The SNP’s loss of North Lanarkshire Council after a mere 3 months of control is a disaster which was completely foreseeable and completely avoidable. Yet the red warning flags which the membership waved were ignored by all and sundry and this is the result. The Jordan Linden debacle was an open secret, and while others in the SNP failed vetting for the most spurious of reasons, Mr Linden had a path cleared for him, one he was most clearly unsuitable for.
Even less of a surprise was the defection of Councillor Michael Coyle. In 2017 he was quoted after the council elections as saying that “the people have shown they do not want independence” in response to being asked why the SNP failed to win control of North Lanarkshire Council. In reality, it was the infighting, backstabbing and pursuit of personal gain within the party which saw the SNP come up short.
It is amusing to see the mugs who shouted down the people who tried to warn the party of such behaviours now standing open mouthed in horror as their rock-solid councillor moves to the British Nationalists. Yesterday Anas Sarwar crowed of his victory and that Labour were taking back control after months of “sleaze”. It will be interesting to see whether Mr Coyle is rewarded with a paid convenorship for his duplicity (not to mention the loss of his job with SNP MSP Neil Gray).
A number of years ago I raised a petition with the Scottish Parliament with the aim of ensuring that if an elected representative resigned from the party they were elected to stand for, that should automatically trigger a by-election. The SNP led parliament rejected this. I am now seeing much wailing from SNP members that Cllr Coyle should resign and force an election. Indeed his fellow Airdrie South Coucillor Paul DiMascio demanded that very thing within hours of Cllr Coyle’s treacherous defection. That ship has sailed, and there is as much chance of Cllr Coyle doing the honourable thing and resigning as there is of me winning the Tour-de-France. Perhaps now the members of the SNP can force a much-needed change in our democratic system from within their party, lest this type of thing happens again, because one thing is for sure; it is not in the personal interest of any politician to implement such change. Until that day, the rules of politics are that there no rules, but one. Look after your own interests, first and foremost.
An Independent Scotsman 