LAST Thursday’s council meeting should have been an opportunity to come together and celebrate the power of cross-party working.

After a lot of work by my colleague, Thomas Rannachan, and the Feed the Weans campaign, the council agreed to write off school meal debt.

Estimated to be sitting at around £300,000, this is a big help to families who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

But instead, the meeting descended into chaos. Regular readers of this paper will have read the outrageous events that transpired, causing great disruption to the meeting and embarrassing those involved. And, crucially, it took attention away from the really important work that council achieved that day.

The whole episode was ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

It reminds me of when I was first elected to the council. Back then, the Lord Provost was the irreplaceable Susan Baird. In my first few months, I had the cheek to arrive for meetings in a suit, but with no tie.

Appalled by this lapse in my behaviour, Susan took me aside and said: “You’re representing the East End of Glasgow. You have to present yourself appropriately at all times.”

I never forgot that simple message, delivered with all the bravado that only Susan could get away with.

The lesson still rings true to this day, and it runs through the Code of Conduct to which we, as councillors, are bound. Not only must we act properly, but we must also be seen to act properly. Because the public, rightly, expects high standards from those they elect to serve our city.

It is incumbent on all of us in public life to live up to those standards.

Something that, sadly, was not on display in Glasgow City Chambers last Thursday. Something that Margaret Ferrier – the disgraced MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West – failed to live up to.

But the last few days should not mean that we forget to scrutinise the new SNP leader on his priorities in office. Yes, it’s been a rough start for Humza Yousaf: the SNP’s poll ratings crashing, appearing to sack his main rival for the leadership and his SNP deputy leader, and now a potential by-election in Rutherglen.

But remember when the spotlight was fully on Humza Yousaf, he took the opportunity to spend public money and appoint a dedicated Minister for Independence.

Despite the appearance sometimes, words don’t mean much. It’s actions that matter.

During the campaign, Humza Yousaf pledged to bring his party and his country together. And some of his first acts were to get rid of Kate Forbes and to appoint a minister for tearing the country apart again.

The public expects very high standards of their elected representatives – quite rightly. But the SNP have shown consistently that they fail to meet those standards.