UNLESS there is a highly unlikely groundswell of support that sees virtually all the 49 Independent candidates elected, the Highland Council will again be ruled by a coalition administration after May 3.
No party is fielding the 40 or more candidates needed for a majority on the 80 seat council.
Like all councils, imposed cuts have dominated the political agenda over the past three years in Highland. The provision of council care homes for the elderly and the threat to end 156 full-time equivalent classroom assistant jobs saw particularly sharp divisions.
But it is the issues raised by the continuing need for cuts which will decide the complexion of the next administration. The council's director of finance said around £20 million a year will have to be saved in each of the next five years, raising the spectre of school closures again.
So the question is if the SNP could work with the LibDems/Labour and vice-versa. The LibDems fear that with the run-in to the independence referendum the SNP will not be keen on becoming associated with more cuts. But the SNP would hesitate in getting embroiled with Willie Rennie's LibDems, given their role in the Westminster Coalition.
That would leave the Independents, again likely to be the largest grouping, to woo or be wooed by other parties. The Tories are fielding a large slate of candidates, more than either the LibDems or Labour. However, few locally think they will be in a position to form a coalition with Independents by themselves.
The elections for the 80 seats on the Highland Council, will involve 170 candidates contesting 22 multi-member wards: Independent 49, SNP 33, Scottish Conservative and Unionist 22, Scottish LibDems 18, Scottish Labour 17, Scottish Christian Party 9, Scottish Greens 4, UK Independence Party 3, Labour and Co-operative 2, Scottish LibDem Focus Team 2, Scottish Anti-Cuts Coalition 2, All Scotland Pensioners Party 1, No description 8.
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