East Ayrshire's Labour leader resigns
COUNCIL opposition leader Eric Jackson has quit.
The Labour councillor for Ballochmyle has cited personal reasons for his decision to stand down from October 10.
Jackson, 60, has been a councillor since 1995 when the new unitary authorities were created.
The sudden resignation will result in a by-election in the constituency which takes in Mauchline, Auchinleck and Muirkirk.
Jackson, who lives in Mauchline, became leader when SNP dramatically took control of East Ayrshire Council in May 2007.
He was seen as a moderate with a good business head, having run his own blast engineering company for a number of years. His aim was to rebuild the party locally using consensus politics as a means of holding on to some element of power for the council’s remaining Labour members.
Jackson, one of the party’s most articulate organisers, did concede after last year’s defeat that Labour had become complacent. As leader, he faced an uphill task of bringing some old traditionalists into line against a decline in support nationally.
Jackson said on Wednesday: “Circumstances change and I have a number of family and business commitments that need attention.
“' I have been very touched by the messages of goodwill and understanding received from all parties.'
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