AN SNP former minister has apologised for sharing an attack on the Scottish secondary school where Labour’s candidate in the Rutherglen by-election works.
Clare Haughey, who represents the constituency in the Scottish Parliament and was formerly minister for children, shared a blog post attacking Labour candidate Michael Shanks’s record as a modern studies teacher.
Talking Up Scotland, a pro-independence blog, obtained exam results data for Shanks’s department at Park Mains High School, in Renfrewshire.
Shanks has taught at the Erskine school since 2019 and the data appeared to show that on the two comparable exam years – discounting the pandemic when traditional exams were paused – modern studies pass rates at the school had fallen at most levels.
John Robertson, who runs the blog, also claimed the results achieved at the most recent set of exams showed pass rates under the national average.
Rutherglen Labour candidate's underperforming Modern Studies Department does not encourage https://t.co/GPvYTspZMN
— Talking-up Scotland (@ProfJWR) August 10, 2023
Robertson, who published the story under the headline “Rutherglen Labour candidate’s underperforming Modern Studies Department does not encourage”, said the results “cannot be presented as other than disappointing”.
He wrote: “I know, I know, the Labour candidate is only one of 4 staff responsible for these results but they cannot be presented as other than disappointing in terms of temporal decline and comparative weakness.
“I’m not sure then how the Labour candidate can be presented as the kind of ambitious, energetic and demanding person, the folk of Rutherglen and Hamilton West deserve as their MP.”
Late on Thursday night, Haughey shared the story on Twitter, captioned only with the eyeballs emoji, usually used to indicate that something is interesting or revealing.
Her post sparked fury on social media, with some calling for Haughey to be suspended from the SNP.
Robert Smith, a geography teacher at Lanark Grammar School, tweeted: “This is absolutely disgusting to be using a school’s exam results for political gain.
“What an embarrassment Clare Haughey is. Delete your post and apologise.”
Cameron Wyllie, a retired headteacher who writes about education for The Scotsman, said: “Politics apart, Clare Haughey MSP’s efforts to smear Michael Shanks, the Labour candidate in the forthcoming Rutherglen by-election, through a discussion of exam results in the school he teaches at, are a new low in Scottish politics. She should be ashamed of herself and sacked.”
Monica Lennon, Labour MSP for Central Scotland, tweeted: “This is a new low from the SNP that will sicken many of its own members and supporters.
“For the sake of the pupils and teachers targeted by this vile blog, the least Clare Haughey can do is delete the tweet and apologise.”
The Scottish Sun reported an SNP spokesperson as saying: “Clare has removed the tweet and apologises for any offence it caused."
