IN the Monklands scandal of the 1990s, Lanarkshire symbolised the worst of Scottish politics.
Labour councillors were accused of cronyism and skewing public funds to largely Catholic Coatbridge at the expense of its more Protestant neighbour, Airdrie.
An inquiry concluded the affair was overblown, but it stained Labour for years, and caused huge internal friction. Rumours of corruption and dodgy deals persist to this day.
Monklands remains an object lesson in not letting problems fester: far better to act decisively than ignore poor practice and be on the back foot when scandal erupts.
Yet the rotten state of Lanarkshire politics is again making headlines, this time for the SNP.
Elements of the party’s local operation have become dysfunctional and dishonourable. Factionalism is rife and there are accusations of bullying, misogyny, racism and smears.
The infighting last week forced the suspension of the new Coatbridge & Chryston constituency association after its inaugural meeting descended into chaos.
There are claims and counter-claims about where blame lies for this dismal state of affairs.
MSP Richard Lyle and the cabinet secretary Alex Neil, are frequently mentioned.
Certainly, Lyle and his allies have been the subject of numerous complaints to SNP HQ.
Critics claim those who challenge the local fiefdom are abused on social media, isolated, smeared and driven out, and thus the old regime maintains its grip on power.
New Coatbridge MP Phil Boswell and his allies are also blamed by others, who see them as power-hungry upstarts with flaws of their own.
But the commonest gripe is that SNP HQ have failed for years to respond to the tsunami of complaints from SNP members in Lanarkshire.
The Sunday Herald is supportive of the SNP. We have recommended it to voters in several elections and enthusiastically advocate its founding goal of independence. But that does not mean the SNP is beyond reproach: what is happening in Lanarkshire must stop. It reeks of old-school municipal thuggery. The SNP are better than this.
By failing to clean out the stables, the party is playing into the hands of those that wish to jump on every opportunity to cry #SNPbad.
The dysfunctional state of Lanarkshire now also risks tainting the SNP. And what taints the SNP inevitably taints the cause of independence.
Lanarkshire voted Yes in 2014. It is time the SNP returned the favour and cut out the rot.
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