MEMBERS of an SNP branch have been ordered to vote for their officer bearers online because of alleged “hostility and aggressiveness” at a recent meeting.
National Secretary Angus MacLeod has said activists in Coatbridge & Chryston must fill any outstanding vacancies “from the comfort of their own home” before they meet next.
However the edict, revealed in leaked emails, has provoked a furious response from the current officer bearers, who say they are “disgusted” by SNP HQ bias against them.
The Coatbridge & Chryston branch is famous for feuding between rival factions, including one dubbed the “Monklands McMafia” linked to local SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor.
Party bosses suspended the branch three years ago after concluding a “culture of mistrust” had created a toxic environment in which the “level of discord is intolerable”.
lthough the branch has been partly restored, with internal elections rejecting a slate of ‘Monklands McMafia’ candidates, local activists say the faction’s malign influence continues.
They claim they have been denied access to financial records and IT systems, with SNP HQ appearing to favour the McMafia old guard over the new intake.
READ MORE: SNP HQ accused of failing party members in latest 'Monklands McMafia' row
In his email to current convener Joe Birt last week, Mr MacLeod said he had been contacted “by a number of members expressing their dissatisfaction with the atmosphere at the [January AGM] meeting, citing hostility and aggressiveness, especially around voting.
“To avoid any repetition of the circumstances that gave rise to those complaints... we should invite all members to vote on the vacant positions from the comfort of their own home.
“I will email members shortly with details on how to vote online. The voting will conclude before the meeting and I will advise you of the results.”
In reply, Mr Birt fiercely opposed the move and said no other branch was treated this way.
He suggested it was being done to “appease” Mr MacGregor and his friends and family.
“To say I’m disgusted is an understatement,” Mr Birt said, claiming he had seen “unruly, rude and misogynistic behaviour in the past year” from allies of Mr MacGregor.
He said: “I have many years experience as a member of the Unite union and spent a few years as a shop steward and I have never seen an organisation run in this way.”
Referring to a recent defamation case at the Court of Session which had its roots in local faction-fighting, he concluded: “It is totally incredible the length we are going to to appease a group who have done nothing but brought shame on this branch and have even been named and shamed in the Law courts. I am requesting this action is stopped with immediate effect as this action will cause more resentment in the branch.”
READ MORE: Toxic SNP feud ends in £40,000 defamation award
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “People in Coatbridge and beyond have known for some time that the local branch of the SNP is dysfunctional however the allegations laid out in this email - or misogyny and abuse - are exceptionally serious. The local MSP Fulton MacGregor, should clarify what has happened here and what role he has played in this.”
The SNP did not respond to a request for comment.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel