An SNP councillor was warned to watch his language after he accused political rivals of “wanting to kill people” during a debate on independence.
Will Mylet was scolded by Provost Lorraine Cameron after a lengthy rant, in which he claimed the Labour and Conservative parties were “more than happy” to plough cash into nuclear weapons and having “the ability to commit genocide”.
He said: “You want to kill people, you don’t want to feed people.
“That’s the difference and that’s what I want to change.
“I want Scotland to be away from nuclear weapons and your parties support Trident on the Clyde.
“They will never remove it, it will never appear in your manifesto.
“Again we’ve got the crocodile tears, every single time.”
Councillor Mylet, who represents Paisley East and Central, then shifted his focus to Conservative austerity, adding: “This amounts to no more than the murder of the people that you’re here to look after.”
As tensions began to rise in the chambers, Conservative group leader Neill Graham interjected with a point of order.
“I’m not getting accused of this,” he said. “You need to watch your language.
“You can’t accuse fellow members of killing people.”
Councillor Mylet was reprimanded by the provost, who chaired the full meeting of Renfrewshire Council.
She said: “Councillor Mylet, please watch the language you use when you’re making your contribution.
“It has upset people in the chamber.”
However, the SNP man refused to relent.
He declared: “That’s why I’m passionate about independence, because I believe we can do much better.
“We won’t take things out on the poorest people in our society, we will look after them.
“The Tories will not and that’s why I have the views and opinions that I have of them.”
The code of conduct for councillors stresses the need for them to respect fellow members and treat them with courtesy.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the Conservative group’s leadership consider Councillor Mylet’s comments to have fallen short of such provisions.
It is their intention to raise the matter with the Standards Commission for Scotland – the ethics watchdog for those involved in public life – and write a letter to the provost to express concerns about management of the meeting.
Councillor Graham said after the meeting: “We are disgusted by the comments. They have no place in civilised society and debate.
“We all have points of view that will differ but we don’t think that language is constructive in debate.
“If the SNP want independence, that type of language won’t win people over.”
When contacted, Councillor Mylet said he was “surprised” the Conservative group have now “taken exception” despite him making similar comments in the past.
He added: “Maybe now they’ve finally realised what people actually think of them.”
During the debate itself, 22 members backed a motion supporting a second independence referendum, while 19 voted for an amendment, which said it should not be a priority. There were two abstentions.
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