A FORMER SNP councillor has defected to Scottish Labour, according to reports.
Beth Baudo, who was elected to represent the SNP in North Lanarkshire in the 2022 local elections, is understood to have joined Anas Sarwar's party.
Baudo will join the ruling Labour group in North Lanarkshire, according to the Daily Record.
Labour councillor for Motherwell North Andrew Duffy-Lawson wrote on social media: "Welcome to team @NorthLanLabour."
The Mossend and Holytown councillor was one of eight former SNP councillors who formed the Progressive Change North Lanarkshire group in May 2023.
The group was set up after former SNP councillors were expelled or resigned after raising concerns over the party’s handling of a sexual misconduct complaint against former council leader Jordan Linden.
Linden led North Lanarkshire council for the SNP in the wake of the 2022 elections, but was forced to step down after historical allegations of sexual misconduct resurfaced.
In August 2022, Labour were able to wrest control of the council from the SNP thanks to a single vote from a British Unionist Party councillor.
Linden then resigned as a councillor altogether in March 2023.
In June, Scottish Labour won the by-election to replace him.
Anne McCrory won the ballot for Bellshill with 1440 votes, while SNP candidate Joseph Budd came second on 753.
Baudo was elected to represent the SNP in the three-member Mossend and Holytown ward in 2022. The other two councillors from the area, Frank McNally and Jim Reddin, were both from Scottish Labour.
