Moray Council leader Kathleen Robertson breaks into tears while apologising over handling of potential library closures
Moray Council’s leader broke down in tears in what was a dramatic start to a special council meeting to discuss the handling of library closure proposals.
A press release issued by the council’s Tory administration - quoting council leader Councillor Kathleen Robertson (Conservative, Forres), deputy leader Councillor Donald Gatt (Conservative, Keith-Cullen) and Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP Douglas Ross - seemed to indicate that the local authority were dropping the plans.
However, a retraction and apology was quickly issued stating that the proposals have not been axed, but rather the Moray Conservatives will not be supporting them. No formal decision - set to be made in the new year - has yet been made by councillors.
As a result of the ensuing chaos, the SNP opposition group on the council lodged a special Notice of Motion expressing a lack of confidence in how the administration had handled the matter, which they claimed disrespected both the wider democratic process and the employees potentially affected by the proposals.
The motion - lodged by SNP group leader Councillor Scott Lawrence (Forres) and seconded by deputy group leader Councillor Sonya Warren (Buckie) - also called for further training on the Councillors’ Code of Conduct to be undertaken and, should this fail to transpire, for the council leader and deputy leader to refer themselves to the Standards Commission.
Reading from a prepared statement, Councillor Robertson told the meeting that both she and Councillor Gatt had acted “as quickly as possible” to rectify the mistake.
She said: “Both Councillor Gatt and I regret the mixed messages given to the staff and the public arising from the press releases.
“Whilst we all recognise mistakes happen I want to reiterate that once we realised the party’s mistake we acted as quickly as possible to remedy the situation, including our sincere apologies to the public through the media, a written apology to staff as well as a written apology to all elected members.
“Unfortunately we cannot undo this regrettable event, however I can guarantee that both Councillor Gatt and myself as well as members of the wider Conservative Party have learned lessons from this and have proactively taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again.
“We totally understand the stress caused by this by our actions and for this we are terribly sorry.
“Both Councillor Gatt and I have committed to undergoing refresher training on the Code of Conduct…we hope others will join us for the training.
“For me personally, I am deeply sorry my trust with the elected members, the staff and the public has been eroded.”
Councillor Robertson then broke down in tears leading to the meeting being adjourned for few minutes.
On the resumption of the meeting, Councillor Derek Ross (Independent, Speyside-Glenlivet) hit out at the SNP motion, slamming it as “party politics and gesture politics at its very, very worst”.
He said: “We all make mistakes; as councillors we all must have empathy with the situation the council leader and her administration finds itself in.
“My experience is that the council leader has worked tirelessly to make this a more collegiate and inclusive council. It is small wonder that we cannot attract more women into local government when she’s treated like this.
“It’s my view that this is party politics at its very, very worst. This is also gesture politics at its very, very worst which, as I stated earlier, is wasting time and money which could be better spent elsewhere.
“If there was ever an argument for no party politics in local government, then this is certainly it.
“It is very, very sad in this season of goodwill that some councillors - who, I’m sure, have made mistakes at some points in their lives - cannot feel a bit of compassion and seem to want their pound of flesh.”
However, Councillor Lawrence hit back at claims the motion was politicised.
He continued: “I would like to address Councillor Ross’s point that this is maybe a waste of time, [that] we shouldn’t be doing this and it is overtly party political.
“There was a great deal of time and thought put into this Notice of Motion and the action we should take.
“There were meetings with the [council] chief executive and the monitoring officer to discuss the best way for us to take this forward.
“We carefully worded this Notice of Motion and if Councillor Ross can find any reference to any political party in this Notice of Motion I’ll be happy to discuss that with him.
“It was deliberately depoliticised and deliberately focused around the procedures and the ways of working we have in this council.
“I recognise what gesture politics is and I know what it is when I see it. I do not think that this is gesture politics.
“I also try to employ empathy towards fellow human beings never mind fellow councillors in everything that I do, so I refute any accusation that there is a lack of empathy being deployed in this. I have tried to do it in the most thoughtful way possible.”
Summing up at the end of the meeting, Councillor Lawrence thanked those present for their input.
He added: “I thought it was important to have this meeting to get this issue out in front of everyone in the council and I feel the Notice of Motion and your [Councillor Robertson’s] acceptance of the first four points has done that.
“I look forward to moving on, as others have stated, to continue working in the interests of the people of Moray.”
