
“Going forward in the next two weeks I don’t know what will happen.
“I would like to assure people that my heart is always in delivering for the region and creating that stability."
"This is a chink in the road that I didn’t expect.”
The name of the breakaway group of councillors who left the Tories, the Novantae, appears to be taken from the name of an Iron Age people who lived in southwestern Scotland and were recorded in Ptolemy's Geography.
