CONSERVATIVE and Labour councillors are set to join forces to demand disgraced Derek Mackay resign as an MSP.
The council’s Labour group submitted a motion this week asking colleagues in the chamber to call for Mr Mackay to step down from his £63,579-a-year job as Renfrewshire North and West MSP.
This will be voted on at the next full council meeting on Thursday, February 27.
READ MORE: Labour leader calls for disgraced Derek Mackay to resign as MSP
Mr Mackay stood down as Finance Secretary last week amid a storm of 'sleazy' texts he sent to a schoolboy.
The council’s Conservative group have now backed calls for him to quit, meaning the motion would pass even if it received no support from the SNP group.
Senior figures within Renfrewshire's SNP group have declined to publicly comment on the scandal at this stage.
But, a number, including Renfrew South and Gallowhill man Jim Paterson, have been accused of deleting any reference to Mr Mackay on their social media accounts.
Conservative leader James MacLaren said: “The Conservative group are fully supportive of the calls for Derek Mackay to resign as a MSP.
“His behaviour has fallen way short of what his constituents in Renfrewshire North and West deserve and I hope he is giving serious consideration to his position.
“Many other revelations have emerged since the initial story broke about Derek Mackay and these need to be fully investigated.
“It is not good enough he stood down from his duties to deliver the Budget. He cannot expect it to be the right thing to stay on as a MSP and claim all the benefits that come with that.”
Mr MacLaren's comments come just days after Labour group leader Eddie Devine became the first senior Renfrewshire councillor to call for Mr Mackay to go.
Mr Devine, who is a councillor for Paisley Southeast, told The Gazette: "We think he is unfit for office and to remain as MSP for Renfrewshire North and West.
"All of the councillors within Labour support this, including those in Renfrew, and we believe others will join us but it is up to them to comment."
READ MORE: The rise and fall of SNP's golden boy
Council leader and SNP group chief Iain Nicolson declined to comment when asked whether the group would support the motion.
Mr Mackay is currently suspended from the SNP as the party conducts an investigation into his conduct.
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