Thursday April 23rd 2026
Glasgow City Chambers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Sarah Hilley
A Glasgow councillor who is facing a code of conduct hearing has overcome a legal hurdle as part of a fight to have evidence heard.
In an “historic blow against the Standards Commission,” Councillor Fiona Higgins has been granted a Judicial Review, which will decide if a decision to ban productions at her hearing was “unlawful”.
The former teacher was reported to the Ethical Standards Commission after she made a comment about the council’s finance director on social media as she challenged proposed education cuts.
Councillor Higgins and her legal advisers want certain evidence presented at the conduct hearing but said the Standards Commission decided it was irrelevant and would not allow its inclusion.
Councillor Higgins said: “It prevents me from putting forward an effective defence.
“The evidence demonstrates the reality of decision making and level of transparency around education cuts, which made me feel I needed to speak out in the public interest.”
The local Labour politician added: “I’m pleased that the Court of Session has allowed my case to go forward.
“I’m very grateful to my legal team for their work in advancing my case and to those who have supported me in this including Paul McManus and Jack Irvine. Without that support, I would not have been able to bring this challenge. The reality is that many councillors simply cannot afford to challenge decisions like this, and that effectively puts justice out of reach for many.”
A statement from Ms Higgins and PBW Law described the latest outcome in her “freedom of speech battle” as a “historic blow against the Standards Commission for Scotland”.
In response to the latest development, the Standards Commission said: “The Standards Commission notes that permission was granted for the judicial review petition to proceed, but that the Court is still to make a decision on its merits.”
The investigation into Councillor Higgins was launched after she was reported over a 2024 post on X where she accused the former council’s finance director Martin Booth of abusing influence to “wilfully and cynically mislead councillors and the public” over proposed teacher cuts.
Her situation has attracted the support of Gun musician and multi millionaire businessman Paul McManus, who is also a major donor to the Labour party in Scotland.
Ms Higgins’ lawyer, Professor Peter Watson, of PBW Law, said: “Prior to a February 26 hearing with the Standards Commission (which had to be cancelled), we wanted to submit and rely on a number of productions at Fiona’s hearing before the Standards Commission. However, the commission ruled that these were ‘irrelevant’ and would not allow them to form part of the hearing.
“We argued that the productions must be allowed to form part of her hearing, as they are clearly relevant to her case.
“The commission dug its heels in and refused to allow the productions in. We therefore raised judicial review proceedings in the Court of Session.”
Professor Watson’s partner Michael McKitrick added: “When you raise a judicial review, there is a filtering process, and the court must grant ‘permission’ for the judicial review proceedings to go ahead.
“There was a ‘permission hearing’ last Friday (17th) and Lord Sandison presided.
“Lord Sandison granted permission for the judicial review proceedings to go ahead, and so Ms Higgins will now have a full substantive hearing in the Court of Session which will rule on whether or not the Standards Commission’s decision to ban the productions was unlawful.”
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