A Holyrood vote on “punishing” council tax reforms descended into farce last night amid confusion over whether Kezia Dugdale voted.
The Scottish Labour leader insisted she cast her ballot against the government’s plans – but her decision was not registered by parliamentary authorities.
The confusion meant the SNP narrowly avoided a humiliating defeat on controversial changes to council tax.
Scottish Labour has now complained to parliamentary officials – but they deny there was any issue with the electronic system.
A Holyrood spokesman said: “We have checked the voting consoles in the chamber.
“We are satisfied that the system is working properly.”
But Labour’s business manager James Kelly said: “Every Scottish Labour MSP voted against the government.”
The SNP’s George Adam branded leader Ms Dugdale a “lone ranger” who had taken “her new found autonomy literally”.
Labour’s top decision-making body recently agreed to make Scottish Labour “fully autonomous”.
Mr Adam said: “In the first real test since claiming to have shaken off their ‘branch office’ status, it now seems Scottish Labour are taking their marching orders from Ruth Davidson instead.
“But lone ranger Kezia Dugdale managed to defy the rest of her party – taking her new found autonomy literally.”
Under the SNP plans, council tax payers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will hand over an extra £47million over the next five years to pay for services elsewhere in the country.
Despite the shenanigans over the vote, the Scottish Conservatives urged the SNP to reconsider the plans.
A party spokesman said: “Notwithstanding the confusion over Kezia Dugdale’s vote, the SNP has been sent a very clear signal that it must rethink its council tax plans.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie added: “Nicola Sturgeon can no longer force through policies on the back of a parliamentary majority.
“She needs to scrap these plans and go back to the drawing board.”
Earlier, north-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr said the proposed changes were “the last thing” people in the north-east needed, given “staggering” rises in unemployment due to the oil and gas crisis.
He added: “The people of the north-east woke up to the headlines in the Press and Journal last week that £47million of their money will go to educate youngsters in other parts of Scotland.
“North-east residents are not, as myth would have it, grippy. And they don’t grudge paying a suitable level of local council tax towards good, quality services.
“But these proposals punish hard working people. And the services they will be paying for will be anything but local.”
