The SNP faces bombshell allegations of internal deep-rooted sectarianism at the heart of its team leading Scotland’s biggest local authority. In an explosive memo sent to party headquarters, a councillor complained about “terrorist sympathisers” and “bigots” within the Glasgow SNP group.
In the complaint, passed to the Sunday Mail, Feargal Dalton alleged his colleagues were both “anti-Catholic” and “Provisional IRA sympathisers” and said the abuse got so bad he had considered quitting the party. He also raised concerns that the Glasgow SNP group was drifting away from the central party’s stance on issues such as abortion and Catholic education.
The SNP has been the ruling administration in Glasgow for the past five years. It took control of the authority from Labour, for the first time, in 2017 before retaining power in this year’s elections. According to a senior party figure, the complaint was “unresolved” and tensions remain within the group.
Another party member said there were “serious underlying issues” which have continued despite the election success earlier this year. Many councillors who were serving at the time of the complaint are still in office, including Dalton, who is married to SNP MP Carol Monaghan.
The memo, sent to the SNP’s compliance officer Ian McCann, detailed a series of incidents the councillor believed to be anti-Catholic, which took place in 2018 and 2019. Dalton said: “I put forward a motion relating to the centenary of the Education Act 1918 and Catholic schools to coincide with Nicola Sturgeon’s address to the Annual Cardinal Winning Lecture...
“I expected some discussion about Catholic education but was content that with the SNP being in support of Catholic schools, there would be no major issues. What I didn’t expect was open and brazen anti-Catholic rhetoric. It was truly shocking. I had to respectfully remind colleagues that I am a Catholic but this made no difference.
“The hate just kept flowing. I hadn’t realised some people in Glasgow still possessed such deep-seated irrational hatred for me and my faith community. Maybe, I’ve been living in a bubble but I was, and still am, totally shocked that people have such prejudices and felt so comfortable expressing them.”
Dalton claimed he was asked to withdraw his motion about Catholic education, and added: “Fortunately, my colleague Eva Bolander [former lord provost] realised the shocking nature of what we had witnessed and the political opportunity missed.
“She organised a civic reception celebrating Catholic schools which received extremely positive coverage”.
Dalton also claimed that two SNP members were excused from voting in support of Armed Forces Day during a full council meeting “essentially because they are Provisional IRA sympathisers” and said he was forced to withdraw a motion in support of the RAF after being “openly ridiculed” by colleagues.
In further allegations, Dalton said he had been threatened with sanctions after raising concerns about the party’s stance on buffer zones outside hospitals. He said: “I went to the leadership to say this should not be something the SNP takes a line on and that I couldn’t vote for a motion that describes abortion as healthcare, besides the fact the motion was looking to restrict people’s right to free assembly. I was told I would be sanctioned.”
Dalton refused to discuss his complaint, telling the Sunday Mail he had “no interest” and “zero time” to go into the issues. But a Glasgow SNP source said the concerns were “shared by others, not just Feargal” and there were still problems within the party.
They said: “There are people in the Glasgow SNP group who are Catholic and for them this has been difficult. The complaint wasn’t really addressed at all, in the sense there was no group meeting or any sort of sanctions against anyone perpetrating this abuse.
“Feargal decided in the end not to leave the SNP, so I suppose it’s not surprising he wouldn’t want to go into all this now, never mind the fact his wife is an MP. He wouldn’t want this to impact her standing within the party.”
However, another SNP source dismissed Dalton’s complaints as “total rubbish” and denied any anti-Catholic bias within the group.
They said: “Feargal took the huff because, as a group, certain positions were decided upon that he didn’t like. He has decided to play the ‘faith card’ when that isn’t a fair reflection of the situation. It’s total rubbish.
“I’m appalled what he has said in this complaint about his colleagues. I think he should apologise.”
Responding to the complaint, McCann said it is “clearly not an acceptable position” for the group to be operating in and added there should be a “degree of sensitivity around any topic where someone’s background or faith might influence their viewpoint”.
He requested a meeting with Dalton. However, sources told the Sunday Mail there was no wide discussion among the SNP group about Dalton’s concerns and it is unclear what action the party took to address the issues.
Sandesh Gulhane, a Scottish Conservative MSP for Glasgow, said: “Nobody should have to go through abuse because of their faith, especially not from the very councillors supposed to be representing Glasgow’s local communities.”
The SNP were approached for comment but failed to respond.
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