The first meeting of the new-look local authority, held in Haddington on Tuesday May 15, saw the former administration relegated to the ranks of opposition by a new SNP/Lib Dem coalition.

Power-sharing negotiations have been taking place behind the scenes since May 3, when the historic local election result saw seven SNP members, seven Labour members, six Liberal Democrats, two Conservatives and one Independent councillor returned to the county's seven new "super wards."

The controlling partnership did not wait long to wield its power, defeating Labour in the first two votes of the new council to install SNP group leader David Berry as Leader of the Council and his Lib Dem ally Sheena Richardson as Provost.

Radical

SNP councillor Roger Knox was elected unopposed to the position of Depute Provost.

Thanking members for promoting her to the chair, Councillor Richardson said she was both proud and happy to be there at the start of a radical change for East Lothian Council.

She also thanked her predecessor Pat O'Brien and his colleagues for the work they had done to establish and promote East Lothian as a council over the past 10 years.

Opposition Leader Willie Innes, the Labour group's nomination for Council Leader, challenged the coalition's right to the run the council.

Protesting

Moving Councillor Norman Hampshire for the position of provost, he told the meeting: "While the Labour Party won the same number of seats as the SNP, we did so with the highest number of votes of any party — over 2,000 more than any other party — and we believe it is the clear will of the electorate that the Labour Party has the administration."

Councillor Innes later turned down the offer of a place on the Cabinet, protesting that he would be unable to support the new administration in delivering some of its election promises.

Full report in both the East Lothian News and Musselburgh News, May 18, 2007