BRAAT: I HAD TO ADAPT AND THINK DIFFERENTLY
Lord Provost talks to Glasgow Times about his ‘unusual’ first year in office
WHEN Philip Braat was elected as Glasgow’s Lord Provost one year ago today, he had plans to modernise, reshape the role and reconnect the ancient civic office with his fellow citizens.
The Lord Provost title dates back to the 15th century and the latest holder said he wanted to make it more relevant to the 21st century.
It is almost Burns’ Night and you know what the bard said in ‘To a Mouse’ about the ‘best laid schemes’, ‘they gang aft agley’.
As the coronavirus pandemic began to take a grip and lockdown was announced just two months later, events forced a rethink but also offered new opportunities for Glasgow’s first citizen to put much of his plan into action.
He said he wanted to be, and to be seen to be, hands on.
The Labour councillor was elected after his predecessor SNP councillor, Eva Bolander, resigned from the role after her spending of the personal allowance that comes with it caused controversy.
While Mr Braat, an experienced councillor with 12 years under his belt before he became Lord Provost, recognises the importance of the formal meet and greet function of the Lord Provost, he wanted to be playing a part even when the chain of office was not round his shoulders.
He said: “It’s been a very extraordinary and unusual year.
“The day after I was elected there was already reports about coronavirus but I never expected the pandemic the way it come about.
“I had to adapt and think differently and do things differently.”
He wanted to ensure the public knew and understood the work the Lord Provost team does for the city.
More engagement with the city’s young people was something he was particularly keen to focus on.
He could see how it can be viewed by some as “archaic and old fashioned” but he said: “There are times when you need the formal approach.”
However, what he has done in the months since March, with the city under lockdown and health, care and council services under pressure, was to prioritise the practical approach ahead of the ceremonial.
On March 25, as soon as lockdown started, he launched the Lord Provost appeal for business to help donate PPE supplies and for staff to volunteer to help deliver essential services.
He said: “I wanted to go out during the pandemic and help and help in communities. I have been able to do that.
“To give a thank you to the groups in communities but also go out and actually help, not just turn up wearing the chain for a photo.”
His diary shows the range of visits.
He said during the first few months he spent a lot of time at the Salvation Army base in his own council ward helping delivering food parcels.
At the height of the pandemic and lockdown in April and May, work included delivering meals in Maryhill with G20 Festival Kids, In Possilpark with Young People’s Futures and at the Drum Foodbank.
Meanwhile, supplies of PPE and hand sanitiser were coming in form businesses large and small including whisky firm, Edrington and Irn-Bru makers, AG Barr.
The community work continued with work across the city with the G13/14 Hub, Arc Milton and St Paul’s Youth Forum in Blackhill among others.
And a shift with GMB members on the bin lorries to say thank you to the workers out keeping the city clean during the lockdown.
When the pandemic is over, he said he will continue the community work at the same time as the formal role, including helping to bring in conference and business to the city, which will be of enormous
importance for economic recovery.
Mr Braat said he wants to focus on assisting with homelessness in the city, promoting the green agenda and exploring how we attract greener investment for Glasgow. In the year and half he has left in office, he said he will work with the council’s political leadership of Glasgow’s climate agenda and the opportunities the UN COP26 summit brings.
A big part of the Lord Provost role is in the conference sector. Mr Braat said the attendance of the civic head at a function is important as it shows the city is paying attention and recognises the organisation involved.
And the sector is worth hundreds of millions to the city economy with many people’s jobs dependent on it.
The Lord Provost said he has looked back on the last year but wants to continue to look ahead to how Glasgow recovers.
He said: “This has been an extraordinary year, filled with many unique challenges and often personal tribulations for all of us.
“But it was also a year that made me proud of my fellow Glaswegians, as I saw, and still see, people from all walks of life coming together to help their neighbour and their fellow citizen, while showing compassion towards those less fortunate through the largest to the smallest acts of kindness.”
Being out in communities meeting workers and volunteers has given the Lord Provost a close up view of the work people do.
He added: “It was also a year that made me feel thankful for all of our health care staff and the numerous key and frontline workers from all sectors, who have kept our city and country running, and who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to keep us safe, under the most unusual and difficult of circumstances.
“I have seen that work and compassion first hand. They all have my deep personal gratitude.”
I wanted to go out during the pandemic and help and help in communities