An Aberdeenshire councillor quit the troubled Conservative group in protest at nursery closures – and vows to fight them from opposition.
Robbie Withey resigned in a letter to leader Gillian Owen and followed it up with a letter to residents in the Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford area.
The closures have shocked parents in the north-east.
The council sent letters before the Easter holidays announcing Huntly, Crossroads and Ballogie nurseries are set to close.
The final straw for councillor Withey was the mothballing of Glass nursery in his ward.
Nursery closure blame-game
Now he hopes to put together alternatives beyond an SNP-Tory blame game over funding.
“Both are equally responsible,” he told the P&J.
“The Scottish Government are making councils take horrid decisions due to lack of money but the council are making the wrong choices when making those decision.”
The move comes at a difficult time for the Tory group in Aberdeenshire.
Last week the P&J reported that Ms Owens had described her Tory colleagues as “f***ing b*****ds” in a text rant.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s Reform party is eyeing defections and already has members on Aberdeenshire Council, which the P&J understands is likely to increase in days ahead.
Reform made huge gains in English council elections last week.
It’s understood the group is privately furious at the internal conflict playing out in public, and Mr Owen’s role.
The P&J contacted Ms Owen but did not get a response as of Tuesday afternoon.
A Scottish Conservative party spokesman said: “We wish councillor Withey well.”
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