North Lanarkshire parties to contest council leadership following resignation

dailyrecord.co.uk:

North Lanarkshire Council’s new leader will be elected within the next two weeks – with the main opposition group this time planning to challenge the administration for the role.

The top position on Scotland’s fourth-largest local authority is currently vacant after Jordan Linden stood down following allegations of sexual harassment at an event in 2019.Apologising for his course of action, he said: “I accept that my behaviour caused a sense of discomfort which I entirely regret."The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android SNP members will now elect a new leader for their political group on Monday evening, and have submitted a formal request for a subsequent special meeting of the council to propose their nominee as North Lanarkshire’s new leader.However, Labour councillors now plan to put forward their own members to head an administration, saying the SNP “have presided over three months of a complete absence of political leadership” since taking control in North Lanarkshire for the first time.

Opposition leader Jim Logue, whose group have 32 councillors compared to the SNP’s 36, says the choice of a new head of the council for the second time since May’s local government elections “won’t be a coronation”.