The Scottish Conservatives would ensure that a fair funding deal for our councils would be enshrined into law, a policy I am proud to support.

Since taking charge in 2017, the priorities of Glasgow’s SNP administration have been clear. They’ve meekly accepted the cuts from their bosses in Edinburgh and put party loyalty over people by completely failing to stand up for this city. That attitude has had damaging consequences in communities. Not a day goes by that this paper is not filled with the cleansing crisis this SNP administration has failed to address.

Not content with Glasgow being named and shamed as the fly-tipping capital of Britain, the SNP’s response is to make it MORE difficult for residents to responsibly dispose of their waste by introducing a £30 bulk uplift charge. And not content with the endless photos showing overflowing bins and rodent infestation right across the city, the SNP’s response is to CUT refuse collections and expect Glasgow families to wait almost a month for their regular waste to be collected.

While residents deal with the aftermath of their disastrous cleansing policies over the past four years, SNP councillors bring forward motions to meetings of Glasgow City Council to discuss Catalonian independence. It might surprise them to learn that the internal politics of Spain are not within the remit of Glasgow City councillors but it won’t surprise Glaswegians to learn that their council’s leadership is completely distracted from their day-to-day priorities. Unfortunately, the proof of the SNP’s incompetence is written all over our waste-laden streets.

However, the Budget is a chance for councillors to choose a different path.

The Conservative Budget is unashamedly a cleansing budget and seeks to reverse the damage done to our city’s cleansing services over the past four years. I can confirm that the Conservative Budget proposals on Thursday will put a stop to the rollout of three-weekly bin collections and by September this year reinstate fortnightly collections across the city. It will further cancel the introduction of a £30 bulk uplift charge which will only exacerbate the fly-tipping crisis we face here in Glasgow. Moreover, our Budget plans would invest in the hiring of “Clean Glasgow” apprentices – tasked with assisting our overstretched workforce to tidy up this city as well as providing much-needed job opportunities for our young people.

I am sometimes sent abusive messages on social media because of how many times I continually raise local issues on behalf of constituents. Well I’m proud to be the “pothole boy”. It is not my job to concern myself with the politics of Catalonia but it is my job to focus on the day-to-day priorities of Glasgow residents. So yes, the Conservative Budget is a budget for potholes. It’s a budget for school catch up. It’s a budget that ends the SNP’s “pay more, get less” rip-off by freezing your council tax bills. And it’s a cleansing budget to reverse the failed policies of the SNP on bin collections and bulk uplift. It’s an opportunity to turn things around in this city and have a people’s budget focused on the people’s priorities.

At the end of this year we’re set to host world leaders for the COP26 conference on the environment. I would hate for any visitor to see Glasgow in its current condition. After four years of an SNP council destroying our reputation as the dear green place, let’s clean up Glasgow and give those world leaders a chance to see the best city on Earth in all its glory.