CONCERNS raised by a campaigning Inverclyde councillor have led to a word being removed from rules which set out the expected behaviour of elected members.
Councillor Elizabeth Robertson said that in April this year, she had cause to look at an advice note attached to the councillor's code of conduct.
The SNP group leader had highlighted the issue in a column for the Greenock Telegraph.
In a section relating to "robust political debate", the guidance uses words to describe the types of behaviour that are permissible within the council chambers.
It states that in a political context, a degree of the "immoderate, offensive, shocking, disturbing, exaggerated, provocative, polemical, colourful, emotive, non-rational, and aggressive, that would not be accepted outwith that context, would be tolerated".
She added: "There have been a whole lot of things going on this year which show the difficulties we face as a council.
"These are rules which tell us how we should behave, and set out the standards that we're held to as councillors and that we have to abide by.
"Debate should be polemic, and we should say things that are shocking, but we're allowed to do things within council chambers that wouldn't ordinarily be OK out on the street.
"I'm not saying that councillors are actively deciding to be aggressive, it's just that the option is there.
"Why are we being given carte blanche to be aggressive when we're supposed to be community leaders?"
Councillor Robertson spoke to colleagues on the SNP working group, and council leaders across the country about the issue.
She then took her concerns to the local government Improvement Service and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla).
The SNP group leader said everyone she spoke to agreed with her concerns.
Just a few months after Councillor Robertson expressed her views, the wording in the code of conduct has now been changed.
She said she is happy with the way her concern was handled.
Councillor Robertson added: "Everyone said I was absolutely right.
"It ended up not really having to be a campaign.
"I spoke to people about changing it and they agreed, and it's now been changed.
"I feel really good about it."
