Aberdeen city Labour councillors' membership under review

Nine Aberdeen city councillors who were suspended from Labour last year are to have their party membership reviewed.

The group was suspended for disobeying former leader Kezia Dugdale's instructions not to form a coalition with Conservative councillors.

The Scottish executive committee said it had referred the group to the national constitutional committee.

They were suspended in May 2017 following that month's local government elections.

The Scottish executive said it had extensively reviewed the situation during the group's suspension, including;

• the local government budget process

• and the group proposing a fresh power-sharing agreement between Labour, the Conservatives and independents.

'Left with no choice'

But a spokesman said it could not endorse the councillors' decision to continue to be in the current coalition.

The national constitutional committee will decide whether the councillors should be excluded from the Labour Party.

Cathy Peattie, chairwoman of the Scottish executive committee, said: "The Scottish executive committee cannot endorse this deal and, following a year's suspension, we are now left with no choice but to recommend the referral of the group to the body of the party that will consider their exclusion.

"On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I would like to put on record my thanks to the group for their work for the Labour Party over many years, and express our regret that they chose to jeopardise their membership of the party by doing an unauthorised deal with another political group and independent councillors."