'Business as usual' last thing Glasgow needs

WHEN the acting leader of Glasgow City Council declared immediately after the abrupt resignation of Stephen Purcell that the council would be returning to "business as usual" it was meant to impart reassurance. For many it had the opposite effect. In the weeks following the mysterious disappearance of Mr Purcell, the ruling Labour group has sought to draw a line under the affair and to discourage further inquiries. This response has only helped to fuel questions over the city's gove

She attacked the manner in which council functions have been hived off to arms-length companies, asserted that accountability to the citizens of Glasgow is non-existent and that it was time "to shine a very bright light into the murky corridors".

In seeking to enforce closure on Mr Purcell's leadership, the Glasgow Labour group seems blind to the disquiet within the city over the affair. The city is not a private fiefdom but the largest local authority in Scotland, which must operate in an open, transparent and democratic manner. The response of "business as usual" will only fuel the questions – and a wider public mood for candour and disclosure.