SHOCK AND ROLLER
Fury as Lord Provost of cash-strapped flaunts council £230k luxury motor supplied by mystery donor while needy residents struggle to cope with austerity
A COUNCIL have sparked fury by unveiling a £230,000 Rolls-Royce for their Lord Provost.
It was a gift to Glasgow but critics insist its use during tough times is wrong.
A CASH-STRAPPED council will spirit their provost and VIPs around in a chauffeur-driven RollsRoyce – while pushing up costs for public services.
The civic leader sparked fury after tweeting a picture of herself with the flash motor, telling how she was “thrilled” to accept the gift “to the city”.
Glasgow’s SNP-run administration are now under pressure to reveal details of the anonymous benefactor after calls for transparency.
Critics said it leaves questions over what the donor might ask for in return, and sends out the wrong message at a time of austerity.
Lord Provost Eva Bolander said the gift was an act of “civic generosity”. She said: “I want Glasgow to show its best face to the world and this gift will help us do that. “It’s a show-stopping car and a tremendous asset.”
The luxury car would cost about £250,000 new. The 6.6-litre, two-year-old RollsRoyce Ghost would struggle to get from one side of the city to the other on a gallon of petrol.
Green Party leader Patrick Harvie, a Glasgow MSP, said: “Glasgow City Council want the city to ‘show its best face to the world’, and this apparently means both pollution and privilege.”
Paul Sweeney, the Labour MP for Glasgow North East, added: “It’s Dickensian to have the Lord Provost of Glasgow swanning around in a new chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce while local council services are cut by SNP austerity.
“Auction it off to fund services for Glaswegians.”
Opposition councillors insisted the gift should be openly declared.
Labour group leader Frank McAveety said: “The council said they would be open and transparent but the people of Glasgow would like to know where it has come from.”
Tory councillor Thomas Kerr said: “When the civic head is donated a car worth more than £230,000, it is expected that the source of that donation is declared. We need real transparency.”
Embarrassingly, the car was parked on double yellow lines for at the promotional photoshoot outside City Chambers.
According to its MoT history, the petrol-fuelled car was registered on March 1, 2016, and used to be silver. The council said it will replace a Volkswagen Phaeton that was due to have its lease renewed.
A council spokeswoman said: “When the donation was offered, it was made clear the donor wished to remain anonymous. The chief executive of the council personally carried out a diligence exercise, looking into the donation and donor. She was of the view that there was no conflict and that it was to the city’s benefit to accept the gift. On that basis, she was content to agree to the donor’s request for anonymity.
“The donor donated the car – not the money to buy the car. If they had donated money, we would not have spent it in this way. It will reduce the council’s expenditure on transport as they have included two years’ warranty and servicing.
“It’s important to remember this is a donation which has not cost the council anything and in fact will save money.
“It would clearly not be appropriate to buy a car such as this but, having received it as a donation, there will be occasions when it is appropriate to use it.
“The car’s engine category is Euro V, which was the strictest standard when it was produced and remains the second strictest standard today. It meets the low emissions zone threshold.”
The Rolls-Royce was unveiled as Glasgow grapples with a tight budget and tough spending decisions. Nursery fees are set to increase to help plug a budget gap while free swimming is being axed.
Last month, Government figures revealed a surge in the number of poorer residents asking for emergency cash.
Applications for the Scottish Welfare Fund nearly doubled since 2013. Crisis grants more than doubled, too.
City leaders and the SNP Government at Holyrood have condemned austerity being imposed through Tory cuts at UK level.
And the impact of Universal Credit – already causing a spike in debt in other areas – has yet to be fully felt in Glasgow.