Anas Sarwar insists Labour’s Aberdeen Nine had a “positive record” in government over the past five years despite their controversial coalition with the Tories.
The Holyrood Labour boss admits there are “lessons to be learned” following the party row which saw the north-east councillors suspended for years.
The SNP were the biggest party in Aberdeen following the 2017 local election, but Labour joined with the Tories to lock them out of power.
Mr Sarwar has repeatedly ruled out any coalitions with rival parties following May’s council ballot.
But Labour were only Aberdeen’s third largest party five years ago, meaning they could struggle to retain power next month.
Mr Sarwar said: “I think people can see there is a positive record of delivery in Aberdeen.
‘Lessons to be learned’
“We are standing on a distinct Labour platform in Aberdeen.
“There are lessons to be learned about how decisions are made and how we operate internally as a political party.”
Speaking on the campaign trail in Dundee, Mr Sarwar urged voters to send a message to the SNP and Tories as he accused them of inaction over the cost of living crisis.
Labour has put the cost of living emergency at the heart of their election manifesto, with analysis finding nearly one in four north-east households live in fuel poverty.
Mr Sarwar said: “One of the big frustrations I have is despite Aberdeen being the real driver of our oil and gas industry and energy industry people in Aberdeen’s bills are also going up.”
On refusing to do deals with other parties, he said: “I think we have a real opportunity to change the way we do local democracy.
“What people are electing is a local champion that’s going to fight for your local community and not be pawns of an SNP government or a Tory government that believes the job of a local councillor is to be their mouthpiece in a community.
‘We’re not electing puppets’
“Far from it. We’re not electing puppets.”
A key proposal put forward by Scottish Labour in their local election manifesto includes a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
But critics have pointed out councillors for his party would be unable to implement this at a local level.
The Scottish Tories also claimed Mr Sarwar’s policy risked harming the energy industry in the north-east.
MSP Douglas Lumsden said: “If Labour really cared about the north-east, they wouldn’t be playing into the SNP’s hands by backing the nationalist opposition to the future of North Sea oil and gas.
“Anas Sarwar is right to say that local residents are feeling the cost of living crisis, but his refusal to back oil and gas would pull the rug out from under the region’s entire economy.”
