New Dumfries and Galloway Council leader admits 'vulnerable' position
The vote was called after seven Tories quit the group in a row over the administration's direction which left it with only nine members, making the SNP the largest group with 11 councillors.
Four of the Tories who quit formed a new group called Novantae – which appears to be named after an Iron Age people who lived in southwestern Scotland – while the other three councillors went on to form their own independent group, called the Dumfries and Galloway Independent Group.
However, shortly before the crunch vote was set to take place on Monday, then-leader Gail MacGregor announced her intention to stand down.
The SNP's bid to take over the administration then passed with 16 votes, after winning the backing of five independents.
SNP group leader Stephen Thompson (below) became council leader, while the group's business manager, Katie Hagmann, was named as convener and deputy leader.
(Image: Facebook) Speaking to The National after the vote, Thompson accepted that the new administration faced a "formidable" challenge ahead because it does not command a majority.
As it stands, the council is made up of 11 SNP members, nine Conservative, eight Labour, four Novantae, three Democratic alliance, three Dumfries and Galloway Independent Group, three independent, one LibDem and one councillor who does not have their affiliation specified.
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Thompson told The National: "The scale of the challenge is formidable.
"I think there's a way we can do it, if we can go about it in the right way then we give ourselves the best chance, but nothing's guaranteed."
While he denied that the council was set for "more chaos" – given that it is the fourth administration in three years – Thompson accepted that the new SNP administration might face difficulties in getting motions passed.
He said: "We're going to have to work hard to win votes as we go forward, we know we can't take anything for granted.
"I think this is more about values rather than numbers. At least we can try and go about the work with the right values and then, hopefully, we'll get enough numbers when it comes to the votes."
He added that councillors had many "shared priorities", particularly when it came to local issues such as housing, health and social care, education and infrastructure.
"We're going to be all-inclusive, to speak and listen to what other members are saying," he continued.
Thompson said that there were going to be "a lot of conversations and negotiations to see where we can find common ground".
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But he added: "We'll always try and seek, if not stability, then at least a way of working that's going to allow the council to function.
'I accept that we're vulnerable because we don't command a majority.
'It would be foolish to say that this will be stable for the next two years to the next election. We just have to go forward carefully.'
Thompson previously served as co-leader of the Dumfries and Galloway Council in 2022-23 in a "rainbow coalition" with Labour councillors, which had support from independents and LibDems.
The power-sharing agreement was dissolved after the Labour co-leader stood down, allowing the Tories to take over.
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