Tory councillors are making a bold attempt to take over the running of Stirling Council and oust its leader and provost.
The Conservatives said this week the current SNP/Labour administration has “lost touch” with the public and no longer reflects the range of views or balance of opinion of the people of Stirling.
They cite the administration’s handling of unpopular waste collection changes and the Viewforth Link Road, and added that a new way of running the council is needed as the local authority attempts to support communities, people and businesses to tackle the impact of the pandemic.
A requisition submitted by the Tories on Wednesday asks for a council meeting to be held within 14 days, as outlined in the council’s standing orders.
At the meeting they will submit a motion seeking a vote of no confidence against the council administration, ask for Labour councillor Christine Simpson to be removed as provost, and will seek to replace the adminstration and leaders as well as reviewing other senior posts and appointments.
Since 2017 the council administration has been an SNP/Labour coalition, originally comprising of nine SNP and four Labour councillors, with the opposition consisting of eight Tories, one Green councillor and one independent.
Now, however, the SNP has been reduced to seven councillors after one member - Maureen Bennison - joined the Alba Party, while the recent Forth and Endrick by-election following the death of SNP councillor Graham Lambie was won by a Scottish Conservative candidate.
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SNP councillor Evelyn Tweed was recently elected as Stirling’s MSP but chose not to step down from the council and is carrying out both roles.
The Conservatives now sit at nine members with SNP on seven, Labour four, Alba and Green one apiece, and one Independent.
Tory group leader Councillor Neil Benny said: “There are growing concerns regarding decisions made by the SNP-led administration to impose charges for brown bin collection and cut grey and blue bin collections to monthly.
“We have repeatedly provided opportunities for these cuts to be halted. Many thousands of Stirling residents also signed a petition to halt the changes, this petition was also ignored by the administration.
“The current council leader, SNP councillor Scott Farmer, has repeatedly failed to address this issue and his failure to act decisively and remove the much derided, expensive and environmentally damaging Viewforth Link Road from agreed plans and strategies has also been heavily criticised. It is time for a new leadership approach. The current SNP/Labour administration and their traditional adversarial style has stifled the council for far too long.
“Political affiliations must not prevent all 23 councillors coming together to serve the people that elected us.”
Council leader Scott Farmer said, however: “Following an election where people voted in record numbers for the SNP, these cynical games from the Tories are the last thing the people of Stirling want to see time spent on when we are focused on steering ourselves out of a pandemic crisis.
“If the Tories were being truly honest in what they’re setting out here, they would have pressed ahead with this motion when they first proposed it last week. Instead they bottled it, letting the mask slip.
“They’re just chancers playing games.
“I will continue to work hard alongside my colleagues in the administration, and with opposition members who wish to work constructively, to deliver high quality services, despite being hit with a double whammy of Brexit and austerity from the Tories - all of this during a pandemic crisis.
Labour group spokesperson Councillor Chris Kane added: “I think Stirling’s citizens will recognise this is an opportunistic political move, but the Tory councillors are entitled to test the confidence of the administration.”
