THE SNP’s local elections campaign has hit further turbulence as it emerges watchdogs’ are investigating a high-profile candidate while the bid to take Glasgow faces infiltration allegations.
Rosa Zambonini, a candidate in Lanarkshire, is facing a hearing into claims she failed to disclose that she worked for a senior MSP in her declaration of interests.
SNP sources have said the North Lanarkshire councillor had failed to inform party headquarters of the Standards Commission hearing ahead of the selections.
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Ms Zambonini could face suspension from public office just four weeks before the May 4 poll, throwing the already fraught campaign to win control of North Lanarkshire into further difficulty.
In Glasgow, Graham Campbell, a former candidate for Tommy Sheridan’s Solidarity party and partner of SNP MP Ann McLaughlin has passed vetting following an appeal and will attempt to secure selection for a ward in the north of the city.
But the move has sparked major disquiet amongst many in the party around Glasgow, with sources claiming SNP ambitions to replace Labour as the city’s ruling party could be damaged by a culture of “entryism”.
Previously involved with the Scottish Socialist Party, Mr Campbell stood as a candidate for Solidarity in the 2012 local council election and for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in the 2010 general election in Glasgow North East, where he polled 0.6 per cent.
Party sources though have expressed concerns that as recently as a year ago he campaigned for Rise, the socialist party and SNP opponents for the leftist, independence-supporting vote.
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He was also reported to the procurator fiscal in 2014 after an incident involving former SNP councillor Billy McAllister who was also charged and suspended from the party but the case was dropped.
The SNP is already under pressure to drop Glasgow candidate Allan Casey over Facebook posts from 2012 supporting the Provisional IRA.
One senior source said: “Graham associates himself with Tommy Sheridan and George Galloway and adopts their confrontational and divisive approach to politics. It’s not a brand of politics the SNP in Glasgow is wanting to import and present to the city. It’s entryism, it’s toxic and unpleasant.
“We had people with no party connections become MPs in 2015.That’s accepted. But when you’ve stood against the party several times and campaigned against it less than a year ago you should maybe be required to spend a little longer as a member before becoming a candidate.”
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The Standards Commission confirmed Ms Zambonini’s hearing was in relation to a potential breach of section four of the councillors’ code of conduct, which covers registration of interests. The agency also confirmed the complaint related to Ms Zambonini’s work within the office of Glasgow MSP James Dornan.
Another source said: “Updating your register of interests is pretty basic stuff, especially when your role is publicised. “Informing the party which is vetting candidates that you’re facing a hearing is even more a basic.
“This is wrap-on-the-knuckle stuff but has put us in a very difficult position. How can she not have been aware of the timing here?”
An SNP spokeswoman said: “Mr Campbell has never hidden his past affiliation with other parties.”
She added: “Although we understand this to be technical breach, we can’t comment further on an ongoing Standards case.”
Mr Campbell declined to comment and Ms Zambonini was unavailable.
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