Council co-leader Linda Doward has urged all elected members to work together to meet the huge challenges facing the local authority over the coming years.
The newly-elected councillor for Lochar Ward was commenting after the Scottish Government published its spending review which proposed a cash flat budget for councils over the next three years.
With inflation set to reach 10 per cent it will mean a massive real-terms cut in the local authorities budget.
The Labour group leader said: “The people of Dumfries and Galloway elected a council with a diverse range of political viewpoints and no single group had a mandate to form an administration on their own. The clear message from the people of Dumfries and Galloway is they want all councillors to work together for the benefit of our region. Unless we do that, we won’t be able to tackle the enormous challenges our council faces over the next five years.”
She added: “The Labour group looked at how it could work with the other political groups and independent members in this council to ensure our manifesto commitments influenced how change was delivered for the people of Dumfries and Galloway.
“Our proposal was shared with all groups. The independents, the SNP and a Liberal Democrat chose to work with us but I am disappointed the Conservative group did not.
“Rather than being locked out of this administration, the Conservative group walked away from an opportunity to do local politics differently but I hope they will reconsider their decision.
“There will be a lot of tough decisions to be made in coming months as our budget is squeezed yet again. I’m determined to use my role to harness the skills, knowledge and talents of all 43 elected members, to meet these challenges and produce a council plan that is fit for the next five years and brings all groups together.
“The new council are engaging in a way that does politics differently and believe we have found a way to agree on what’s best for local communities, seeking consensus on a case-by-case basis.”
Conservative councillors have hit out at the new administration and warned that there would be turbulent times ahead.
Tory group leader Gail Macgregor had hoped they could form a minority administration with other political groups, but the door was slammed shut when SNP, Labour, Lib Dems and independent councillors joined forces to take control. Her call for the appointment of area committee leaders to be delegated to those local groups was rejected, as were her proposals for a wide spread of councillors from all political backgrounds to take charge of key positions within committees.
After the first meeting of the new council, she said: “We’ve been denied that today, our region has been let down. We’re going to have a very bumpy road ahead of us – literally in some cases.”
Her group colleague, Councillor Pauline Drysdale insisted that another SNP/Labour coalition would be disastrous for the region.
She said: “Our voters have endured an SNP/Labour-led council for the last five years where we have seen services eroded and voters disillusioned with the horrendous state of our pot-hole ridden roads.
“Our economy needs growth, our rural schools require urgent investment and our planning system needs revitalised. With a majority we proposed a progressive coalition to revive and restore the council, but sadly this has not been entertained.
“For me, this is devastating as so many voters put their trust in me, and in our party.”
