Former Glasgow Labour leader blocked from committee amid standards probe

Former Glasgow Labour leader George Redmond has been blocked from joining the city’s planning committee by the SNP and Greens.

Cllr Redmond is facing a standards hearing in November following an allegation he broke confidentiality rules.

The city’s Labour group had put forward Cllr Redmond to replace Cllr Cecilia O’Lone on the committee, which makes decisions on planning applications, and on the Clyde Gateway urban regeneration board.

However, Cllr Greg Hepburn, the SNP’s business manager, moved an amendment to prevent Cllr Redmond’s appointments. It passed by 42 votes to 29.

When asked why they took the unusual step to block Cllr Redmond’s appointments, an SNP source said: “Cllr Redmond is currently under investigation for leaking confidential information, which calls into question his appropriateness to sit on these bodies.

“I’m frankly surprised that the Labour leadership have proposed him in the first place, so much for their ‘new direction’.”

Cllr James Adams, Labour’s business manager, said he was concerned the move would set a precedent, with anyone facing a standards hearing unable to be approved to join a committee.

It is believed the complaint against Cllr Redmond, who stepped down as Labour group leader in May, relates to the sharing of information on the appointment of a new council chief executive last year.

Susanne Millar was picked to replace Annemarie O’Donnell by the council’s appointment of senior officers committee, which included Cllr Redmond, in March 2024.

The Standards Commission for Scotland will decide whether Cllr Redmond has breached the councillors’ code of conduct.

Last week, Glasgow Greens co-leader Jon Molyneux said: “I can confirm that I submitted a standards complaint on April 12, 2024, relating to what I considered to be a very serious breach of the confidentiality provisions in the councillors’ code of conduct.

“I will not make any further comment on this matter as a hearing is now due to take place.”

On confidentiality, the code states councillors should not “disclose confidential information or information which should reasonably be regarded as being of a confidential or private nature, without the express consent of a person or body authorised to give such consent, or unless required to do so by law”.

It adds confidential information can include “discussions, documents, information which is not yet public or never intended to be public, and information deemed confidential by statute”.

The code also states confidential information should not be used “in any way for personal or party-political advantage or to discredit my council (even if my personal view is that the information should be publicly available)”.

Complaints against elected members are investigated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner, Ian Bruce, who reports to the Standards Commission. The Commission then decides whether to hold a hearing to determine whether the code has been contravened.

When a breach of the code is found, the Commission will then decide on a sanction. These include censure, suspension and disqualification.

A Labour group spokesperson said: “This is an unprecedented move by the Glasgow SNP and Greens.

“Blocking councillors from carrying out their duties sets a deeply troubling precedent. The public deserves transparency at full council, not political manoeuvring.”

A spokesperson for the Green group said: “Given that George Redmond is facing a standards hearing for a very serious complaint relating to breach of confidentiality, it is unthinkable that Labour thought it was okay to put him forward for a quasi-judicial role on the city’s planning committee.”