THE focus of newly-selected candidates of all parties is rapidly turning to the local government elections which are now just SIX weeks away. 

But, for those of us who are currently councillors, the work continues in the City Chambers with packed agendas at policy committees and decisions still being made on the scrutiny side that could impact thousands of Glaswegians.

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One of those decisions has been the ongoing debate around the enforcement of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) within Glasgow’s city centre. 

An initiative that restricts the type of vehicles that are permitted in an area based on the type of engine and emissions they produce. The proposal aims to tackle air pollution within our city.

Some would like to frame the debate as people for or against the plan but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

As a Glasgow Labour group we know that air pollution is a public health issue that affects and worsens the lives of so many in Glasgow but we also recognise that we do not need to choose between jobs and prosperity and tackling air pollution. 

It is a question of making sure that we build a lasting consensus and take everyone with us on this journey.

And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We have acknowledged the challenges industries, such as the taxi trade, have faced over the past two years with a lack of income and inability to work due to the pandemic.

We’ve acknowledged the lack of compliant vehicles available for purchase, as well as the uncertainty for companies offering retrofitting of engines. And we have acknowledged that Glasgow is already facing a crisis within our taxi industry and that this will only add to it.

The current SNP administration was determined that there was no problem. That taxi drivers, despite the last two years that they’ve had, were simply dragging their heels.

The truth is that taxi drivers know they are among the biggest beneficiaries of cleaning up our air. But they’re pleading for our help but still the SNP doesn’t want to listen.
We must clean up our air. Poor air quality destroys, and takes away, lives.

But we need to take a measured approach – one that doesn’t put young people enjoying our night-time economy at risk; one that doesn’t disadvantage people who need to get home after their shift; and one that doesn’t make our city even more inaccessible for those with mobility problems.

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We have listened to workers and trade unions in an attempt to find a solution: to give them just one more year, to get retrofitted and prepared. It was a solution to allow not only our taxi trade to recover but to allow the council itself to make its own fleet compliant.

And it was a solution that was rejected by SNP and Green Councillors; despite hearing directly from affected taxi drivers at yesterday’s Finance and Audit Scrutiny Committee and laying out the immense challenges faced by the trade.

Time and time again this minority SNP administration have shown their unwillingness to listen to workers genuine concerns. Glaswegians deserve better. In May, only Glasgow Labour can replace this failing SNP administration.