CONSERVATIVE councillor David Dempsey has been selected as convener of Fife Council's standards, scrutiny and audit committee amid accusations of "democratic fraud" directed at the new minority administration.

SNP group leader, Councillor David Alexander, hit out when the Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay councillor was put up for the vote to fill the senior committee role.

"The standards and audit convener is an opposition position – it goes to the main opposition group, it always has," he said. "There is only one opposition group there and it should be the SNP.

"The Labour administration should not be voting. It is not a good look if the administration is voting for the chair of the standards and audit committee.

"If the position is filled with a minority administration voting with the Tories and Liberal Democrats again, it exposes democratic fraud that is going on in this period of Fife Council."

Cllr Alexander was forced to withdraw his comments after councillor Altany Craik raised a point of order.

He told the committee: "We cannot have language like fraud being used in this kind of way. The language has been terrible."

Cllr Dempsey also won a vote to be elected pension committee convener with the SNP losing out on all votes for a range of committee convener and depute convener posts at a full meeting of the council on Thursday.

Following the approval of committee representatives, SNP politicians hit out, saying they had not reflected the political balance of the council with accusations of a coalition being formed by Labour.

Cllr John Beare said: "While the leader of the council says it is not a coalition, if it walks like a duck, flies like a duck, quacks like a duck then it is a duck," he said.

"We are in the situation where we have a gerrymandered executive. The leader will no doubt deny it but with 22 seats, the SNP should be entitled to 10 and Labour six but, strangely enough, the SNP have nine and Labour have seven so all they need to do is get a deal with the Liberals every time they need to get a deal through.

"If Councillor Ross is serious in what he said on Monday, 30th May, that he wants to work constructively, then please can we demonstrate working constructively and demonstrate he is prepared to work on the political balance.

"If he is not, can he at least be honest and say I have a deal with the Tories, I have a deal with the Liberal Democrats and we will shaft the SNP at every available opportunity."

SNP leader Cllr Alexander added: "The numbers speak for themselves. This is still a travesty. This is the biggest mistake you guys have ever made for the sake of a wee bit of power in Fife Council. All we are looking for is fairness. That is not much to ask for. We got 34 councillors out of 75."

Leader of the administration, Councillor David Ross, said the previous administration did not make all the appointments on "purely political balance".

"There is also quite clearly an issue of one way of doing it is political balance but another way is inclusion and letting all groups have a voice on these things," he said.

"We have gone out to all political groups and asked for their input to who they think can make contributions. I am quite confident that we have a viable way forward that is representing everyone in the council fairly and will be to the benefit of members in Fife.

"The SNP have to demonstrate they are prepared to work constructively with the minority Labour administration and, if you are, we will be open to that."

Following the appointments, Cllr Beare expressed his dissent at the decisions voted through by the administration.

"I would like to record my dissent to the strength of feeling to recognise that the groups should be made on the basis of balance," he said.

All SNP members then expressed their dissent at the decision with calls of "it's an affront to democracy" and "it is a disgrace" being heard before Provost Leishman called for quiet.

Cllr Beare added: "It was not my intention that 33 other voices would come in behind me but I suppose it shows the strength of feeling."