Aberdeen’s Conservative councillors could be split over the issue of Britain remaining in the European Union.
A date for the long-awaited referendum on the United Kingdom’s place in the body has been set for June 23.
And several high-profile Tories, including Aberdonian Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, and Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, have already stated they will campaign for a British exit.
Last night, it emerged that the two Conservative councillors in the city may be at odds.
The last time a referendum on membership was held was on June 5, 1975 where 108,520 of Grampian’s 186,591 voters opted to stay in the common market.
Torry and Ferryhill councillor Alan Donnelly said he felt the institution had been part of the reason for 70 years of peace on the continent.
But Tory group leader and Hazlehead, Ashley and Queens Cross councillor, Ross Thomson, said he had still to make up his mind, but had not ruled out supporting an exit from Europe.
Mr Donnelly said: “My worry is that we had a lot of splits in the country after the Scottish independence referendum and this could be a repeat in a sense.
“When I was in the Merchant Navy, I visited a lot of countries in the East and I was delighted when the wall came down and they gradually entered the EU.
“Now we want to walk away from them.
“In my ward, there are lots of eastern Europeans who work very hard and do jobs a lot of British people don’t like in the hotel industry.
“I think a lot of Europeans are getting sick to death of the attitude of the British and it will come to a point where they will just tell us to go.
“Basically the referendum is a distraction that David Cameron put out because he saw the threat from Nigel Farage and UKIP.”
However, Mr Thomson said: “I think the Prime Minister allowing the cabinet to campaign on both sides is really mature politics.
“My heart is telling me ‘leave’ and my head ‘stay’, so I will have to have a real think before finally deciding.
“Our priority, in the meantime, is the Scottish election.”