Some years ago a representative of this newspaper trailed thirstily into a bar in a small and remote town in northern Nigeria. The bar was decorated with a sticker proclaiming how much better Glasgow was and it transpired that the city's Lord Provost had dropped in the previous month. In those days Glasgow was well-known for an energetic marketing campaign which had convinced many people of its superiority to other, less generously endowed cities. How much of this was true was irrelevant; Glasgow was known for good things. By and large it is known these days for a level of civic factionalism and intrigue which would have excited the admiration of the Borgias. This is unfortunate, but it is not something which can be resolved easily.
Being a large city, Glasgow has a large number of councillors, most of them of the Labour persuasion. Bereft of proper opposition they have turned to arguing among themselves, but the lack of opposition does not provide an excuse for this behaviour. A city with the problems which Glasgow has in abundance requires its civic representatives to work diligently, honestly, and with the real needs of the city as their closest concerns. This may sound a little Utopian but it is possible to do a decent job without abandoning the horse-trading which will always be a feature of local government.
Unfortunately, Glasgow councillors have long since given up horse-trading in favour of internecine warfare. The charges laid against the current Lord Provost, Mr Pat Lally, and his deputy, Mr Alex Mosson, were serious and were accompanied by blood-curdling briefings from senior Labour figures which suggested that their inquiry would lead to a proper cleansing of a notably mucky stable.
The reputation of New Labour demanded nothing less. In fact, the penalties for Lally and Mosson - an 18-month ban from the Labour whip and the holding of party office - have made matters worse because they are perceived as ridiculously light and failing for that reason to effect a clean break with the discredited past.
This is not entirely true. The 18-month ban neatly removes Lally and Mosson from standing as candidates for the 1999 council elections and must surely mean the end of their political careers. Yet, throughout this miserable affair, the Labour Party, despite its bold noises about sluicing out the organisation, has been afraid of the possibility of damaging legal action. That fear remains. Lord Provost Lally may continue to represent the city, although he is deemed unfit to represent his party, but he may yet defend his position in the courts. There is, in truth, little that Labour can do about this, for it must put up with Lord Provost Lally or be prepared to fight a bitter legal battle.
Redemption for the party can be achieved through a conscious abandonment of the debilitating blame culture, through the promised streamlining of council procedures, the installation of new officials to drive the programme forward, and through the regeneration of the name and potential of a great city.
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