We, the undersigned, call on Labour's national executive committee to end the suspension of the nine Aberdeen City Councillors who refer to themselves as Aberdeen Labour, and expel them from the party without further delay.

In May 2017, voters in Aberdeen made it clear that they wanted change in the city administration. That did not mean they wanted a Labour administration propped up by Tories to become a Tory administration propped up by Labour. Scottish Labour's then-leader, Kezia Dugdale, warned the nine suspended councillors not to do a deal with the Tories, as "Labour values must always run through any deals in local government."

While Labour council groups in Fife, Edinburgh, Dumfries & Galloway and East Renfrewshire chose to work with the SNP to fight Tory austerity and protect public services, the nine councillors in Aberdeen instead decided "Labour values" meant putting the Tories into power.

The Labour party has a decision to make: does it let the nine suspended councillors back into the party, thus confirming that "Labour values" include doing deals with the party of austerity, the bedroom tax, the rape clause and the two-child policy; or does it stand firm and join the fight against heinous Tory policies?

Voters in Aberdeen, and further afield, are watching closely.