Meet the Standards Commission's Members - Morag Ferguson

17th December 2025

1.       Why did you apply to be a member of the Standards Commission?

I was reaching the end of a long career in Local Government legal and governance services but wasn’t ready to ‘fully retire’, so an opportunity to use my experience in a different way was really appealing to me.

2.       What aspect of the role have you found the most challenging or surprising?

I had been aware of the work of the Standards Commission in my capacity as Monitoring Officer at a couple of Councils but had no real understanding of the work that goes on behind the scenes to facilitate the holding of Hearings and robust decision making. The small team of staff work really hard to ensure that everyone involved is able to fully participate and understand the process – even if they are not always happy with the outcome.

3.       What do you enjoy most about the role?

The work is really interesting and varied – it’s fascinating to me to see how other local authorities operate! I also enjoy working with my colleagues on the Standards Commission, who all bring different perspectives to our discussions, from their own professional and life experiences.

4.       What would you like to see going forward in terms of the conduct of councillors and board members?

I appreciate that all councillors and board members have strongly held views and opinions and I fully support their right to express these views. However, there is no doubt that the standard of public debate has deteriorated over the last few years – particularly on social media. I think that there is a risk that good and competent people are put off from standing for public office when they see the level of vitriol and personal abuse that is shared online and I would like to see all elected members call out this behaviour when they see it and try to encourage a more civil tone of debate, even when they disagree on the issues.

5.       And finally, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I am enjoying actually having some spare time after retiring from full time work. I enjoy walking – and listening to podcasts as I go. I now have the luxury of meeting up with friends during the week where we can enjoy long lunches and catching up and I have a huge pile of books that I have accumulated over many years but never had time to read!