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SNP should ‘hang heads in shame’ over Glasgow fire and rehire plan – Alexander

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Cite

Paton, C. (2026, September 27). SNP should ‘hang heads in shame’ over Glasgow fire and rehire plan – Alexander. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/douglas-alexander-snp-glasgow-city-council-liverpool-scottish-b1298569.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-27 · by Craig Paton

Quick Summary

Scottish Labour leader Michael Alexander criticized the SNP-led Glasgow City Council for attempting a fire-and-rehire plan affecting over 20,000 non-teaching staff due to an equal pay dispute. Alexander called on the SNP to “hang their heads in shame” and vowed that his party would outlaw such practices if elected. Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth intervened to pause the process for further negotiations, highlighting the challenging historic context of the equal pay issues.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In October 2023, the Glasgow City Council planned to fire and rehire 23,000 non-teaching staff under new contracts to address a long-standing equal pay dispute. The unions protested this move, calling it "utterly immoral" and "shockingly deplorable." Following backlash and an intervention from Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, the council announced on Friday that it had paused the controversial plan, allowing further negotiations with unions Unite, Unison, and GMB to take place. Workforce convener Councillor Allan Casey expressed relief at reaching a position where Acas could re-engage in discussions to secure a fair pay structure for the future. Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra urged delegates to condemn the decision, stating that fire and rehire is an "abhorrent" way to treat workers.

Written for “Glasgow Fire And Rehire Dispute” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Glasgow Fire And Rehire Dispute
Politics · 8 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 25 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 30 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 31 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 65/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 55 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A is a general commentary on Scottish politics, while Article B discusses a specific incident involving the Glasgow City Council's fire-and-rehire plan.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A discusses a speech by Douglas Alexander about Scottish devolution, while Article B focuses on his criticism of the SNP-led Glasgow City Council's fire and rehire plan. These are different events.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A describes the immediate reaction to a fire and rehire plan announced by Glasgow City Council, while Article B discusses broader cuts due to public sector reform failure, indicating different events or later developments.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7934 article(s) · 65 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 65 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Craig Paton
46 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 During the campaign ahead of May’s election, Mr Swinney shifted his position on the development, which he said should be compared to the carbon implications of importing oil and gas.
🔮 Households assessed as being council tax bands A to D will receive the money, with Mr Healey telling the Commons the devolved nations will receive “their share”.
🔮 Households assessed as being council tax bands A to D will receive the money, with Mr Healey telling the Commons the devolved nations will receive “their share”.
🔮 It is not clear how much funding will come to Scotland as a result of the policy but the Scotland Office has said the Budget will result in a £600 million boost to the Scottish Government’s coffers.
🔮 It is not clear how much funding will come to Scotland as a result of the policy but the Scotland Office has said the Budget will result in a £600 million boost to the Scottish Government’s coffers.
🔮 It is not clear how much funding will come to Scotland as a result of the policy but the Scotland Office has said the Budget will result in a £600 million boost to the Scottish Government’s coffers.
🔮 The Scottish Labour leader will meet the Chancellor and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh this week.
🔮 Oil produced from development near Shetland will be sold on the open market, while the gas produced off the Aberdeen coast will be used to meet domestic demand.
🔮 But reports suggest the Rosebank oil field, which has often been clubbed together with Jackdaw, could be rejected.
🔮 The Scottish Government has still not confirmed its move away from opposing oil and gas by publishing a finalised energy strategy, with reports this week suggesting it could be late 2027 before the document is released.
Also by Craig Paton
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 46 articles by Craig Paton →

Topics

Glasgow City Council Labour Liverpool SNP Scotland

Subjects

Scotland GPE · 6× Labour ORG · 5× Glasgow City Council ORG · 3× SNP ORG · 3× Glasgow GPE · 2× Holyrood ORG · 2× John Swinney PERSON · 2× Liverpool ORG · 2× Jenny Gilruth PERSON · 1× Scottish Labour ORG · 1×

Narrative

“My challenge from this stage to our First Minister John Swinney is to work with us, because it’s not John Swinney’s Scotland, it’s not my Scotland, it’s our Scotland, and we must work together for our nation to fulfil its true potential,” he said.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-27
🔮 “So I give you this pledge today: In just a matter of months, it will have been outlawed by this Labour Government.”

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

The SNP-led authority announced on Thursday plans to sack 23,000 non-teaching staff, hiring them back on new contracts following a breakdown in talks with unions over a long-running equal pay dispute. asserted
authority → lead → dispute
But it took less than 24 hours for the plan to be paused, after an intervention from Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth. asserted
plan → take → Gilruth
“Just last Thursday, the SNP-led Glasgow City Council attempted to fire and rehire more than 20,000 of their employees,” he said. asserted
he → lead → employees
“This is happening not in 1926, conference, but 2026. asserted
This → happen → 1926
“The SNP should hang their heads in shame. asserted
SNP → hang → shame
“Let us be very clear from Liverpool – fire and rehire is a pernicious policy that is a scandalous way to treat any worker. asserted
that → let → worker
“So I give you this pledge today: In just a matter of months, it will have been outlawed by this Labour Government.” asserted
it → give → Government
New Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra urged delegates in Liverpool to back an emergency motion condemning the decision in Glasgow to “send the clearest possible message that the labour movement will never accept threats to working people”. asserted
movement → urge → people
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Ms Gilruth said the position from the council was “quite challenging”. asserted
position → speak → council
“None of us wanted to arrive at the position that we were in on Friday,” she said. asserted
she → want → Friday
“I’m very pleased that we were able to secure a pause in the process, that was my ask as Deputy First Minister that we pause the process to allow that intensive engagement to continue. asserted
engagement → ’m → process
Read More “So that’s exactly what we’ll be restarting from the beginning of next week to ensure we can get an outcome that will improve the pay of workers across Glasgow. asserted
that → read → Glasgow
“This relates to historic challenges that Glasgow City Council inherited in terms of equal pay, so they’re moving forward on those measures and we’ll work with the trade union partners to help support a resolution for the workforce.” asserted
we → relate → workforce
Glasgow City Council has been contacted for comment. asserted
Council → contact → comment
Mr Alexander also used his speech to call again for the Scottish Government to back two new technical defence colleges. asserted
Government → use → colleges
“My challenge from this stage to our First Minister John Swinney is to work with us, because it’s not John Swinney’s Scotland, it’s not my Scotland, it’s our Scotland, and we must work together for our nation to fulfil its true potential,” he said. asserted
he → work → potential
“John Swinney can choose to stand up for Scottish shipbuilding, or he can simply once again sit this one out. asserted
he → choose → one
Mr Marra, meanwhile, addressed Labour’s disastrous Holyrood election result in May, which saw just 17 MSPs elected. uncertain
MSPs → address → May
“The joy of July 2024 gave way to the pain of May 2026 – and the results in May hurt,” he said in his first conference speech since taking over in the job earlier this month. uncertain
he → give → job
“They hurt because we know Labour in power changes lives for the better. asserted
Labour → hurt → better
“Labour in power brings people together, while our opponents seek to divide us. asserted
opponents → bring → us
“In Scotland, we have some difficult truths to face up to – May was the sixth Holyrood election in a row where we have lost votes and seats. uncertain
we → have → votes
“Scotland knows what we are against. asserted
we → know → what
“We are against an SNP Government that has been in power too long, a Tory Party that should never be in power again, and a Reform party that would take us and this country to a dark and dangerous place.” asserted
that → take → place
He added it is “my job” to tell Scots what Labour is in favour of, including “social justice, good work, good housing, good public services”. asserted
Labour → add → justice
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