 | 'A Labour councillor in Aberdeen has resigned amid allegations that he tried to do a deal over voting on a new stadium for the city's football team.' BBC Scotland News, 19 th August 2002. |  |
| 'A Labour councillor in Aberdeen has resigned amid allegations that he tried to do a deal over voting on a new stadium for the city's football team.' BBC Scotland News, 19 th August 2002. | |
There was a by-election for the Newhills ward of the City of Aberdeen Council on the 7 th of November 2005 following the resignation of Cllr David Maitland on 19 th August 2002 concerning allegations of attempting to influence the building of a new Aberdeen FC stadium near Kingswells.
Newhills is in the Aberdeen North Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Frank Doran MP) and in the Aberdeen North Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Scottish National Party's Brian Adam MSP).
Lib Dem gain from Labour. Swing: 27.3 % from Labour to Lib Dem.
| 7 th November 2002 By-election Turnout 43.0 % (- %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Stephen |  |
Liberal Democrat | 1,181 | 62.1 % | + 33.4 % |
| Andrea Wood |  |
Conservative | 299 | 15.7 % | - 8.9 % |
| Barney Crockett |  |
Scottish National Party | 252 | 13.3 % | - 9.3 % |
| Dennis Grattan |  |
Labour | 169 | 8.9 % | - 18.2 % |
| Liberal Democrat gain from Labour | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 880 | 46.4 % | |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout % (+ %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Maitland | |
Labour | 570 | 27.1 % | + 0.3 % |
| Andrew Anderson | |
Liberal Democrat | 542 | 25.7 % | - 22.9 % |
| Derek W. Martin | |
Conservative | 518 | 24.6 % | 14.0 % |
| Claire Bruce | |
Scottish National Party | 475 | 22.6 % | + 14.6 % |
| Labour gain from Liberal Democrat | |
Labour majority | 28 | 1.4 % | |
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 39.0 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janetta Anderson | |
Liberal Democrat | 777 | 48.6 % | |
| Gavin Farquhar | |
Labour | 428 | 26.8 % | |
| Joy Gordon | |
Conservative | 169 | 10.6 % | |
| Paul Calder | |
Scottish National Party | 128 | 8.0 % | |
| Derek Martin |  |
Independent | 97 | 6.1 % | |
| Liberal Democrat win | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 349 | 21.8 % | |
A Labour councillor in Aberdeen has resigned amid allegations that he tried to do a deal over voting on a new stadium for the city's football team.
In a statement, David Maitland denied any wrongdoing and said the decision was taken after his family suffered abuse over his support for the new stadium.
But one Liberal Democrat councillor said his opponent resigned after he submitted a taped conversation to council officials in which Mr Maitland allegedly offers to do a deal in return for supporting the stadium plans.
Local campaigners opposed to the plans have called on First Minister Jack McConnell to intervene in light of recent developments.
Planners have already given their backing to Aberdeen Football Club's proposal to build a new ground on green belt land at Kingswells in the west of the city.
The local authority is set to take the final decision on the plans for the 30,000-seat stadium and community sports complex on Wednesday.
Former local councillor David Maitland has been one of the strongest supporters of the proposals.
However, he will play no further part in the decision-making process after his resignation.
Mr Maitland has released a statement saying that he resigned after his family suffered abuse over his support for the stadium.
'Justice done'
But this is disputed by Liberal Democrat councillor Matthew Duncan who said Mr Maitland stood down after he recorded the former Labour councillor trying to do a secret deal in return for support for the stadium project.
Councillor Duncan said: "I passed the evidence to the council's legal department and the result was the resignation of the councillor concerned.
"I feel vindicated. I'm happy that this course of action has been taken - that the Labour Party have taken a strong stance and suspended him from the party and I'm satisfied that justice is seen to be done."
A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said a report would be submitted to the authority's standards and scrutiny committee on the propriety and ethics of Cllr Duncan's actions.
The report is being prepared by the council's head of legal affairs, Crawford Langley.
He said Cllr Duncan's secret recording appeared to be "unethical rather than illegal".
This latest development has prompted campaigners who oppose the stadium plan to ask the Scottish Executive to intervene.
Mike Dunbar, of Kingswells Infrastructure First Group, said: "What's happened is that public confidence is now at zero as a result of these disclosures.
By-election
"I fully expect Aberdeen City Council to brazen it out on Wednesday and I think it no longer matters what Aberdeen City Council do.
"What matters is how First Minister Jack McConnell reacts to the enormous levels of disquiet which now exists."
The forthcoming by-election in the Kingswells ward could prove embarrassing to the ruling Labour group.
It needs to hold on to the marginal seat if it is to retain control of the council.
There is also potential embarrassment for the Liberal Democrats as Councillor Duncan works as a political assistant to MSP Mike Rumbles - the chairman of the Scottish Parliament's standards committee.
The £30m complex, which would replace Aberdeen's existing Pittodrie stadium, would be part of Scotland's joint bid with Ireland to host the Euro 2008 football championships.
Scottish Executive ministers are expected to have the final say on the outline planning proposal.
A former Labour councillor in Aberdeen has won a gagging order against a Liberal Democrat who wanted to release details of a secretly recorded conversation.
David Maitland quit after he was caught on tape trying to influence the outcome of a vote on a planning application for a new stadium for Aberdeen Football Club.
He has been granted an interim interdict against Liberal Democrat Councillor Matthew Duncan, who made the recording.
However, another councillor has now claimed that Mr Maitland offered him a deal in return for supporting the stadium application.
Scott Cassie told BBC Scotland that he was telephoned by Mr Maitland the day before the controversial application for the new stadium at Kingswells came before the council.
"He reminded me that there was a sports and leisure application coming up in my Garthdee ward and he mentioned that several of his Labour colleagues were unhappy with this application," said Mr Cassie.
"The clear inference to me, and I was in no doubt about it, was that if I supported the stadium application he would make the objections to the Garthdee application go away."
Aberdeen City Council is due to take its final decision on the football stadium proposals on Wednesday.
Planners have already given their backing for the 30,000-seat stadium and community sports complex.
Mr Maitland, who represented the Kingswells area, was one of the strongest supporters of the proposals.
He released a statement saying that he resigned after his family suffered abuse over his support for the stadium.
That is disputed by Mr Duncan, who said he had recorded the former Labour councillor trying to do a secret deal in return for support for the stadium project.
Mr Maitland has been granted an interim interdict to prevent Mr Duncan revealing more of that conversation.
Sports centre
However, BBC Scotland was given brief details of part of the conversation before the order was granted.
In it, Mr Duncan asked: "If Scott had supported the stadium, would he have got the sports centre?"
Mr Maitland replied: "Absolutely. It was cut and dried."
Aberdeen's ruling Labour administration has quickly distanced itself from Mr Maitland.
Council leader Len Ironside said: "The Labour Party recognised that he had breached the code of conduct and we took action immediately.
"Councillor Maitland was suspended from the Labour Party and he was encouraged to resign."
Mr Maitland is unavailable for comment on his role.
However, he has denied any wrongdoing - and a council inquiry has found that he did not act illegally.
The Dons' £30m stadium plans are part of Scotland's bid with Ireland to host the Euro 2008 championships.
The by-election for the vacant seat in the Newhills Ward of Aberdeen City Council will be held on Thursday, November 7.
The by-election is being held following the resignation of David Maitland.
At the last election, held in 1999, David Maitland won the seat after polling 570 votes for Labour - a majority of 28. The Liberal Democrat candidate received 542 votes; Conservative 518 and SNP 475.
Following the resignation of David Maitland the present state of the parties on the City Council is:
Labour 21
Liberal Democrats 12
Conservatives 6
SNP 3
Advertisements to formally declare the by-election will appear in the media on October 7. The closing time for nominations is 4pm on October 15.
There are four by-election candidates for the vacant seat in the Newhills Ward of Aberdeen City Council which takes place on Thursday, November 7.
Nominations closed at 4pm today.
The candidates are:
James (also known as Barney) Crockett (Scottish Labour Party)
Dennis F Grattan (Scottish National Party)
Peter James Stephen (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
Andrea Wood (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Candidate).
The by-election is being held following the resignation of David Maitland.
At the 1999 election the result was as follows - Labour 570; Liberal Democrat 542; Conservative 518 and SNP 475.
Liberal Democrat Peter Stephen has won the Aberdeen City Council by-election in the Newhills Ward.
The result was as follows:
Peter Stephen (Lib Dem) 1181
Andrea Wood (Conservative) 299
Dennis Grattan (SNP) 252
Barney Crockett (Labour) 169
Lib Dem gain from Labour
The by-election took place following the resignation of David Maitland.
At the 1999 election the result was as follows: Labour 570; Liberal Democrat 542; Conservative 518 and SNP 475.
The new state of the parties on Aberdeen City Council is:
Labour 20
Liberal Democrats 13
Conservatives 6
SNP 3
(One vacancy with by-election on December 5)
A private school has been granted a court order to force an ex-councillor embroiled in a legal battle over his daughter's unpaid fees to pay up.
David Maitland is being sued by Albyn School for Girls in Aberdeen for more than £6,000.
The school had lodged a civil case against Mr Maitland, which was heard at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Thursday.
The board of governors said they were due £6,112 in fees for Mr Maitland's daughter's education.
Interest added
The court heard that Mr Maitland had initially agreed to pay the amount in installations of £175 per month.
Nicola Halliday, representing the school, said that discussions over the payment had been ongoing between the school and Mr Maitland since February this year.
The court was told that the board of governors later decided it would be reasonable for them to charge an extra 6% interest, as it would take about 34 months for the total money to be paid back.
Ms Halliday said that Mr Maitland was unwilling to pay any interest.
She added that there had been no further contact between the parties and she was moving for a motion for the sheriff to grant an open decree for the full sum of money, in Mr Maitland's absence.
Internal investigation
The open decree - which means the board can now demand Mr Maitland pays the money back in full - was granted by Sheriff Colin Harris.
Mr Maitland previously served on Aberdeen City Council as a Labour councillor for the Newhills ward.
He resigned in 2002 amid allegations he tried to influence councillors to support Aberdeen Football Club's plan to build a new stadium near Kingswells.
No criminal proceedings were brought against Mr Maitland.
An internal investigation into his actions carried out by Aberdeen Council ruled his behaviour was "beyond the realms of acceptable conduct".
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