Joe Cullinane says Friday's North Ayrshire Council election result has left him "gutted".
The local Labour leader issued a statement last night expressing his disappointment after his party slipped to become the third-biggest political group on the local authority.
Mr Cullinane said leading the council for the past five and a half years was an honour but the Kilwinning councillor did not comment on his own future or his party's role in the new council administration.
SNP hold the balance of power at the council after winning 12 seats and have the option of running a minority administration or could opt to form a coalition.
The Conservatives rocketed to become the second-biggest party on the local authority with 10 seats — one more than Labour.
Councilor Cullinane said on his Facebook page: "I want to thank the people of Kilwinning for once again placing their trust in my colleague Donald Reid and I. We are truly humbled by the support we have received with our vote share increasing by 5.4 per cent to 46 per cent. That is the highest vote share for any party, in any ward in North Ayrshire. Donald and I will continue to work tirelessly for the people of Kilwinning over the next term.
"Unfortunately, however, the result across North Ayrshire is not what we had hoped for. Our vote share across the region has dropped by 0.7 per cent and we have lost 2 seats. In contrast, the Tories have managed to gain three seats despite their vote dropping by almost 2 per cent on 2017."
Reflecting on his time in charge of North Ayrshire, councillor Cullinane said that his administration has been Scotland's most innovative and ambitious council.
Mr Cullinane continued: "I am really gutted at the result. I do not believe it is reflection of the campaign we run nor the work we did in administration but in the end, this is the result of the election across nine wards. Our candidates, and campaign team, could not have worked any harder and I am immensely proud of every one of them. We had a cause to fight for, and by gosh did they fight for it. We worked harder than any other campaign, not just leafleting but chapping doors, engaging with voters on local issues. All of our candidates deserve a massive thank you for standing and working so hard to win.
"It has been an honour to have the opportunity to be council leader for five and a half years. Throughout that time, we were a minority administration, with only a third of the council seats. Despite that we achieved so much – our massive council house building programme, Community Wealth Building, the Community Investment Fund, our Period Poverty initiative, putting mental health counsellors in schools, exempting care experienced young people from Council Tax and recently approving our Council-owned solar farms and wind turbines. Whatever the future holds, that will be the legacy of our North Ayrshire Labour administration.
"We have been Scotland’s most innovative and ambitious council – and we remain proud of it. Despite us falling a few hundred votes short in a couple of wards, I would not change any of it for a second.
"Thanks again for everyone’s support over the last few years. I really appreciate all the messages of solidarity and support I have received over the last few days. The struggle goes on."
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