A VETERAN Highlands councillor has left their role with immediate effect because of “serious hate incidents” and social media trolling.
Maxine Smith, a member of the Highland Alliance group, was a representative for the Cromarty Firth area of Easter Ross but made the shock announcement she would be stepping down on Monday.
Smith, who was previously a member and leader of the SNP group in the area, said she had left her position at the Highland Council after 18 years, claiming she was the victim of bullying and threats made against her.
She added that she was going to step down from the council in May 2027 but made the decision effective immediately as she wants to be “an ordinary human being”.
Addressing her decision, the John O’Groat Journal reported she said: “I know it will come as a surprise that I’ve announced my intention to stand down imminently.
“It has been a tremendous honour to be re-elected four times by the people of the Cromarty Firth ward and for the most part I have enjoyed my job.”
“However, there have been some extremely stressful and worrying moments during my time as councillor and in the last few years there have been serious hate incidents where I’ve found myself at the centre of false allegations that were headlined in the press; I’ve been trolled on social media time and time again by people with opposing views and I’ve been the victim of bullying and threats from people, mostly for things I was innocent of.
“Nevertheless, I was going to stay until the end of my term in May 2027, but now due to personal reasons I feel I must stand down.”
Last year, Smith was suspended by the Standards Commission after an investigation found she discriminated against a colleague because she was pregnant.
At the time Smith said she decided to defend herself against 15 different charges, before the watchdog decreased it to two.
Smith denied the claims, but was suspended from the council for one month.
In her announcement, Smith went on to thank the people who had voted to elect her as a councillor over the years, stating it had been an honour serving the area for such a long period of time.
“This has become a frightening world to live in and I just want to be an ordinary human being,” she reportedly said.
“I’m sure I’ll continue to be far less than perfect in the future but at least I will not have the weight of being a councillor on my shoulders if I made a mistake.
“I thank my voters for the honour of serving them for such a long time. I know I’ve helped bring tens of millions of pounds into the local economy and personally helped hundreds of my constituents but it’s finally time to retire from Highland Council.
“As well as the haters there are some wonderful, kind and compassionate constituents who I’ll never forget and some with whom I’ll retain a lasting friendship. I’ll miss many of my long-serving councillor colleagues too.”
