Labour-Tory

Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, has suspended every Labour councillor in Aberdeen after they ignored orders to abandon a power-sharing deal with the Conservatives. Dugdale said the nine councillors, including the newly elected lord provost of Aberdeen, Barney Crockett, would now be disciplined for refusing to tear up a coalition deal with the Tories in a bid to prevent the Scottish National party from taking power. The Tories had helped to get Jenny Laing, the Labour group leader, elected as council leader on Wednesday, and allowed Crockett, a former council leader, to become lord provost.

Meanwhile, in West Lothian Scottish Labour's ruling body has told councillors in West Lothian not to do a coalition deal with the Conservatives. Tory councillor Tom Kerr was reappointed as Provost with support from all but one Labour member.
 SNP group leader Peter Johnston said his party had been prepared to work with Labour in West Lothian. "It is now clear that Labour prefer to sacrifice our services and our communities in return for Tory votes to put them jointly into control. Today it became clear that whilst Labour were pretending to talk with us they were doing a shabby behind-the-scenes deal with the Tories – now thrown out by the Labour National Executive.”

If we wanted Tory policies - we'd have voted Tory. It is so often said by ourselves that it is Tweedledum and Tweedledee relationship between the Tories and Labour. Regular readers of the Socialist Courier remember the days when the Labour Party used to denounce the SNP as "Tartan Tories". Not now, it seems.