LABOUR'S entire team of Aberdeen councillors has been suspended following their refusal to quit their coalition with the Tories.

The city council group ignored a 5pm deadline to walk away from the alliance, triggering moves to remove them from the party.  

In statement, Labour said: "Today, the Labour group of councillors joined an administration with the Conservatives. All Labour councillors in Aberdeen were today requested to stand down from the multi-party arrangement, with a deadline of 5pm.

"That deadline has now passed and the party has contacted each councillor to inform them they have been suspended from the Scottish Labour Party with immediate effect, pending investigation.

"As a result, there are currently no councillors in office in Aberdeen representing the Labour Party."

The party's Scottish ruling body had ordered the city's nine councillors to immediately stand down from the new administration, claiming they had defied instructions to reject a power-sharing deal.

It emerged earlier on Wednesday that Labour were on the cusp of forming a coalition to run Aberdeen after the city's former leader was appointed the council's Lord Provost.

Barney Crocket was voted in by 23 votes to 21, a clear indication it was snubbing the order to committ only to 'anti-austerity' alliances at local government level.

The deal would leave the Tories as the senior partner in the administration running Scotland's third city following the recent council elections.

Just over an hour before the deadline was due to pass, Aberdeen's Labour group tweeted a statement congratulating former leader Jenny Laing on retaining her position as head of the council.

Another member, Sarah Duncan, said there had been "a lot of misinformation" circulated about the deal. 

But Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: “Labour values must always run through any deals in local government.

“The hundreds of thousands of Scots who vote for us have the absolute right to expect us to defend local services against cuts and properly fund the services that so many people rely on such as education and care for the elderly.

“Labour cannot do any deal with another party if it would result in further austerity being imposed on local communities.

“Tory austerity risks hurting so many families in Aberdeen, and the Labour Party simply will not stand for that.”

Labour finished with half its previous Aberdeen cohort, down from 18 to nine, while the Tories surged to 11 from three.

The SNP became the biggest party, but despite having 19 councillors, up from 16 in 2012, did not have enough to form a majority administration.

The LidDems ruled out enter into a coalition to run Aberdeen City Council.

It had been reported that a deal had been struck to leave the SNP in opposition, with the Tories and Labour to propose sharing co-leadership.

Mr Crocket's appointment was the first stage in that process.

Mr Crockett said: “No one could be more proud than I am today.”

Meanwhile, the Tories, independents and LibDems will lead Angus Council, with a Conservative provost appointed.

The SNP had run a minority administration at the east coast authority before the local elections and finished May 5 as the biggest party in Angus but have now been forced into opposition by the Tory-led coalition.