Joe Cullinane says Friday's North Ayrshire Council election result has left him "gutted".The local Labour leader issued a statement last night expressing his disappointment after his party slipped to become the third-biggest political group on the local authority.Mr Cullinane said leading the council for the past five and a half years was an honour but the Kilwinning councillor did not comment on his own future or his party's role in the new council administration.SNP hold the balance of power at the council after winning 12 seats and have the option of running a minority administration or could opt to form a coalition.The Conservatives rocketed to become the second-biggest party on the local authority with 10 seats — one more than Labour.Councilor Cullinane said on his Facebook page: "I want to thank the people of Kilwinning for once again placing their trust in my colleague Donald Reid and I.
We are truly humbled by the support we have received with our vote share increasing by 5.4 per cent to 46 per cent. That is the highest vote share for any party, in any ward in North Ayrshire.
Donald and I will continue to work tirelessly for the people of Kilwinning over the next term."Unfortunately, however, the result across North Ayrshire is not what we had hoped for.
Our vote share across the region has dropped by 0.7 per cent and we have lost 2 seats. In contrast, the Tories have managed to gain three seats despite their vote dropping by almost 2 per cent on 2017."Reflecting on his time in charge of North Ayrshire, councillor Cullinane said that his administration has been Scotland's most innovative and ambitious council.Mr Cullinane continued: "I am really gutted at the result.
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