AN SNP politician has quit the party and launched a blistering attack on bosses who she accused of covering up abuse and bullying in local branches.
Marie Penman, a councillor who was convenor of the Kirkcaldy SNP branch and ran the Yes campaign in the town before the independence referendum, said she had been the victim of a "campaign of hate" waged against her by another senior branch member.
She claimed that party headquarters had known about her concerns since she first complained in June 2014 and had received acknowledgements from figures including Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh, the SNP women's officer, and party chief executive Peter Murrell, who is married to Nicola Sturgeon.
Congratulations to Cllr Marie Penman on her fantastic win in the Kirkcaldy East by-election. A massive swing from Labour to @theSNP
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 23, 2015
However, she said that no action had been taken and that the Kirkcaldy branch has been split down the middle, becoming a "bitterly-divided group, full of hatred and recriminations."
She said she resigned as convenor last year after the situation became intolerable and that seven other office bearers had resigned mainly due to the infighting.
It has become the latest SNP branch to be hit by damaging internal splits, with many of the concerns raised by Ms Penman reminiscent of complaints made by members in North Lanarkshire, who have accused party bosses of inaction in addressing their concerns.
At the party's conference at the weekend, National Secretary Patrick Grady issued a warning over discipline to members following a series of internal disputes.
Ms Penman, a 48-year-old college lecturer, said she would see out her term as councillor for Kirkcaldy East as an independent, having been elected in a by-election in January 2015 which saw her publicly congratulated at the time by the First Minister.
In a statement, she said: "The people who voted for me in the by-election last year may feel disappointed that I am no longer representing the party they voted for. However, in all conscience, I simply cannot belong to a party that allows aggressive, bullying behaviour to go unchallenged.
"I asked for help and support from SNP HQ on numerous occasions, but was ignored. When I tried to find out how to formalise my complaint, I discovered that the SNP, as a party, has no policy on bullying in its constitution, and therefore no process in place to deal with it.
"Sadly, the SNP in Kirkcaldy is now a broken and divided party. There are still some good people involved, but their voices are drowned out by the very vocal minority who form a bullying clique around the person I complained about.
"I feel nothing but relief to be walking away."
A spokesman for the SNP said: "We’re sorry that Marie struggled to feel at home within the SNP, but wish her all the best for the future."
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