Malcom Cunning: Why will the city’s streets be cleaned for Joe Biden, but not for Joe Public?

A laudable ambition, but I wonder if she would be willing to look today’s generation in the eye when it comes to the state of our city under the SNP’s watch?

Perhaps she could explain why it’s acceptable for the city’s streets to be cleaned for Joe Biden, but not for Joe Public?

Joe Biden

Next week, a council committee will consider the results of the latest Glasgow Household Survey.

It tells us what Joe Public thinks of the council’s performance.

And it doesn’t make positive reading for the SNP.

Satisfaction with services provided by Glasgow City Council has fallen from 67% in 2019 to a record low of 48%.

There has been a general downwards trajectory since the SNP took control of the City Chambers.

Asked about specific services, the largest decrease in satisfaction was with refuse collection (by 21 percentage points) followed by street cleaning (by 10 percentage points) and recycling collection (by eight percentage points).

That is a staggering verdict of the failings of this current administration and its leadership.

The extensive survey was carried out before Susan Aitken’s disastrous STV interview, so

I can only imagine what the figures are now.

It’s time for the SNP to face reality about the impact of their decisions.

The state of our streets has become a national scandal, attracting negative attention in the UK-wide media – putting off people from visiting our city and harming our economy.

Susan Aitken has been criticised for her interview on STV

But what matters most is the poor service that residents are receiving.

And that is entirely due to council cutbacks, not the dedication of our hard-working refuse teams.

It’s not just bin collections that are causing anger in the city either – satisfaction levels are down for every single universal service.

Fortunately, there are still high levels of satisfaction with some individual services, such as museums and galleries, sports and leisure centres, and libraries.

That is testament to all the staff who have kept these facilities going during such a difficult period.

And it makes it even more galling that the SNP is prepared to cut so many of these vital services.

It takes some nerve for the First Minister – a Glasgow MSP let’s not forget – to boast in her Programme for Government about the importance of libraries.

“Libraries don’t just provide access to books – vital though that is – they also host a range of services that support wellbeing,” she told Holyrood.

I hope she has delivered the same message to Susan Aitken.

And let’s hope that some of the extra funding the Government announced for libraries makes its way to Glasgow.

But if it does, it won’t be because Aitken demanded it of her party colleague.

It’s painfully obvious that she isn’t prepared to stand up for the people of this city and is willing to turn a blind eye to the state of our communities.

Enough is enough.

Aitken claims the city only needs a “spruce up”. The reality is that the City Chambers needs spruced up with an administration that is prepared to put Glasgow first.

Our city deserves better – and the people of Glasgow are making that clear.