South Ayrshire Council won't have a Leader or Provost until next week
The council has been left without a Leader, Depute Leader and Provost after chaotic council meeting on May 1.
South Ayrshire Council will reconvene to elect a depute leader, almost a fortnight on from the fractious meeting that saw Provost Iain Campbell quit in dramatic fashion and several councillors subsequently resign from the Conservative Party.
A new Leader and Provost will not be elected until next week – almost four weeks since Council Leader Martin Dowey was recorded offering support to businessmen to secure a lucrative demolition contract.
The Conservatives have been left with just seven councillors, following the resignations of Iain Campbell, Mary Kilpatrick, Gavin Scott and Bob Pollock from the party, the lowest since SAC was formed in 1996.
The previous depute leader, Councillor Bob Pollock, was removed at the meeting in May 1, but a replacement wasn't voted in after the Provost suspended the meeting.
Councillor Dowey had promised to resign when the recording was revealed at the end of April, but was still in place at the meeting held four days later.
An attempt to instigate a vote of no confidence in Cllr Dowey by Labour group leader Duncan Townson was blocked.
And there was heated debate as the administration sought to replace Conservative councillor Pollock with Independent Brian Connolly.
The administration argued that the move was simply to better represent the Independents in the cabinet.
However, it was clear that Cllr Pollock had serious misgivings about Cllr Dowey's leadership.
He and a number of opposition councillors countered that it was important to the stability of the council to allow Cllr Pollock to stay in post .
That was not enough to sway the vote and he was removed.
However, during the vote an attendee was caught on microphone using the C-word, sparking an adjournment and, ultimately, the resignation of the Provost.
This left Depute Provost Mary Kilpatrick as the only senior leader, after Cllr Dowey belatedly resigned after the meeting.
A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council said: 'The suspended Council meeting of May 1 will reconvene on Wednesday, May 14, where councillors will vote to select the Depute Leader of the Council.
'Thereafter, there will be a Special Council meeting on Tuesday, May 20 to fill the other vacant posts – those of Leader of the Council and Provost.
'Decisions can only be carried out via Cabinet or Council and the roles of Leader and Depute Leader have no delegated authority outwith these meetings.
'The next Cabinet meeting is scheduled for May 28 and we anticipate that all vacancies will be filled by that date. Officers continue to be able to exercise their delegated powers to deal with day to day business.
'An investigation is taking place into the use of inappropriate language at the Council meeting of May 1.'
Both opposition party leaders have stated their hopes that a more 'collegiate' approach will be reached in order to restore trust in the council.
SNP Group Leader, Julie Dettbarn, said: 'Following the implosion of the Conservative administration and the exodus of a number of their Group members, there are many discussions going on between elected members.
'What I think I can say at this stage, is that any new administration will almost certainly be more collegiate in its make-up.
'It is imperative, at this very difficult time, that all elected members work hard to regain the trust of the people of South Ayrshire.'
Labour's Duncan Townson said: 'We within the Labour Group are working tirelessly to find a solution to the issues the current administration and former leader of the council has left this council in.
'I have spoken openly and clearly that any step forward would need to be a step away from the previous regime in order to allow the reputation of this council to be restored on firm foundations of trust and transparency.
'Each and every councillor must now look to themselves and to their constituents within their wards and consider if the next action they are looking to take is the right one for the council.
'I think that Councillor Pollock was right when he said we would need to find a way to work as a council to ensure a stable move forwards, especially with the challenging decisions that will need to be made before the next financial year begins.
'As for the daily resignations, I think this shows that not all were happy with what was, whatever that may be, going on within the group, and perhaps more light will be shed on that in the coming weeks and months, over and above what has already been disclosed by other former members.'
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