At a Special Council meeting today to debate important issues to Glasgow, the Labour Administration voted to close the meeting after the first speech on the first motion. Within 10 minutes of the meeting opening, Cllr Aileen Colleran moved to adjourn the meeting and was supported by 37 Labour colleagues to defeat the combined SNP, Green and Conservative opposition of 25 votes. The four Lib Dems sat on their hands and didn’t vote.

The SNP Group held an emergency group meeting and agreed to call another Special meeting which the Council’s Chief Executive is now required to set a within the next 14 days.

Leader of the Opposition Councillor John Mason said today: “Today, the Labour administration showed their contempt for free speech in the City of Glasgow. The irony is that only two weeks ago there was unanimous agreement to propose that Freedom of the City is awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi for her relentless pursuit of human rights in Burma, but the Glasgow Labour leadership fear the same open debate in the City Chambers.

“The SNP Group has important issues to debate concerning services for young people, the impact of the 2012 Olympics on lottery funding, and housing for asylum seekers and refugees. It’s important, when so much of what the Council does is dominated by the Labour Party, that opposition parties are given time for real democratic debate

"The Labour Party should be ashamed at their actions today. The SNP Group has no other alternative but to call yet another Special Council meeting and we shall see whether the Labour Party will yet again call time on democracy.”

The SNP Group on Glasgow City Council called the Special Council meeting to continue the business which was curtailed at the full Council meeting on 1 November. At that meeting, despite a request to continue the Council meeting for 30 minutes, Labour councillors voted to end the meeting before three SNP motions could be debated. This was after the Lord Provost’s neutrality was called into question when two emergency SNP motions were ruled out by him. This was the third consecutive Council meeting where SNP motions have been guillotined.

Notes:

1. The last three full Council meetings (1 November, 20 September and 28 June) have had the following numbers of motions tabled and subsequently considered:
   Labour: 7 motions submitted, 6 motions debated
   SNP: 9 motions submitted, 2 rejected for the agenda, 1 motion debated
   Green: 2 motions submitted, 2 motions debated
    No motions have been tabled by either the Liberal Democrats, Conservative or Solidarity councillors.
   
2. Councillor John Mason moved the suspension of Standing Orders for 30 minutes which would have provided adequate time for further debate but this was voted down by the Labour administration. The SNP have consistently questioned the balance of business and time for adequate democratic debate in the Council chamber but every time the Labour group has ruled in line with their own wishes.
   
3. The Labour Party are bringing forward proposals which would guarantee one motion per Council meeting for Labour, SNP and other parties on a rota basis,  which in effect would restrict the SNP to seven motions per year.
   
4. Under the Council’s Standing Order No. 1 (3), 20 councillors can petition the Council’s Chief Executive to call a special meeting within 14 days and this meeting can only deal with the business submitted within the written request.
   
5. The agenda for the Special Council meeting includes three SNP motions which were guillotined on 1 November, an emergency motion which the Lord Provost refused to be considered and a Labour motion which the SNP believes should be debated.
   
6. Glasgow City Council is near the top of the league for shortest Council meetings in Scotland.