Glasgow Labour councillor apologises over ‘inappropriate’ comment to Lord Provost

Cllr Frank McAveety, a former council leader, said his intervention was “not respectful” to the city’s new Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren.

During the full council meeting, Cllr McAveety had paused his speech in a local government finance debate to say: “Lord Provost, I hope you’re listening to me.”

His comment sparked complaints from SNP and Green councillors and the Lord Provost responded: “I am in the middle of trying to find out how many of our colleagues have asked to speak in this debate.

“That’s why I was speaking to the officer there. I’m not happy at all about what you said there.”

In response, Cllr McAveety said he was “just wanting to make sure the comments were on the record”. The next speaker, Cllr Alex Kerr, SNP, said the comment had been “absolutely disgusting”.

At the end of the meeting, Cllr McAveety said he had had an “opportunity to reflect on my earlier intervention during the debate on local government finance”.

Addressing the Lord Provost, he said: “My intervention was inappropriate and was not respectful of the role you have to play as Lord Provost in chairing this meeting.

“I apologise unreservedly to you, Lord Provost, and I can assure you it won’t occur again.”

Labour had proposed a motion which asked the council to agree to writing to Kate Forbes MSP, the cabinet secretary for finance and the economy, to outline “deep concern” at the Scottish Government’s resource spending review. It added the “chronic underfunding of local services arises from decisions made at Westminster and Holyrood”.

However, a composite amendment from the SNP and Greens was passed, which stated the “spending review is a forecast and not a budget and therefore likely to be subject to considerable fluctuation”.

It added the council chief executive would write to the finance secretary outlining the council’s “deep concern at the potential implications of the spending review” and to “demand action to increase the resources available to councils to spend on local priorities”.

They also agreed to invite Ms Forbes to meet with a cross-party delegation of councillors and frontline workers for talks.