Labour by-election campaign rocked over claims of 'secrecy, fear and intimidation' in South Lanarkshire Council

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Labour’s campaign in a pivotal Westminster by-election has been jolted by claims of “secrecy, fear and intimidation” in the local council they run.Party leader Anas Sarwar was warned by councillor Mathew Buchanan of a “poisonous” culture inside the Labour group in South Lanarkshire.He added: “There is a problem with Labour in South Lanarkshire.”Labour seized control of the council last year after toppling the SNP administration.But a row kicked off in June after council leader Joe Fagan was suspended from the local authority for two months after disclosing confidential information to the media.Despite tensions, party members in South Lanarkshire have put on a united front to help Labour candidate Michael Shanks win the looming Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.In his email to Sarwar, East Kilbride South councillor Buchanan wrote:“I’m sure you are aware of various complaints of bullying and intimidation within the South Lanarkshire Labour group. “The inner circle around Joe Fagan instinctually close ranks at the first sign of anything that might rock the boat, and they can be vicious when they do so.

This was my first experience of being a Scottish Labour candidate last year.”He claimed the Labour group was run by Fagan’s “personal will” and added:“The group is kept in the dark about many big decisions until they are already made, we are instructed on how to vote on motions that we cannot even see the wording of. “Committee chairs have been pulled up for disagreeing with Joe in the privacy of Labour group meetings, allegedly receiving a slap on the wrist for “questioning Joe’s authority in public”.”Buchanan also claimed Fagan’s allies had tried to minimise discussion on the impact of his suspension.He wrote: “If we