Anne McLaughlin, SNP MSP for the Glasgow region, has put down a motion to be debated in the Parliament about what she calls a "culture of silence" in Glasgow City Council's Labour administration and amongst the party leadership. It comes on the back of the flood of scandals in Glasgow City Chambers in recent months.

On top of this Labour Party Leader Iain Gray, and Shadow Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy MP,  have ignored two letters from Glasgow SNP opposition leader Cllr James Dornan asking them to instigate an internal investigation within the Labour Party.

Ms McLaughlin has also set up a Facebook group to allow constituents to voice their own concerns and highlight waste in council services. The campaign page is demanding that Glasgow City Council clean up its act after the string of scandals in the last few months involving Labour councillors and alleged drug taking, breach of the peace, awarding contracts to firms with gangland links and cronyism. Ms McLaughlin said that this, combined with Labour's recent request to be allowed to increase Council Tax, was the final straw.

Speaking from her office in Parliament, Ms McLaughlin said: "Council tax payers in Glasgow have had enough of the silence from the Labour Party in Glasgow. Before 2007 they thought they had a divine right to rule Scotland, they appear to believe that they can still get away with anything in Glasgow.

"It seems that Gordon Matheson is happy to demand more money from the pockets of council tax payers in Glasgow, whilst at the same time spending millions on paying off top executives and running an administration that is mired in sleaze and corruption.

"Yet when it comes to answering questions about the deep and institutional problems in a council that cannot keep away from scandal Councillor Matheson's lips are sealed. If you were dealing with a private company that had been rocked by the amount of scandal Glasgow City Council has, who in their right mind would wait to pay them additional sums?

"This shows utter disrespect to the people of Glasgow and the contempt the Labour Party has shown cannot go unchallenged.

"That is why I have tabled this motion to be debated in Parliament the inability of some Glasgow Labour councillors to behave themselves is tarnishing our largest city.  That is of national concern. My constituents are furious and that's why I'm raising their concerns in Parliament. They can also voice their concerns on the Facebook page or by contacting me directly."

Notes:

Anne McLaughlin's motion:

S3M-06932# Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (Scottish National Party): Silence in George Square -
That the Parliament condemns what it considers to be the culture of silence in Glasgow City Council's Labour administration enveloping the large number of scandals in recent months; considers that the City Chambers has been linked with drug taking, breach of the peace, awarding contracts to firms with gangland links, systematic patronage in the appointment of arms length external organisations and the complete mismanagement of the handling of an important LGBT centre, and would welcome an investigation into the goings-on in the Labour Party in Glasgow.

The facebook group is called "Glasgow City Council - Get it Sorted."