Revealed: Council chief did fail to declare her husband’s £1 rent deal
THE SNP leader of Scotland’s largest local authority is facing calls to resign after failing to declare her husband’s bargain £1-a-year council rent deal.
Last week, the Scottish Mail on Sunday revealed businessman Gordon Archer was among the first in line to benefit from a new policy pioneered by his wife, Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council.
After a £345,000 refurbishment, the keys to 11 empty councilowned shops were handed to aspiring entrepreneurs and arts groups to boost the economy in the city’s east end.
However, in all the council publicity promoting Ms Aitken’s Meanwhile Spaces project, there was no mention of the fact that her husband was among the first key holders. After a council selection, he moved his Sogo arts company into a double-fronted shop in Saltmarket,
where neighbouring traders pay the council hundreds of pounds a month in rent.
When asked whether Ms Aitken should have formally declared her husband’s participation in the scheme, the council said she had done nothing wrong and she would be happy to disclose his involvement at any relevant meetings.
But a spokesman insisted: ‘To be clear, circumstances have not arisen where any such a declaration should or could have been made.’ However, inquiries by this newspaper have found that Meanwhile
Spaces was discussed at a council meeting chaired by Ms Aitken five months after Mr Archer was accepted as a tenant.
On June 13, she chaired the city administration committee which, among other things, noted ‘the progress achieved to date with the Community Business Boost, Meanwhile Space and Glasgow Business Step Up initiatives’.
Yet minutes of the committee meeting contain no record of Ms Aitken declaring that Mr Archer had been accepted as a Meanwhile Spaces tenant on favourable terms on January 24.
Ms Aitken had a second chance to make a personal declaration when these committee minutes came up for ratification at a meeting of the full council on June 27.
Again, the minutes of the council meeting show no record of her declaring anything.
Our disclosures have outraged opposition members on the council.
Thomas Kerr, leader of the Conservative group, said: ‘The biggest issue I have is that there was an update on Meanwhile Spaces on June 13, when Susan Aitken failed to declare her husband’s involvement in the scheme.
‘This was a meeting I attended as member of the committee.’
He said the SNP leadership that swept to power in 2017 had promised to ‘shine a torch’ on cronyism, which had beset the previous Labour administration.
Mr Kerr added: ‘It appears Susan Aitken has simply reused the batteries to shine the torch on herself.
‘I believe she should be considering her position as leader of the council. She has been humiliated since taking office on a number of issues like this example of nepotism and bullying of her own councillors.
‘You have to ask yourself, “Is Susan Aitken the right person to lead this city?” I don’t think so.’
A council spokesman insisted there was no reason for Ms Aitken to declare an interest at either meeting in June.
He said: ‘The licence awarded to Sogo by City Property is not a registerable interest.
‘Councillor Aitken was not required to declare it at the meeting on June 13 or June 27 either.’
However, the council failed to give any reason why there was no requirement to make a declaration.
The Councillors’ Code of Conduct says it is not necessary to place the financial interests of a spouse in the official register of interests, held in council HQ.
However, when it comes to meetings, councillors need to think what the public perception might be.
It states: ‘The key principle is the need for transparency in regard to any interest which might (regardless of the precise description of relationship) be objectively regarded by a member of the public, acting reasonably, as potentially affecting your responsibilities as a councillor and, as such, would be covered by the objective test.’