Glasgow's Getting Worse - Not Miles Better
"All the evidence shows that voters of all classes support the move to net zero. But they aren’t stupid. People won’t accept environmental policies unless they make sense and are fair" ¦ ✍️ @iainmacwhirter https://t.co/HZs72Ye0Uy
— The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland (@timesscotland) July 24, 2023
Iain Macwhirter on the impact the SNP/Greens are having on life in Scotland's largest city.
Motorists who enter Glasgow’s LEZ face fines of £60 for a first offence rising to £480 for repeated violations, unless they own a car less than eight years old for diesel and 17 years old for petrol. About 20 per cent of cars in Scotland wouldn’t qualify and about 35 per cent of vans. In the first month, Glasgow LEZ fines have been running at 100 a day, earning £175,000 for the council from the pockets of people who can’t afford to buy new cars.
Meanwhile Glasgow is overrun with rubbish dumpers and fly-tippers - yet the SNP/Green a 'Dumb Dumpers' hotline doesn't even work.
Glasgow Needs To Dump The SNP and Greens (July 12, 2023)
Glasgow City Council encourages its citizens to phone a special hotline to bring Dumb Dumpers to book, but if you call 0845 230 4090 a recorded message says you've dialled 'an incorrect number'.
Glasgow City Council - You Cannot Be Serious! (November 18, 2022)
I also reported the non-existent hotline to my local Glasgow councillors - on which more to follow soon.
But what does this say about how seriously the Council is taking the issue?
Dumb Dumpers, Dumb Hotlines and Glasgow Council (July 27, 2022)
When I discovered that Glasgow Council's 'dumb dumpers' hotline didn't even work the thought that went through my head was:
How come one of the city's senior councillors didn't realise this was all phoney and complete waste of time?
I mean to say, surely someone within the city council was monitoring the system and asking pointed questions such as:
1) How many reports have we received this month/year?
2) How many 'dumb dumpers' have we brought to book and prosecuted?
3) How are we sharing news of the council's 'success' in cleaning up Glasgow and encouraging more local people to get involved?
Glasgow - Gets Tough With The Fly-Tippers (July 26, 2022)
I say SNP led Glasgow Council is in denial over the filthy state of the city's streets and public spaces.
Thing is when you ring the Council hotline you get a recorded message which says:
"You've dialled an incorrect number, please check the number and try again."
So has the Council put its very best people on the job or is the SNP leadership just having a laugh?
Glasgow City Council - A Poor Show (June 07, 2022)
Council Services Bear The Brunt (June 06, 2022)
Torcuil Crichton's tweet highlights just how bad things are for Scotland's local council's after the SNP's 2022 spending review.
Council services and jobs face enormous cuts with zero growth in Scottish government grant funding, against a background of very high inflation.
ScotGov spending on health and welfare benefits has increased significantly since 2020 and ministers intend to protect these areas going forwards.
Interestingly, SNP ministers are not proposing to use the Scottish Parliament's tax raising powers to bridge the spending gap.