GLASGOW’S ruling SNP administration has plunged into chaos and should “get on with the day job”, the leader of the city’s Labour group has said.
Frank McAveety spoke out after two SNP councillors resigned from the party citing bullying and harassment and concerns with the leadership.
READ MORE: Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety under fire over school visits ahead of election
Meanwhile, council leader Susan Aitken caused controversy last week after reports she had used a private Facebook group to attempt to “smear” a fellow councillor.
Mr McAveety said the SNP administration was “ in chaos in Glasgow”.
He said: “Despite the huge challenges that our city faces, two years since the SNP came to power they are more focused on their own internal battles.
“The hypocrisy of an administration that was elected on a pledge of transparency, and to act in the interests of all Glaswegians, could not be clearer.
“Two of their own councillors have now resigned, with the latest citing a lack of confidence in the current leadership.
“The city deserves better than this. Instead of focussing on their internal battles, the SNP need to start reaching out and come to a consensus with the other parties in the chamber.
“The SNP are a minority council acting as if they have a majority.
“The job of running Glasgow City Council is one with significant challenges and a huge honour to deliver for your city.
“But the SNP now need to get on with the day job.”
READ MORE: Problems mount for Frank McAveety at Glasgow City Council as top official is signed off sick
It came as Glasgow’s ruling executive is due to meet today for the first time since the administration reached the two-year mark.
Linn councillor Glenn Elder resigned the whip last month amid claims he had been subjected to bullying and harassment from the leader’s office.
Just days later, Russell Robertson, who defected to the SNP from Labour in 2016, also resigned from the party.
In a letter to Ms Aitken, he said: “I can no longer serve under you as I feel you no longer have the leadership skill, qualities and, above all, the consensus-building skills required to lead this great city.”
However, the SNP group suggested Mr Robertson’s motivations were financial after he lost his post in the ruling administration.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article