Labour and the Liberal Democrats will form South Lanarkshire Council’s administration for the next five years.
At the full council meeting this morning), the Labour group were voted to form the administration in a partnership agreement with the Lib Dems.
Labour’s Joe Fagan is the new council leader, with party colleague Gerry Convery becoming his deputy.
A total of 35 councillors voted for the Labour group, with 28 voting for the SNP and one abstaining.
Councillor Margaret Cooper (Independent) was voted in as Provost, with Councillor Bert Thomson (Labour) being chosen as Deputy Provost.
In response to the results, Councillor Fagan, new leader of South Lanarkshire Council, said: “I want to thank the council for the confidence placed on me today to lead the new administration of South Lanarkshire. I’ve said to our workforce, service users and communities that South Lanarkshire needed new leadership and now it has arrived.
“As the council will learn shortly, this new administration will be a new kind of administration, Labour-led but not Labour only. The basis of this administration will be a partnership agreement between the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups and an agreement to which the leader of the independent group is also a party, an agreement that stops short of a full coalition but an agreement that is nonetheless a basis of joint working and a better local government.
"Partners still have further work to do to develop our joint programme for South Lanarkshire but I can tell the council we’ve already identified a number of key priorities.”
Former council leader, John Ross (SNP) said: “I find it so disappointing that this council has been hijacked by a unionist pact operating on a constitutional level, when this should all have been about local politics and doing the best for the citizens of South Lanarkshire.
“You know the most Provost how involved you’ve been in the democratic process under the SNP administration and that’s why I find it so disappointing that no other party put forward sufficient candidates to take control of this council.
"I think the public will find it hard to accept that the biggest party with an increased share of the vote should not be forming the administration.”
Liberal Democrat leader, councillor Robert Brown, said: “In response to John, might I say there’s a need to recognise the realities of what the STV (Single Transferable Vote) system produces in local authorities in this regard which is not a majority council.
"It’s not a situation where one party has the absolute say, both Labour and the Lib Dems increased our representation in the council and it is entirely appropriate that we take the leadership for the next five years. But we are, as the last administration was, a minority council in my personal view, this is very much in the interest of the public and in good governance for South Lanarkshire.”
Councillor Alex Allison, Conservative Leader, said: “Our position is the same as it was five years ago; we will work with whoever to get the best for our constituents.
"We have voted in a nationalistic route, but I do not think we could have been seen as being credible if we did not vote in a unionist manner being the main unionist party,. We will work for what is best for our constituents.”
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