Fiona Higgins, a campaigning Labour councillor, will challenge the Standards Commission for Scotland at the Court of Session on Tuesday over a misconduct probe triggered by her public comments on Glasgow City Council’s plans to cut hundreds of teaching posts. Higgins has cross-party support for the judicial review, with backers saying the case is about protecting free speech.
The former teacher had claimed the public was misled over the plans. A complaint from former council finance chief Martin Booth alleged the post was “disrespectful, discourteous and public criticism of a council officer”.
Evidence row at heart of judicial review
Higgins’ court challenge centres on how evidence was handled in her case. The Commission refused to allow some of her evidence, dismissed as “irrelevant”, to be heard in her defence, and her legal team launched judicial review proceedings after claiming she was being denied a fair hearing.
On X, Higgins wrote: “Tuesday, my case against the Standards Commission comes before the Court of Session. It asks a critical question of Scottish democracy in 2026: Can elected representatives challenge power, present relevant evidence and still expect a fair hearing?”
In another post, the councillor for the Canal ward wrote: “Free speech is critical for a healthy democracy - and enhanced free speech rights for elected representatives exists for a very good reason. We must be free to speak in the public interest.”
McManus and political figures back Higgins
Higgins is being funded by rock star and Gun drummer Paul McManus, a major Scottish Labour donor, who said he believes she has been a victim of an abuse of power. “The irony is this is about free speech,” he said. “Yet the system appears to be preventing her from even putting forward the evidence she needs to defend herself.” He also accused public authorities of “trying to crush individuals”.
Former SNP Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “Totally unacceptable that democratically elected councillors can be penalised for doing their democratic duty. Officials have far too much power over elected officials in Scottish local government.”
Scottish Labour leadership contenders have also backed Higgins. MSP Joe Fagan said: “Fiona Higgins’s case raises important questions about the standards system for councillors and for our local democracies. I will follow Tuesday’s hearing and consider the court’s judgement carefully. The purpose of the system should be to uphold good standards of conduct and we have to be vigilant against overreach.”
MSP Monica Lennon said: “Councillor Fiona Higgins has been badly treated. People rightly expect their elected councillors to stand up for truth and justice. How Scotland is being governed under the SNP must change.”
FOI emails reveal internal dispute
In 2024, emails released under freedom of information legislation showed Booth recommending altering the wording of the budget proposal relating to teachers. He wrote: “Given our experiences last year when a leaked option led to a reaction from SG, I thought it might be safer to soften the wording into reform and transformation rather than pure teacher reductions while maintaining a clear narrative that this will require significant staffing reductions.”
Douglas Hutchison, the council’s former education director, responded by highlighting a lack of transparency. He wrote: “Thanks Martin, in terms of the wording, it is generally fine but I have an issue with the word transformation which suggests this is something positive which it isn’t, I prefer reform. Its difficult to agree something that doesn’t have on the face of it the potential staff loss and so lacks a degree of transparency.”
