LABOUR has been accused of securing “grubby deals” with the Tories on one of Scotland’s largest councils despite one of the party’s MSPs warning against the move.
Edinburgh City Council is now being run by a Labour minority administration after the party offered two publicly-paid jobs to the Conservatives and three positions to the LibDems.
The move comes after Anas Sarwar had rules out coalitions with both the SNP and Conservatives ahead of the May 5 election.
Two newly-elected Labour councillors in the capital abstained from voting on the deal – meaning more LibDems approved the arrangement than the party itself.
Standing in for Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions, John Swinney accused Labour of “getting into bed with the Tory party”.
READ MORE: Labour seize control of Edinburgh council after deal with Tories
The Deputy First Minister added: “When Anas Sarwar told the country on May 5 ‘don’t reward the toxic out of touch corrupt Tory party with your vote’, what is the Labour party now doing?
“The Labour party is rewarding the toxic, out of touch, corrupt Tory party with jobs in West Lothian Council and at Edinburgh City Council.
“The Labour party and the Tory party working together – vote Labour, get Tory.”
He added that “the Labour party’s collaboration with the Conservative party has thwarted further ambitious proposals being brought forward” in Edinburgh.
Mr Swinney said: “We know that all of these grubby deals at local level have been approved by Jackie Baillie. It frankly explains a lot – that particular agreement.”
Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba had called for the arrangement with the Conservatives to be abandoned.
Writing on Twitter, she said: “The Conservative Party is an instrument of the filthy rich.
“They prosper when workers suffer.
"No Labour representative worth the name would ever put Tories in power.”
Former Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, Mark Lazarowicz, has also criticised the deal.
He said that Edinburgh Labour leader and new leader of the council, Cammy Day, had been forced into the position due to the party’s “policy of 'no coalitions with anyone' in local councils”, but acknowledged “everyone knows this is mainly directed at ensuring no local Labour coalitions with the SNP”.
He added that the arrangement “would be unacceptable not just to many Labour councillors in Edinburgh, but to many rank and file Labour Party members in the city as well”.
Mr Day said that there have been “no deals with any parties” and “no coalitions with any parties” and stressed he was bringing forward “a new arrangement of cross-party politics”.
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