‘Delusions of grandeur’ tag over Glasgow name change
● Leader insists new name reflects work ethic of new administration
Glasgow councillors have been accused of having “delusions of grandeur” after renaming the administration as the City Government.
Snp council leader susan aitken insisted the name change showed her team’s ambition to do more for the city, but Scottish Conservative Glasgow MSP Adam Tomkins branded the move nothing but a “stunt”.
Older residents may recall a time when a local authority was known simply as the corporation or town council. But the ruling administration in Glasgow has chosen a new name for itself – City Government.
The SNP ended four decades of continuous Labour rule at the ornate City Chambers in George Square at last year’s local elections, pledging to offer a new vision for Scotland’s most populous council area.
While the name City Government refers only to the ruling group of councillors – Glasgow City Council remains the official name of the organisation as a whole – some have questioned whether such a title is appropriate, with one MSP suggesting it smacked of “delusions of grandeur”.
But council leader Susan Aitken insisted it reflected her team’s ambition to do more for the city than previous administrations.
“City Government is a term the political leadership of this authority has used both before and since the local government elections of 2017,” she told The Scotsman. “We use it because that’s precisely what we do.
“We publicly stated before the election that we wanted to be more than just an administration, that we would provide leadership and a vision for Glasgow. City Government reflects the importance of running Scotland’s biggest city and biggest authority within Scottish local government.”
Scottish Conservative Glasgow MSP Adam Tomkins said that administration names changes should not be a priority.
“Quite why the SNP thinks it has the naming rights over Scotland’s largest city is a mystery,” he said.
“Instead of stunts like this, the Nationalist administration should be buckling down and working for the people of Glasgow. Voters in the city won’t take kindly to these delusions of grandeur.”
A council source told The Scotsman: “Perhaps during their time at the helm Glasgow Labour were happy to just administer. People voted for change and the SNP’S job is to govern.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “The authority still uses the title Glasgow City Council. City Government refers collectively to the political leadership of the council – much as the former leadership referred to itself as an administration.”
The leader of Edinburgh City Council, SNP councillor Adam Mcvey, said there were no plans for the capital to follow Glasgow in renaming the administration.