Inside Aberdeenshire council chaos as Nigel Farage picks Tories apart
Aberdeenshire was a rare glimmer of hope for the Tories at the last local elections but that optimism is at risk of evaporating entirely while the Reform party surges.
Four councillors have defected, and others are backing Nigel Farage, while the administration wobbles.
And now the Reform leader himself is coming to the north-east for a campaigning visit as he hopes to tempt more politicians and voters, while exploiting anger over the future of oil and gas.
How did it get to this point in the troubled Aberdeenshire Council administration?
The Press and Journal has spoken to party insiders across the local political divides, who paint a picture of a team struggling with bitter feuds and defections.
'It's an absolute shambles,' one council insider told the Press and Journal.
'The administration is about to implode.'
The simmering tensions really bubbled over in May when council leader Gillian Owen was forced to quit as local Tory group leader after she branded her own colleagues 'f***ing b*****ds'.
Stewart Adams stepped in to replace her.
But sources say there's no guarantee he'll head the council when Ms Owen formally leaves her post.
That's not expected to happen until the council meets on June 26.
In the 2022 council elections, the Tories returned 26 members in Aberdeenshire and retained control of the local authority.
They currently rule with support from the Liberal Democrats and an aligned group of seven independent councillors.
But that agreement looks precarious ahead of crunch negotiations after four Tory defections to Reform and further exits from the party locally.
It's understood the Lib Dems and independents want to revisit their current cooperation agreement.
If that doesn't work, options are limited and could rely on a partnership with the SNP.
Aberdeenshire Lib Dem leader Anne Stirling has been touted as a possible council chief.
'She's a formidable force,' said one council insider.
'She's a very strong leader.'
Publicly, the Lib Dems are staying tight-lipped on anything formal.
Gwyneth Petrie, who leads the SNP in Aberdeenshire, said her party is 'open' to talks.
'There is no stability,' she told the P&J.
'A change would be welcome.
'It's clear the Tories are a very unhappy and disjointed group.'
That unhappiness became apparent when two former Conservatives, Mark Findlater and Laurie Carnie, joined Reform last year.
They were the first councillors to defect to Nigel Farage's party in Scotland.
More recently they were joined by Ellon's John Crawley and East Garioch councillor Dominic Lonchay.
Bitter feuds and lasting recriminations mean it's unlikely Reform councillors will work with the Tories.
Mr Findlater, for example, led Aberdeenshire Council for the Tories until he was ousted in 2023.
Reform insiders go further.
They say they don't care if the Conservative administration collapses – even if it lets the SNP in the back door.
'We're between the devil and the deep blue sea at the moment,' a Reform source said.
'It really doesn't matter.'
Aberdeenshire's Reform contingent is instead looking to the 2027 local elections.
'We'll be able to hold our own, and be a force,' the source told us.
The Tories are no kinder to ex-Reform colleagues.
Sources claim their old friends achieved little as councillors prior to defection.
One said Mr Lonchay only joined Reform because he failed vetting to run for the Tories in next year's Holyrood election.
Another source claimed Mr Lonchay 'threw his toys out the pram'.
Despite the upheaval, the Conservative group just wants to appear like business as usual.
A Tory spokesperson said: 'Under Stewart's leadership, we will continue to focus on the priorities that matter to the people of Aberdeenshire.'
On Monday, Mr Farage will open a new front in that contest. He's expected to be in the city in the morning before joining the campaign in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Scottish Parliament by-election.
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