'Rising star' of the SNP quitting politics weeks after it was revealed she was being chased for council tax
dailyrecord.co.ukA rising star of the SNP is quitting politics – just weeks after it was revealed she was being chased for missing council tax.
But Glasgow City Councillor Rhiannon Spear has blamed “relentless abuse” for her decision to quit and not the public backlash about her unpaid bill.
Last month we revealed how the 31-year-old, who failed in an MSP election bid for Holyrood last year, was being pursued by Glasgow City Council for council tax arrears.
Council insiders have said Spear – paid more than £25,000 for her council role, including as chair for its education committee – would not to be seeking re-election in this year’s local election poll.Mum-of-one Spear, who is also the SNP’s National Women’s Convener, took to Twitter last week and said the “harassment and misogyny” she had faced online had led to her decision to quit.She said her role “in politics is no more”.She added: “There will be many, many more women like me who will remove themselves from politics in Scotland because of the relentless abuse, harassment and misogyny."Something has to change!“Death threats can not be a routine part of being a woman in politics.“I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until it changes – politics is not a safe place for women in Scotland.”Spear previously said she and her family had faced threats after she “joked” about hating the UK online last year.Following the UK getting zero points in last summer’s Eurovision contest, she tweeted: “It’s ok Europe, we hate the United Kingdom too.
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