Petty, small-minded and vindictive, Glasgow Labour Council leader of shame Gordon ‘free dinners’ Matheson sinks to a new low in local politics

Dear All

One of the things about the Glasgow Labour Party is that they are a squalid bunch who runs Glasgow City Council as their own personal fiefdom.

I call them the Labour Council of shame.

We now have the unedifying spectacle of the Glasgow Labour leadership being vindictive towards the SNP Councillor Group in Glasgow.

A bitter row has developed over controversial “patronage” payments to city councillors as Labour moves to strip three SNP members of external posts.

The Labour leadership in Glasgow is to request the board of the SECC remove SNP Councillor James Dornan from his post.

He has done nothing wrong.

As well as Mr. Dornan being the centre of Labour Party vindictiveness two other SNP members are set to be axed from council-owned outside bodies known as Aleos.

Aleos were set up by Steven ‘bin laden’ Purcell, the disgraced former leader and Councillor.

The move against the SNP follows a hostile meeting of Glasgow City Council on Thursday.

The SNP group is calling for the scrapping of the £250,000’s worth of top-up payments elected members get for sitting on arm’s-length organisations.

The patronage system is used by the Labour leadership to keep their own Councillors in line by buying them off.

Last month, Government advisors month called for the system to be scrapped, claiming it was unjustifiable.

The SNP have accused council leader Gordon ‘free diinners’ Matheson of being “petty and vindictive.”

Gordon ‘Free dinners’ Matheson isn't a leader of men.

Or bright, he is aligning himself with “the most toxic brand in UK politics”, with the council’s Lib Dem group.

So, the SNP will be stripped of two of three posts they hold in council-owned companies City Building, City Property and Cordia.

Gordon Matheson said:

“The SNP has had this coming for a long time. We’ve had quite enough of your rank hypocrisy. James Dornan should be removed from the SECC because we’ve no confidence in him. His behaviour is unacceptable. You [the SNP group] have only yourselves to blame for this.”

Again, James Dornan has done nothing wrong.

His ‘crime’ as Labour see it is to stand for Holyrood.

A Labour source said:

“If the SNP is so opposed to Aleo payments perhaps we should look at how they’d respond to being removed from them all, although it will be a spectacle watching them fight over what is left for them. Those losing money might want to ask questions of their colleagues for making this an issue.”

Leaving aside the money issue, SNP Councillors serving on these boards gain valuable experience and force Aleos to be more accountable.

Clearly, the Glasgow Labour Party doesn’t want their ‘placemen’ being put under the spotlight of transparency and accountability.

An SNP spokesman said:

“This is just another example of the petty, small-minded and vindictive behaviour Mr Matheson is known for and highlights once again the clear contempt Labour have for democracy, scrutiny and the people of Glasgow. By choreographing this with the Lib Dems they are aligning themselves with the most toxic brand in UK politics, while the Lib Dems role in all will leave the public wondering if there are any depths they will not sink below for 30 pieces of silver.”

This act is a new low even for Gordon Matheson.

Once the Holyrood election is out of the way, the task the SNP face is to take over the Council in 2012.

The people of Glasgow need considerable better than the Glasgow Labour Party who conducts themselves in petty, small-minded and vindictive fashion.

But is does show that the Glasgow Labour Party is scared of the SNP and its Councillors.

And they should be!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University