THE leader of the Labour group in Scotland’s biggest city has been ousted.
Malcolm Cunning was voted out in favour of returning councillor George Redmond, who previously held a number of senior positions in the council when it was last run by Labour.
Soriya Siddique was also elected as the group’s deputy leader over incumbent Eva Murray.
Redmond beat Cunning in a landslide victory of 24 votes to 11, the Daily Record reports.
Cunning was already on his way out and was understood to be planning to step down in the next few years.
Redmond is seen as an ally of the former leader Frank McAveety, who led Glasgow City Council from 2015 to 2017.
Redmond, who represents the Calton area of the city, is viewed as part of the "old guard" of Glasgow Labour.
He is a businessman and landlord as well as being a councillor and runs the BCD Credit Union.
In an interview announcing his leadership challenge last week, Redmond said his first priority as leader would be to convene a meeting with the city's business community.
Cunning told The National: "I'm obviously disappointed at the result that's but that's democracy and that's a decision for the Labour group and what they see the next few years being.
"I don't think it was the best time to hold a leadership election but a challenge was made and a challenge can be made at any stage in an [annual general meeting] and there is always an AGM immediately following an election."
The SNP group's spokesperson said: "Glasgow Labour’s choice of group leader is a matter for them. The SNP looks forward to delivering a progressive and inclusive agenda for a 21st century city.”
A spokesperson for the Glasgow Greens said the leadership challenge was the "latest episode in the bad soap opera that is Glasgow Labour".
They added: "It has been clear for a long time that it’s the Greens who have the ideas and energy to lead progressive change in Glasgow."
We revealed previously how Cunning had met with ultra-Unionist group The Majority and the former Glasgow Tory deputy leader Euan Blockley.
David Griffiths, a member of the group, said the three had come to agreement on "key issues".
