Dear All
The Glasgow City Council Election 2012 will be a very serious affair, whoever wins this city will possibly decide whether Scotland will go and vote for independence.
Across the river from my place is the trendy west end of Glasgow where a ‘bun fight’ is taking place for the Hillhead seat following the tragic death of George Roberts, the SNP Councillor.
It will probably be the last test before the big fight in May 2012.
If the SNP’s Ken Andrew gets a win, it puts the SNP in pole position for their campaign.
On the other hand if Labour wins, then some serious thinking will have to be done by whoever is running the SNP Campaign.
Generally when a sitting Councillor passes away, the by-election usually means a person from the incumbent party gets in from my experience.
How serious are Labour to hold the city of Glasgow?
They have put 20 Councillors to the sword.
The wave of political sackings at Scotland’s largest council has been mindblowing in scale.
That has seen potential Labour dissidents and deselected veterans also removed from key posts.
The purge in the ruling Labour administration at Glasgow City Council has been extremely bitter as the drive to replace the deadwood was driven by party HQ.
Quite simply, the job of representing the people by some Labour Councillors has been poor, I would say very poor.
And they deserved to be sacked.
In some ways this is a pity for the SNP as it would have been better to fight incompetents with such a poor record.
Now, they have to fight a brand new shiny ‘A team’ as Labour are marketing themselves as to the masses.
The Labour party is said to want to put the strongest possible team against the SNP in order to hold their current number of seats.
I expect the SNP to gain seats, how many will depend on many factors, the state of the economy and the various strategies deployed in the Wards.
People who got the chop are east end councillors Andy Muir and Euan McLeod, close friends of former leader Steven Purcell.
Both of these people recently appeared as extras in a BBC drama.
Axed from Strathclyde Police Authority, while Mr Muir has lost his role as vice-chairman of the licensing board and Mr McLeod was removed from a similar role on planning.
Shaukat Butt of Ward 5, Govan has been sacked as chairman of Glasgow Community Safety Services after being charged with assaulting his wife.
He was also removed from Cosla’s community safety group.
Other casualties kicked out include veterans Pat Chalmers, Jim McNally, the suspended Ruth Black and Irfan Rabbani.
Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council said:
“There should be no doubt about Glasgow Labour’s intention to win the local government election in May. No-one takes success for granted.”
Because there is a lot more at stake than just the council, it could determine the independence referendum.
There is a lot at stake.
The fight has already started in Hillhead as Ken Andrew treads the boards as the SNP Candidate.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Dear George,
ReplyDeleteContrary to certain newspaper articles , as I have not indicated my intention to resign or will resign, I plan to attend all meetings of the City of Glasgow Licensing Board as a Board Member under the terms set out in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.
Before reaching this decision I consulted with the Chief Solicitor to Glasgow City Council and have been advised I act within the Licensing (Scotland ) Act 2005. Moreover, I had this advice confirmed with an external legal licensing lawyer.
However, seeing as I was not consulted in any manner , has the Labour Group and the Business Manager acted within the terms of the said Act?
Yours sincerely
Councillor Andy Muir
Scottish Labour
Glasgow City Council