The SNP’s hold on Aberdeenshire Council hangs by a thread after the Tories grabbed a shock victory in two by-elections.
Conservatives Colin Clark and Iain Taylor secured the vacant seats in Inverurie and Banff districts – typically both seen as strongholds for the SNP.
The victory for the Tories means the council’s ruling SNP and Labour-led administration is now in a minority with 31 members to the opposition Aberdeenshire Alliance’s 34.
There are three unaligned independent councillors.
But last night the head of the council’s Conservative group, Jim Gifford, said the alliance would have to “take stock” before deciding whether or not to make a grab for power.
The Scottish local elections will be held in May next year.
The by-elections were called following the death of SNP councillor Ian Gray and the resignation of council co-leader Martin Kitts-Hayes.
Independent Mr Kitts-Hayes – who held a seat in Inverurie for 13 years – quit his post in September following a row over his decision to walk out of the North Sea Commission in Denmark because he was unhappy with his Legoland digs.
Mr Clark received 1,302 votes in Inverurie, whilst the SNP’s Neil Baillie got 1,164, the Lib Dem’s Alison Auld got 755 and Labour’s Sarah Flavell 139.
For Banff, Mr Taylor received 1,170 votes, the SNP’s Glen Reynolds 962 and the Lib Dem’s Alistair Mason 520.
Mr Gifford said he did not want to risk “instability” within the council but that the Tory group would “discuss with our alliance partners where we’ll go from here”.
He added: “The numbers in the council have been tight for a while, we’ll have to go and see what these results mean. We’ll take stock and see. We have a strong alliance of three groups.”
The Tory leader also claimed the Scottish Government’s increase of the top four bands of council tax, at an estimated cost of £30million to Aberdeenshire residents, had decided the by-election’s outcome.
Mr Gifford said: “We got the response we deserved. People don’t like the idea of local taxes being spent nationally.
“I think for a while now we have seen a trend away from the SNP, they have been promising, especially at a national level, and not delivering.”
Council co-leader and SNP group leader Richard Thomson said Aberdeenshire Council had been left with a “finely balanced chamber”, adding: “No doubt matters will become clearer in the days ahead, but as things stand we will be getting on with our day job as the ruling administration.
“Glen and Neil were both excellent candidates with much to offer their communities. I’m sure that we’ll see them seek election again. The low turnout clearly had an impact in the by-election.”
In response to the Tory’s claims that the council tax changes were the decider in the by-elections, he said: “This policy will see Aberdeenshire gain millions of pounds more to close the attainment gap than we have currently.
“There’s a real irony in that the Conservatives and Lib Dems are happy to preach the gospel of ‘pooling and sharing’ across Britain when debating the constitution, yet have a real blind spot when it comes to doing the same across Scotland.”
However the newly-elected Mr Clark predicted a Tory-led council could be on the cards come May.
He said: “Certainly I would imagine in May we would have the majority. I would like to think we can take the council back over.
“It (the by-election) really came down to people were more concerned they were going to see their council tax going south.
“I think the fact we have won the Banff and Inverurie seats is an absolute indictment that the people of the north-east of Scotland at a council level are not getting a fair deal.
“It is the third worst funded council in Scotland, and this is the engine room of the Scottish economy.”
He hopes to help facilitate investment into local schools and infrastructure.
Mr Taylor, who is also a farmer, said: “Primarily the council tax issue won it at the end of the day. There is a lot of issues – regeneration, education; there is loads to get our teeth into.”
In Banff and District there was a 28.3% turnout with 2,573 votes cast; whilst in Inverurie and District there was a 30.4% turnout with 3,378 cast.
RESULT WON’T AFFECT DAY TO DAY COMMITMENTS
The chief executive of Aberdeenshire Council yesterday insisted any political changes would not get in the way of the “day-to-day” commitments of the local authority.
Jim Savege, who was also the returning officer for yesterday’s by-elections at Inverurie’s Garioch Sports Centre, said the council would follow the “leadership” of any chosen administration.
He added: ” The council’s job is to provide excellent services on a day-to-day basis.”
Mr Savege also said the low voter turnout may have been down to Thursday’s poor weather.
“We’d obviously love to have a 100% turnout, for people to use their democratic vote,” he added.
“It was slightly lower than in previous by-elections, but one must recall it has been a busy year with the Scottish parliament elections and the EU referendum.
“There has been a lot on. In protocol terms, the weather here was pretty horrible and may have dissuaded people.
“What we do have is people voted and two new councillors were elected.
“In terms of the process the electronic counting system has shown itself to be very reliable and efficient in terms of helping us get the count.”
PARTY LEADER PRAISE
Last night the Scottish Conservative’s by-election victory won praise from the party’s leader.
The Scottish Conservative said the victories meant the party’s vote was up by 21.6% in Banff and 21.3% in Inverurie; whilst the Lib Dems hailed its share of the Inverurie vote rising to more than 22%.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: “This double win proves once again that the Scottish Conservatives are the party which can take on and beat the SNP.
“It’s also vindication for our local campaign against the SNP’s unfair council tax plans which would strip millions of pounds from the north-east.
“The message is clear: the SNP must start listening to the people of Scotland who want them to focus on the day job of governing – not obsess over a second referendum on independence.”
The Banff area has been an SNP stronghold since Alex Salmond beat Tory MP Albert McQuarrie to win the Banff and Buchan seat in 1987.
The party’s Stewart Stevenson held onto his Banffshire and Buchan Coast seat earlier this year, whilst Mr Salmond is MP for Gordon.
