Tempers boiled over after the ruling Labour/Tory administration won a vote to put off electing someone to the key position which has been vacant since Alex Hannah died in April.

The walkout occured against a background of allegations about shady backroom deals and political horse-trading.

A new provost, as well as a raft of convenerships and committee places, was due to be decided at a full meeting of the council last Wednesday, before the summer recess.

However, there was astonishment in the chamber when council leader Rhondda Geekie moved that the issue be "continued" to a further, specially arranged sitting on August 10.

Deputy leader Billy Hendry said: "Let's get this continued to a special meeting to give it more focus."

This provoked outrage among the council's eight SNP and two independent members. Amid claims of "gerrymandering" and a "stitch-up", they demanded the issue be settled on the night and called for a legal ruling on whether the election of a provost could be postponed.

They were told by the council's legal officer that under the terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, a provost had to be elected as soon as is "practicable".

SNP group leader Ian MacKay said: "A previous meeting decided to continue the issue of who would be provost till tonight."

Independent Councillor Jack Young said: "In recent times, national politics has been dragged through the gutter and I never thought it would happen in these chambers."

To uproar, he said to deputy provost Anne Jarvis, who was chairing the increasingly fractious meeting: "You are demeaning your position."
The administration, with the backing of three LibDem councillors, then won a vote to postpone the election, sparking further fury.

To cries of "disgrace" and "shame on you", SNP and independent members walked out en-masse and in an astonishing outburst, Bearsden South SNP Council-lor Graeme Douglas stood over Labour's Jack Dempsey and shouted: "You're a disgrace. The Labour Party? My grandfather would have turned in his grave at the conduct of these people. It's disgusting."

A council insider later told the Herald that the background to the walk-out had been back-room horse-trading conducted by Milngavie LibDem Councillor Eric Gotts in his bid to become provost.

It was claimed that a pre-meeting stitch-up whereby councillor Gotts would become provost and the administration would, in return, be able to claim the convenorships up for grabs, came unstuck by the unexpected absence of Milngavie Tory Councillor Bill Binks who had not returned from holiday.

The insider said: "The LibDems had done a deal with the administration to make Eric Gotts provost. He had been touting about looking for support.

Deal

"However, he didn't want to align himself with the administration, so he did a deal whereby he would be elected provost and the three-strong LibDem group would sit on their hands during subsequent votes for convenerships. That would give the Tory/Labour administration 11 votes in the chamber to 10 for the SNP and the independents.

"However, they hit a problem because Bill Binks was supposed to be back from his holiday in Cyprus in time for the vote, but he didn't make it.
That meant the votes for the convenerships would have tied at 10-10, and then Eric Gotts, as new provost, would have had to use his casting vote to go with the administration.

"But the whole plan was based on Gotts getting the provostship and not being seen to back the administration, so they moved to continue this to another time when the votes would stack up like they wanted them to."

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor McKay said: "This was gerrymandering. It's all to do with this administration's determination to hold onto every last scrap of power.

"What we witnessed was a complete and utter disgrace.The conduct of these councillors was a dreadful abuse of proceedings with Labour, Tory and LibDem members wrecking a council meeting for the sake personal self interest.

"There was important business to discuss on the agenda at the council meeting but what we were subjected to was a blatantly cynical attempt on their part to manipulate the meeting for personal and political gain.

"Whatever deals had been struck between the Labour, Tory and LibDem councillors there was obviously a problem with their voting numbers which resulted in a blatant attempt to highjack proceedings and postpone appointments until a later late.

Ashamed

"This is not the way to conduct council business. At a time when the reputation of politicians at national level is hugely damaged this is the last thing we need at a local level. These councillors should be ashamed of themselves."

Councillor Gotts said: "Any members of the public attending the meeting would have been disgusted at the antics of both the SNP and independent groups.

"It is hardly the behaviour of grown up adults to walk out half way through a council meeting, simply because these two groups lost a democratic vote during the meeting.

"It is also an affront to the local communities they serve, when these councillors deliberately leave a meeting which still had several very important decisions affecting local people to be made.

"With regard to speculation about the position of provost, and the membership of committees of the new structure, I understand that these matters will quite rightly be decided by a democratic vote at the special meeting of the council to be held on the evening of August 10."

What do YOU think of the decision to delay the appointment of a new provost and the walk-out by councillors? Click here to send YOUR views to the Herald.