A COUNCILLOR found to have a BNP past stayed away yesterday as political rivals voted on his future.
Former Tory councillor Stephen Goldsack (pictured, right) was not present in the specially convened debate at North Lanarkshire Council offices yesterday morning.
He had his membership rescinded by Tory officials last month after it emerged that he had been the BNP’s “Scottish security adviser”.
The ejection was backed by Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, but came after local Tory group leader Meghan Gallacher (pictured, below) defended Goldsack against allegations of prejudice.
They were made to the public standards watchdog over comments allegedly made over a mosque planning application.
Yesterday councillors voted unanimously to call on Goldsack, who represents Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead, to resign.
A motion put forward by the SNP’s Danish Ashraf was passed with no objections.
However, Goldsack was not present for the decision, having earlier given his apologise for non-attendance.
Now sitting as an independent, he did not respond to The National’s request for comment last night. It is not known if he will continue as a public representative in the three-member ward.
But after the vote took place, councillor Ashraf commented: “Despite the absence of Goldsack I’m pleased that every councillor has accepted our motion in a unanimous cross party call for his resignation.
“I hope despite his previous grievous actions and comments he will now leave himself some dignity and resign his office.
“The people of Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead ward deserve someone whose views are coherent with a diverse and equal Scotland.”
The motion read: “This council condemns all forms of discrimination and believes that all elected members have a duty to speak out against racism and sectarianism; therefore, given comments allegedly made by councillor Goldsack at a recent planning meeting and his previous involvement with the far-right BNP, calls on him to resign from North Lanarkshire Council immediately.”
Meanwhile, a second motion calling for Gallacher to be replaced as convener of the local authority’s Audit and Scrutiny Panel over her “inability to scrutinise her own party members” was defeated.
Before the vote, a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives accused North Lanarkshire’s SNP group, which proposed it, of “trying to bully a young woman out of a job”.
Yesterday councillors agreed to “take no action” against Gallacher after the motion was amended by the eight-member Tory group, which is in coalition with the 33-member Labour group.
SNP group leader David Stocks accused the largest party of “throwing the kitchen sink” as an effort to deflect from the issues at hand.
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