IT is a football club that was founded with the purpose of alleviating poverty, but one Celtic director has defended his vote in support of tax credit cuts in the House of Lords.
Livingston has said he believes there needs to be tax credit proposal changes but felt it was not the unelected Second Chamber's role to stand in the way.
The Celtic Trust fans group has urged fellow shareholders on social media to vote against the re-election of the former UK Government Minister for Trade and Investment to the club board at the AGM on November 20.
Many of those supporting the campaign pointed out that the club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigrant Irish population in the east end of Glasgow.
The row erupted after the UK Government was dealt a major blow when the unelected Upper Chamber voted to delay tax credit cuts and to compensate those affected in full.
Peers voted by 289 votes to 272 to provide full financial redress to the millions of recipients affected, but Livingston, who is a non-executive director of Celtic FC, was on the losing side of that vote. Peers also inflicted a second defeat by backing a pause until an independent study of the impact was carried out.
George Osborne said he would heed the outcome of the vote, but said it raised "constitutional issues" over the House of Lords defying the will of an elected House of Commons.
Livingston quit BT in 2013 and was appointed Trade and Investment Minister as a surprise replacement for the former HSBC chairman Lord Green. He joined the House of Lords prior to his ministerial appointment.
Livingston, who took the title Baron Livingston of Parkhead, broke his silence over the issue online after receiving vicious criticism.
One tweeted: "It is my hope that nearly all Celtic fans make it known that you are not welcome at the club".
He replied: "Agree tax credits proposal need(s) changed but not (that) it was (the) Lords role. Different opinion is ok!"
The son of a Glasgow GP, Livingston also explained his position in responses to Celtic blogger Tirnaog,
He said: "I would like to see changes to the tax credit proposal to ameliorate the impact of it. However, I voted against the motions as it is not the constitutional role of the unelected House of Lords to overturn the clear will of the elected House of Commons on a financial matter."
He said he was only a member of the House of Lords "because I was prepared to serve (for nothing) as Trade Minister and gave up being CEO of BT to do so because I felt I could help create employment and economic growth for the UK by promoting exports and inward investment. I feel I had some impact. I had little history in politics and certainly no intent to be involved in government until the PM asked me to become trade minister."
The published email added: "Finally, I know a lot of Labour peers felt differently about the role of the House of Lords vote but interestingly they did not vote for the fatal motion which does suggest they knew that there was an issue. I am surprised to see so many people think the non-elected House of Lords should override the will of the Commons. To my mind the House of Lords insofar as it has any role should be a chamber that scrutinises and amends the details of laws."
Celtic was formally constituted at a meeting by Brother Walfrid on November 6, 1887, with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the east end of Glasgow by raising money for the charity he had instituted, the Poor Children's Dinner Table.
Walfrid's move to establish the club as a means of fund-raising was said to have been largely inspired by the example of Hibernian who were formed out of the immigrant Irish population a few years earlier in Edinburgh.
Celtic's board will be recommending the reappointment of Lord Livingston who was appointed as an independent non-executive director in October 2007 and chairs the Audit Committee.
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