Leader of Glasgow City Council, Cllr Susan Aitken, has been grilled on the state of her city at the Scottish Affairs Committee.
Glasgow will be the focus of the world next week when global leaders gather to discuss action to combat climate change at COP26. However, the city has been derided for litter and graffiti problems.
Member of the Scottish Affairs Committee, John Lamont MP, questioned Cllr Aitken on preparations in Glasgow on Monday.
Mr Lamont said that he had taken pictures on his phone of the rubbish on his visit to Glasgow and asked Cllr Aitken if she was embarrassed by the state of the city
The SNP’s Susan Aitken replied that Mr Lamont was being gratuitous, and she had pictures on her own phone of rubbish in Edinburgh and London.
She later went on to say that Margaret Thatcher was to blame for the current state of the city, despite the former prime minister having left office 29 years ago. Cllr Aitken’s comments attracted widespread criticism in the national press and online.
John Lamont MP said:
“The UK Government has chosen Glasgow as host city for COP26 and it is a massive opportunity – once in a lifetime – to associate the city with world changing action to tackle climate change.
“Sadly, I arrived in Glasgow and saw that the state of the city has declined in recent months since the pandemic struck. I was hoping that recent press coverage of rats and dumped rubbish was being sensationalised, but I was wrong.
“This is a huge opportunity for Glasgow to shine, but with the city in a bad state and the Scottish Government unable to come to a deal to stop a strike by Scotrail, this will be made all the harder.
“COP26 has the chance to change the world for the better. It is time that the SNP leadership in Glasgow and Holyrood stepped up to the mark and got the city properly prepared.”
