SNP brings in ‘heartfelt leadership’ coach to end McMafia feud
BY TOM GORDON
IT may sound like a scene straight out of The Thick Of It, but the SNP has turned to a consultant specialising in “heartful leadership” to help end the socalled ‘Monklands McMafia’ row that has split the party in Lanarkshire.
Feuding has been so vicious that members in Coatbridge and Chryston are to be given lessons in being polite at a special meeting later this month.
The event will teach people “how to address one another”, according to party sources.
The Coatbridge and Chryston branch was suspended in February after a chaotic meeting ended in a walkout and members calling each “animals”, “racist” and “misogynist”.
The problems stem from a power struggle between the Monklands McMafia, an old guard linked to Uddingston and Bellshill MSP Richard Lyle, and a younger generation of activists close to Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill MP Phil Boswell.
To help heal the rift, SNP bosses have invited party members to a meeting on August 31 as the branch returns to normal business. It will be chaired by Ochil MP Tasmina AhmedSheikh, who also worked on a secret report into SNP feuding in Lanarkshire in 2012.
However, the most intriguing participant is Audrey Birt, an “independent coach and consultant” from Edinburgh, who will help members voice concerns in a “constructive discussion”.
On her website, Birt, who tried to become an SNP Westminster candidate in 2015, says her style is “people-centred and my passion is to enable individuals to achieve their potential”.
A senior SNP source said the event didn’t match the scale of the problems in Lanarkshire.
“It doesn’t address the issues in Coatbridge and Chryston. It’s paying lip service to the concerns of members. This is too little, too late.”
The McMafia saga took a fresh twist last week when the SNP reinstated a North Lanarkshire councillor who was suspended in February over alleged racism.
Julie McAnulty, who stood against Lyle for the SNP candidacy in Uddingston and Bellshill, was accused of referring to “Pakis” by one of Lyle’s employees, Sheena McCulloch.
McAnulty, who is suing McCulloch for defamation, said she was “happy and relieved” at being cleared of the racism charge.
A Labour spokesman said: “The atmosphere in the Coatbridge SNP seems utterly toxic.
“With a council by-election in Coatbridge next month, people will wonder why SNP members are being taught good manners rather than standing up against cuts to Monklands Hospital.”
Birt did not respond to request for comment.
An SNP spokesman said: “It was always the intention to restart branch activity after the [Holyrood] election campaign.” a