SECRETS ACT

The decision, pushed through by the majority Labour group on North Lanarkshire Council, comes in the wake of the Cumbernauld News explosive front page treatment of the vote which decides the fate of St Francis of Assisi, Cedar Road Nursery and other North Lanarkshire schools.

A roll-call vote demanded by the SNP opposition meant every councillor had to cast their vote in the full glare of publicity.

Parents in the public benches could see how their councillor voted, and the News published photographs of the five Cumbernauld Labour councillors, saying they had obeyed the party whip in the face of bitter and vocal public opposition.

A procedural change voted through two weeks later means 40 per cent of councillors must approve a roll-call vote in place of the previous figure of 25 per cent.

Opposition councillors say Labour's dominance means a roll-call vote will be impossible without their agreement.

The SNP's Alan O'Brien, who campaigned against the school closures, said: "It would seem that a Cumbernauld News headline naming and shaming Labour councillors has resulted in some drastic action to protect them from outraged voters.

"They are outraged that their betrayal of the community they are supposed to defend, has been reported."

He said councillors could now vote one way and tell consistuents something else.

His SNP colleague Councillor Tom Johnston warned that the move will "stifle debate" on the next round of school closures.

"Labour were rattled when the SNP demanded a roll-call vote. They clearly did not want their councillors who closed schools to be identified to constituents," he said.

"The new 40 per cent hurdle means individual Labour councillors can,in future, sneak out of closure meetings and claim they didn't vote."

LEADER DEFENDS MOVE

COUNCIL leader Jim McCabe said the changes are simply designed to get meetings under control.

He said: "It may just be grandstanding, but I can understand calling for a roll-call vote if the gallery is full.

"However, the schools meeting lasted eight and a half hours and seven roll- calls were made long after the gallery had emptied and were fully intended to just disrupt proceedings.

"Something had to be done to ensure that business was carried out the way it should."