Party is out of ideas, claims SNP city leader
Political Correspondent ABOUR has run out of ideas and lacks the vision and ambition to be given another five years in charge of the city, according to the woman who wants to lead an SNP council.
Susan Aitken, SNP group leader, hopes to move into the Leader’s Office in the City Chambers after the election on May 4.
She said the present occupant, Frank McAveety and his team have no fresh initiatives to meet the challenges of the future.
As the election campaign reaches its final weeks, the parties have produced their manifestos and are busy in communities knocking doors and seeking the support of voters.
Ms Aitken said: “I think that the past five years has really shown why they have come to the end of the line and the past couple of years – in particular there is nothing new coming from the top, they have completely run out of ideas. There’s no vision there’s no ambition.”
Five years ago, against expectations, Labour held the council with 44 seats to the SNP’s 27 giving Mr McAveety’s predecessor Gordon Matheson a majority of four.
LMs Aitken said: “I would openly say that in 2012, for whatever reason people didn’t think the SNP were ready. We didn’t give them enough reason to vote for us. “But I don’t think in 2012 people voted for Labour with enormous enthusiasm.”
Ms Aitken, who is a candidate in Langside, said that what is being achieved is other people’s ideas or national priorities.
She added: “The council is doing good things but it’s being done by officers.
“There is no leadership, no political vision there are great officers with great ideas and they often struggle to get those ideas implemented and into practice because there is a paralysis in the leadership of the Labour Party.”
She said Labour’s manifesto contains old commitments stating the plan for a city energy was first raised years ago but not delivered.
She said it was a reheated promise, childcare was a Scottish Government policy and he Jobs Guarantee was something also being delivered across the country.
Ms Aitken added: “You might as well call it the Ecclefechan guarantee. Simply putting Glasgow in front of it doesn’t make it a Labour success.”
Even the Commonwealth Games, she said, was down to partnerships and 80% Scottish Government funding.
Ms Aitken added: “There have been some good things happening in this city but they are not all down to Glasgow Labour, but they try to claim credit for other people’s work, for other people’s achievements.”
Mr McAveety said there was much to be done and Labour was rising to the challenges.
He said it was building on previous accomplishments and taking policies like on education to the next stage.
The Shettleston candidate who is in his second stint as council leader having held the post from 1997 to 1999 when he left to become an MSP in the first devolved Scottish Parliament.
He has been council leader since 2015 and said the trust put in the party at the last election has been met with delivered promises.
He said:” We were told five years ago we weren’t going to be the administration and we managed to buck the trend of that. We’ve delivered on all the key manifesto commitments from then.”
Mr McAveety said rather than being out of ideas Labour has a strategy to help people in the city prosper.
He said: “We have major plans for growing the Glasgow and the city region economy.
“We have big commitments on what I call the schools revolution. We’ve delivered on the school estate and we will be investing on the sustainability of the teaching staff and the general attainment in the city.
“So the next big challenge is the digital revolution. I believe in creating opportunity. If you’re a young person this city council is trying to make sure you have a chance in life. Those are Labour values.
He said Labour is focussed on what matters to people in the city ensuring a quality of living and opportunities for the next generation.
Mr McAveety said: “We want people to have the chance to work to have a good quality house and we want to make sure we are funding public services properly. That’s what Labour is fighting this election on and that’s what I will put to the peo- ple and I hope people are going to give us their trust again to make sure the city is moving forward rather than backwards.”
Since the 2014 referendum Labour has suffered wipe-out defeats in Westminster and a Holyrood elections in Glasgow.
But Mr McAveety said people vote on local issues and local priorities and he expects a different result.
He added: “I think people look at council elections as who runs the city and about services.
“On the doorsteps people are concerned bout the impact of the budget cuts being passed on to the city. Most folk accept decisions on that have been made in Edinburgh.”
Frank McAveety’s column on Page 19