Profligate provost branded ‘Imelda Marcos’ says sorry
But she’ll only repay SOME of £8k expenses spree
GLASGOW’S Lord Provost was forced to make a grovelling apology yesterday after billing the taxpayer for 23 pairs of shoes as part of an £8,000 spending spree.
Eva Bolander, dubbed Scotland’s answer to Imelda Marcos, also told councillors that she would be paying back some of the money she had claimed.
Miss Bolander also put 14 dresses, five coats and a designer hat on expenses, while more than £1,200 went on haircuts, make-up and nail treatments. A further £297 of public money was spent on underwear and ‘hosiery’.
The SNP councillor has now said she ‘should not have chosen to reclaim’ for some of the items and has pledged to ‘repay the relevant expenditure’.
But critics have called for her resignation and slammed Miss Bolander for failing to apologise to the public.
In a letter to councillors, the Lord Provost, 59, wrote: ‘In submitting claims, I have always tried to ask myself the question, “would I require this if I were not Lord Provost?”
‘Each reclaim has been made in good faith and scrupulously accounted for.
‘Although the spending incurred was within the rules, on reflection there are items which I should not have chosen to reclaim.
‘I am sorry about that and I am in discussion with financial services to come to an arrangement to repay the relevant expenditure.’
Miss Bolander, who is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, became Lord Provost in 2017.
She faced heavy criticism in June last year for accepting on behalf of the council a gifted £235,000 RollsRoyce Ghost from confectionery tycoon Sir Boyd Tunnock.
Her expense claims, filed since May 2017, come after the cashstrapped local authority imposed a 3 per cent rise in council tax as part of efforts to plug a £40.9million funding black hole. Last night, Labour MSP for Glasgow James Kelly said: ‘The SNP’s Lord Provost has been caught red handed.
‘It’s only right that she will pay back some of the money she took from taxpayers for trips to nail bars, hairdressers and department stores. And it’s not only councillors that are owed an apology. The people of Glasgow are owed one, too.
‘She should cash her final expenses claims and do the honourable thing and resign.’
In response to her apology, Labour councillor Martin McElroy said: ‘The Lord Provost’s apology is a step in the right direction but ultimately her judgment is now in question.
‘This episode has rightfully caused outrage and undermined trust in the same week that organisations are highlighting the lasting damage of inequality in our city. These expenses were a slap in the face to thousands of struggling Glaswegians.
‘In the spirit of rebuilding trust and of Challenging Poverty Week, the Lord Provost should repay the funds towards tackling poverty in the city.
‘The Lord Provost should use these misspent funds to help contribute to the fantastic campaigners and organisations that are fighting poverty and inequality across Glasgow.’
In total, Miss Bolander claimed for 150 items of clothing, jewellery and make-up.
By contrast, Glasgow’s previous
‘Her judgment is in question’ ‘Slap in the face to Glaswegians’
Lord Provost, Sadie Docherty, did not claim any expenses for clothing during her tenure from 2015 to 2017.
Each local authority is given an annual £5,000 ‘civic allowance’ by the Scottish Government, which means it is funded by taxpayers across the country. The damning expenses revelations revealed that the Lord Provost also claimed £358 for a pair of spectacles, £200 for a hat made by William Chambers, £389 for Harris Tweed fabric and £55 for a blouse.
The expenses claims were disclosed through a Freedom of Information request made by the Daily Record newspaper.