Friday October 10th 2025
West Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
West Lothian’s Labour leader turned on the opposition SNP group in the wake of a failed no confidence vote this week.
Lawrence Fitzpatrick branded Tuesday’s special meeting calling for the vote as a move designed to wreck a “stable minority Labour administration”.
And he accused the opposition group of “cynically spreading disinformation” as council officers worked to keep community centres open.
His rebuttal came after Councillor Janet Campbell, the SNP Group leader, claimed during Tuesday’s meeting that Labour “no longer have the moral authority to lead this council.”
The SNP had called the special meeting because they had attempted to raise a motion calling for debate on the future of community centres brought before the full council instead of just the Labour-dominated executive.
The motion was ruled out under standing orders- the council’s operating rules – first introduced by the SNP when it was in power in 2007.
Councillor Fitzpatrick, who has served as a councillor since 1999 said: “West Lothian Council is a nationally recognised high performing council. In a move designed to wreck the council’s stable minority Labour administration, the nationalist SNP opposition group tried to win a vote of no confidence in the administration.
“The nationalists have cynically sought to undermine the council’s effort to keep open community centres by spreading disinformation, while the council continues to work hard with local community centre management committees to ensure a sustainable future for the centres. No community centres will close.”
He added: “This is not an easy path to tread and has been brought about by the nationalist Scottish Government who have cut the council’s budget by £184 million in the last 18 years. That included a 10-year Council Tax freeze.
“The SNP Scottish Government continues to wage war on local councils struggling to defend services to the less well off in our local communities.
“In my 26 years serving on the council, I have never witnessed such a depth of pure cynical posturing by the local SNP. They should be helping local councils deliver good public services-not seeking to undermine genuine efforts to manage a challenging agenda.”
With 12 councillors to the SNP’s 15, Labour has led an administration out of Livingston’s Civic Centre since 2017 in a loose “confidence and supply” coalition backed by the Tories and independents.
In the current council, Labour has 11 members since the resignation of Whitburn’s David Russell. The party is backed by the Conservative group with four members, the Independent Andrew McGuire and Linlithgow Lib Dem Sally Pattle.
The SNP has derided what it calls a Labour/Tory coalition. During the no confidence meeting the SNP accused Labour of shirking the difficult decisions and reminded the council that the opposition group was the largest single party in the council as well as “having won the popular vote.”
Councillor Campbell reminded the meeting that she had offered to work across the chamber in a coalition with the Labour group following the last election in 2022. This offer had been rebuffed.
After the confidence vote failed on Tuesday, Councillor Campbell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We brought this motion because residents and volunteers have been in tears over the way their community centres have been treated. Unfortunately, the Labour‑Tory administration chose to close ranks.
“By voting down our motion they have ignored the voices of local people and signalled that they are content to continue making decisions behind closed doors.”
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