Scotland’s most senior councillor will not be standing for Labour in May’s local authority elections, the Daily Record can reveal.
Alison Evison, president of council umbrella group COSLA, is to quit the party and seek election as an independent.
SNP MSP Paul McLennan said: “Scottish Labour’s most senior councillor deserting their sinking ship is a devastating blow to Anas Sarwar.
The former teacher is a vocal champion of local government and represents Labour in Aberdeenshire.
In a recent Facebook post, she announced she would be standing in the Mearns ward, where she lives, adding: “Communities, not politics, must be at the heart.”
Although the post confirmed her candidacy, she made no mention of Labour.
Asked by the Daily Record if she would be standing for the party, the senior COSLA figure said: “No, it’s not on a Labour ticket.”
She said it was important to have more diversity in local politics: “We only had 29% of our councillors as women. We only have 5% from ethnic minorities. We have very few disabled candidates and we have people feeling that they cannot stand for election unless they are involved in politics in a political party.
“If we want our councils to relate to our communities, it’s really important that we have people standing from across those communities.”
Evison claimed she was not disaffected with Labour, adding it was a “positive” position.
She said: “I now know about local government. I know about its role across our Scottish communities. I know what it can deliver. I know what it needs, and I know its aspirations and I know the contribution it can make to the wider goals of tackling health inequalities, tackling child poverty.”
Asked if standing as an independent meant she would not be a Labour member any more, she said: “If you’re independent, you’re independent. It’s what it says on the tin, isn’t it?”
Evison did not mention Labour’s opposition to indyref2 as a reason for her departure, but she has backed a second referendum.
She wrote in 2019: “It’s straightforward to me: democracy must be at the core of all we do.
“Recently it has become fragile and we must strengthen it again.
“We can strengthen it by enabling the voice of Scotland to be heard through its formal processes and that must mean a referendum on independence.”
Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour’s leader, has ruled out supporting a referendum in the current Holyrood term.
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “People have the chance to elect a local champion that will stand up for their local community on May 5 by voting Scottish Labour.
“Scottish Labour is committed to standing a full array of candidates who are committed to Scotland’s national recovery and to their local communities.”
McLennan said: “Devoid of any positive vision for the future, Scottish Labour have consigned themselves to political oblivion. Their support for the broken Union at any cost has completely alienated them from voters in Scotland.
“Scottish Labour need a reality check or they face slipping even further down in the polls."
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