Roller coaster is waste of money

WHEN the SNP ended four decades of Labour rule at Glasgow City Council last year, they promised to be a breath of fresh air.

The Nationalists successfully presented themselves as an antidote to a party who had become too comfortable, too complacent and too enamoured with the trappings of power.

Twelve months later, SNP Lord Provost Eva Bolander is bragging about her new Rolls-Royce and refusing to tell the public who paid for it.

In the history of poor PR decisions, it rates pretty highly.

How on Earth did anyone at Glasgow’s City Chambers think this would lead to anything but a furious backlash?

Can you imagine what the SNP would say if a Labour lord provost was swanning around in a £230,000 luxury car donated by a mysterious benefactor?

The row must be extremely frustrating for council leader Susan Aitken, who has impressed in her time in the job so far.

She has been brave in dealing with Labour’s shameful legacy of equal pay claims and spearheaded an ambitious campaign to secure the new Channel 4 headquarters for the city.

But the brutal truth is that this car controversy will be the first time many members of the public have taken any notice of the new administration.

At a time when services are being cut, there is a good argument for scrapping the lord provost’s chauffeur-driven cars entirely.

But it’s definitely wrong to be accepting gifts from anonymous donors without any public scrutiny.

The whole sorry saga is reminiscent of George Orwell’s iconic political satire Animal Farm.

It tells the story of a group of pigs who overthrow a neglectful farmer, only to quickly copy all of his vices.

Someone at Glasgow City Chambers should read a copy.