Thursday 19 June 2008

Coalition falls apart

The Independent/SNP administration which has been running Highland Council since May last year has collapsed.

The 34 Independents had joined forces with the 17-strong SNP group following last year's STV elections which resulted in no overall control for the first time ever on the council. There are 21 Lib Dem councillors, 7 Labour and no Tories.

However, the Indies and the Nats have had a series of disagreements over the past year, so it's not a great surprise that the administration has fallen apart.

I suspect the most likely scenario is for an all-party administration to take over.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I suspect the most likely scenario is for an all-party administration to take over."

Is that a very coy way of saying an SNP/LibDem coalition?

Despite that cheap jibe though, I would agree that this seems to be the most likely way forward - I would assume the Lib Dems and the SNP would see each other as the 'least worse' option given the inherently unstable and chaotic alternative independent grouping.

Trevor said...

Not surprised by this news but why do you say "I suspect the most likely scenario is for an all-party administration to take over."?

Bernard Salmon said...

No, I didn't just mean SNP/LD - my feeling is that they'll try and include a few Indies and/or Labour people. I say it's the most likely scenario as I can't see any two-party arrangement really working: the Indies aren't united enough to form a single coherent group, the SNP and Lib Dems together wouldn't have a majority, and a three-party arrangment involving Labour would be rather unstable, even if it did have the beneficial effect of freezing out the Indies.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your point about a 'more than 2 party' coalition although, in practice, it would be perceived as a LibDem/SNP coalition simply by dint of the numbers involved.

Does SNP/LibDem distrust exist at a local level in the same way it exists at national level? I can understand how independence is a strong enough issue at a national level to preclude a coalition but for two social democrat parties to refuse to work together local level seems a little tribal if it is the case.

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