An Aberdeenshire councillor has resigned from the Scottish Conservatives after claims of “bullying and infighting” within the party.
Councillor Ann Ross has decided to cut ties with the SCU after claiming she can no longer “trust and respect” the leadership.
The shock decision came during Aberdeenshire Council’s annual budget meeting.
As councillors debated the upcoming cuts, the Banchory member interjected via Teams to make an announcement.
Resignation during budget talks
She got as far as saying she couldn’t support a budget which would be harmful to her constituents and would be resigning from the ruling group.
Provost Judy Whyte interrupted to tell her this was not “pertinent to the paper in front of us”.
After legal advice was sought, Ms Ross told the chamber that she had “said all she had to say” and grinned into her camera.
Tory councillor David Keating joked “follow that” as he got up to make his speech after Mrs Ross’s bombshell
Mrs Ross has represented Banchory and Mid Deeside for almost seven years while representing the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
However, she has now announced her intention to sever ties with the party after “efforts have been made to stop her representing her constituents”.
She intends to continue to serve as an independent.
A statement seen by the Press and Journal issued by Councillor Ross further details the reasons for her resignation.
In it, she accuses senior members within the party on a local level of “bullying and infighting” which created a “toxic” atmosphere.
‘Tories not representing the people of Aberdeenshire’
She said: “I have resigned from the Aberdeen SCU Council Group and therefore the SCU Party, as I have come to the conclusion that I cannot be part of a group or Administration where I can neither respect or trust the leadership, and where attempts have been made to stop me representing the constituents that I was elected to serve.
“I cannot agree a budget or with policies that will be detrimental to the constituents of my ward.
“The voices & concerns of backbenchers in the administration are not listened to and are being ignored. They are not representing the people of Aberdeenshire.
“I have witnessed bullying and undermining of decent hard-working colleagues within the Group & Administration. This does not sit well with me.
“The SCU Party in Aberdeenshire is racked with bullying and infighting and some have lost focus that they are elected to represent and serve.
“This is particularly true in the West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine Branch, of the Aberdeenshire Association, where a particular UK elected member’s associates dominate.
“This has spilled over into the Aberdeenshire SCU Council Group & the wider Aberdeenshire Association which is toxic.
Ann Ross quits to put party politics behind her
“When concerns are raised, those raising them are targeted and the bullying and infighting continues.
“I sincerely respect my colleagues who hold similar views to myself, but I can no longer ignore or be associated with this.
“The wider Party in Scotland has a lot of genuine people in it.
“I have enjoyed working with them nationally.
“I now look forward to leaving party politics behind and working as I have always done, to represent and stand up for all my constituents of Banchory and Mid Deeside.”
Tories ‘have not received any complaints’
Scottish Tories have since hit back, claiming that they have not received any complaints of bullying from Cllr Ross.
They also claim they are investigating complaints against her made recently.
A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “Councillor Ann Ross has not submitted any complaints of bullying to the party.
“The party was investigating complaints of inappropriate behaviour by Cllr Ross at meetings last week and this week.”
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