Glasgow Council In Denial (July 25, 2022)

The Times highlighted the terrible complacency at the heart of SNP led Glasgow City Council with its report on Glasgow being named as the third dirtiest city in the world.   

The paper reminded readers of what the city council leader, Susan Aitken, had to say last year ahead of COP26:

“I do not, in any way, shy away from the challenges that we face as a city, historic challenges that have been around for many, many years. Much of them a legacy of our post-industrial past when the Thatcher government walked away and abandoned Glasgow and left in neglect communities right across this city.”

For the 'hard of remembering' Mrs Thatcher left office in November 1990 when Cllr Aitken was just 18.

But GCC's head of communications, Colin Edgar made even things worse by 'rubbishing' (if that's the right word) the council's critics: 

“An impression has grown that the city is uniquely dirty compared with other cities and uniquely dirty when compared with this city in earlier moments in time.

“Neither of those things is true. Glasgow is not the dirtiest city in the world or in the UK or even in Scotland, nor is Glasgow dirtier than it ever has been in the past.”

Well I've lived in Glasgow a long time and while it's full of decent, friendly people I can honestly say the city is far dirtier than I can remember - and it's also much worse than lots of other towns and cities I've visited recently, both at home and abroad.