Stirling’s SNP councillors are calling for a special meeting to be held to “discuss and agree action that should be taken” against a councillor facing a standards hearing.
Last week, we told how Labour councillor for the Stirling North ward, Danny Gibson, is set to appear before a hearing of the Standards Commission for Scotland over an allegation he breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.
Cllr Gibson is accused of contravening the code on issues of “respect and courtesy” and those relating to taking decisions on “quasi-judicial or regulatory applications”.
The hearing will take place at Stirling Council’s headquarters at Old Viewforth on June 21.
The Stirling SNP group last week wrote to the council leader, Labour’s Chris Kane, calling for Cllr Gibson’s suspension from all committees pending the hearing outcome.
Now they are calling for a special meeting to discuss the matter further after they claim they received no response from Cllr Kane.
Last week, Cllr Gibson told the Observer that the hearing relates to a “belated complaint submitted by an opposition councillor” concerning historical matters which were successfully resolved within the council many years ago now.
He added: “This individual seems particularly aggrieved that matters were resolved and they have sadly sought to weaponise the standards process for their own ends.
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“This is clearly politically motivated and I very much hope the commission will see it for what it is.”
This week, Councillor Gerry McLaughlan, the Stirling SNP group business convener, responded to those comments, describing them as an “attack on the impartiality of the Standards Commission”.
Cllr McLaughlan said: “Cllr Gibson’s subsequent attack on the impartiality of the Standards Commission is unwise and strengthens our argument that he should be suspended from all committees and external organisations on which he represents Stirling Council.
“Stirling SNP councillors now plan to call for a special council meeting to discuss and agree action that should be taken with regards to Cllr Gibson. We stress that any action is purely precautionary, but we as a council have a duty of care in these circumstances.”
Cllr Gibson refused to be further drawn on the SNP’s calls for his suspension, saying: “It wouldn’t be appropriate to provide a running commentary on this matter and I’ll allow due process to take place.”
Cllr Gibson previously held the position of deputy council leader under the previous SNP/Labour administration. As part of the current Labour administration, Cllr Gibson serves as convener of the Children and Young People committee and vice convener of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero committee.
In January 2021, an investigation was carried out following complaints about Cllr Gibson’s behaviour towards council officials.
Solicitors were instructed by the council to conduct an inquiry into the conduct of Cllr Gibson. A Freedom of Information request confirmed this was carried out at a cost of £20,100 to the public purse.
At that time, the Stirling Labour group said that, following discussions with senior council officers, the issue had been “resolved”.
Speaking in January 2021, Cllr Gibson said: “As a socialist and trade unionist I fully support – and would indeed encourage – any employee in any organisation to raise any issues with their line manager to have them resolved wherever possible.
“When raising often difficult and challenging matters on behalf of the people I represent I’m fully aware of the standards expected of elected members and do so in accordance with those requirements. An issue was raised concerning me and I engaged with the process and a resolution was reached. That’s how good employment practices should work.”
