A former Labour councillor sanctioned over an ‘SNP CUTS HURT GLASGOW’ online meeting background has said he hopes the decision doesn’t “set a dangerous precedent”.
Martin McElroy, who represented the Springburn/Robroyston ward on Glasgow City Council, was censured by the Standards Commission at a meeting on Wednesday.
He had displayed the caption over photos of overflowing bins and piles of rubbish while speaking at a Microsoft Teams meeting in the run-up to the Scottish Government elections last year.
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Mr McElroy, who was standing as a candidate for Glasgow Provan, later posted an image of the background on his councillor Facebook page.
The ex-councillor is concerned the ruling – which means “severe and public disapproval” of his actions will be recorded – could “silence opposition parties”.
"My fear is that this decision will make it harder for councillors to express their views and do their job properly," he said.
The standards watchdog has said he was free to campaign outwith the council meeting.
Members of the Standards Commission for Scotland decided the ex-councillor had used “council facilities” for party political or campaigning purposes during the pre-election period. They also ruled his actions were disrespectful to his fellow councillors, the meeting chair [the Lord Provost] and council officials.
The decision followed an investigation by the acting Ethical Standards Commissioner, Ian Bruce. He told the hearing how there had been a breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct but said the panel would need to determine whether Mr McElroy had freedom of expression under article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
He believed Mr McElroy “was entitled to express the views that he did”. However, the hearing panel decided Mr McElroy’s actions were “disrespectful” as the Local Government Act 1986 prohibits councils from “publishing any material that could be perceived as seeking to influence public opinion or promoting a particular candidate or political party”.
It ruled the 1986 Act’s intention of enabling fair elections was a “sufficient” reason to interfere with Mr McElroy’s freedom of expression.
Following the Commission’s ruling, Mr McElroy said: “In my former role as a councillor, I was expected to represent my constituents and hold decision makers to account. My fear is that this decision will make it harder for councillors to express their views and do their job properly.
“The Commissioner’s report said that freedom of speech should be protected and that there was therefore no breach of the code. I just hope that this doesn’t set a dangerous precedent and silence opposition parties.”
However, a spokeswoman for the Standards Commission said the panel had found the use of “the background in a council meeting during the pre-election period amounted to campaigning in breach of the council’s pre-election guidance”.
She added: “The hearing panel noted that former Cllr McElroy would not have been prevented from campaigning for the election outwith the context of a council meeting and, further, that he was free to discuss ‘business as usual’ within that context.
“The hearing panel considered that specific restrictions on conduct during council meetings was necessary to help the council comply with the 1986 Act, with the overall aim of ensuring free and fair elections.
“The panel noted that this approach had previously been confirmed by the courts, who had held that it may be considered necessary, in the period preceding or during an election, to place certain restrictions, of a type which would not usually be acceptable, on an individual’s right to freedom of expression.”
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