With the resignation of Shaukat Butt from the ruling Labour group on Glasgow City Council, Scotland's largest local authority technically becomes a minority Labour administration.
Having been a Labour stronghold for decades, it now looks as though the SNP could achieve a breakthrough to gain power (most probably in coalition) in Glasgow at the council elections in May.
The prospect must call into question the wisdom of the Labour hierarchy in de-selecting 16 Glasgow councillors in the run-up the election. Six of those de-selected had already resigned from the Labour Group and Mr Butt becomes the seventh. Although his vote was crucial to Labour having its budget passed last month, his claim yesterday that he only supported the measure because he pressed the wrong button perhaps confirms that a radical pruning of the old guard from the Labour ranks was necessary.
Having assumed Glasgow as their fiefdom for so long, Labour's sudden action owed something to the realisation that the SNP could realise their aim of taking power in Glasgow.
Nevertheless, the party may yet have cause to regret the manner of the de-selection. It is the nature of the cull that has apparently prompted some of the former Labour councillors to found a new political party and stand for re-election under the banner of Glasgow First.
With the 2012 council election only the second to take place under the single transferable vote system, the effect of the intrusion of a new small party with a strong support in particular wards in a contest between two evenly matched large parties, potentially splitting the Labour vote, is difficult to calculate.
Labour's determination to improve the quality of their candidates is an acknowledgment of the effectiveness of the SNP's political campaigning and of its popularity. The SNP opposition in Glasgow, however, must also recognise that they cannot assume that Scottish Parliament votes last May will translate into local council votes now.
The SNP's track record in power at Holyrood is one of reducing the autonomy of local authorities by imposing the council tax freeze and establishing the concordat in return for smaller budget cuts. That surely leaves their candidates little scope for establishing a platform that is clearly tailored to local needs and able to be delivered within the budgets available.
Glasgow City Council has been in the control of Labour for so long that it is a political totem. That is unfortunate because, as the Accounts Commission warned yesterday, councils are likely to suffer further budget reductions at the same time as UK welfare reforms increase demand on social services and housing.
Local government will require high levels of ability and accountability and that must not be lost in the scramble for political power, not just in Glasgow. Scotland must have a local government focused on meeting the challenges of these difficult times.
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