A TRADE union boss has claimed that Glasgow is not fit to host the upcoming COP26 conference. 

The city is due to host the climate change conference later this year, with newly-appointed GMB general secretary, Gary Smith, claiming that Glasgow remains too "filthy" to welcome world leaders such as US President Joe Biden this November. 

He has also claimed that Glasgow communities have been left "abandoned" by the council. 

Speaking to the the Daily Record, Smith said: “The hypocrisy around this event coming to Glasgow is staggering.

"Glasgow has suffered huge cuts to public spending, the streets are filthy, the infrastructure is crumbling, the public realm is in a terrible state of decay.

“Working class communities around Glasgow have been absolutely abandoned by the council.

“We’ve got filthy streets and kids going to school hungry, and here we are welcoming the world to talk about this big new future.

"I am deeply uncomfortable with that. We don’t even have a publicly-owned, clean public transport system in Glasgow.”

The GMB boss also backed workers to strike during the event, which is expected to see thousands of people decend on the city. 

Smith said: “If our members say ‘enough is enough’ in the lead up to COP26 over cuts and over discrimination at work, this union will not be found wanting.

“The social and environmental issues in Glasgow would justify an industrial response.”

In response to the claims, a Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “This is a spectacularly facile understanding of COP and its importance to our communities, our city and the planet.

"The world isn’t coming to Glasgow as a special reward. We are upfront about the challenges our city faces and are the right host precisely because we still live with the decisions of our past.

“Presidents, Prime Ministers and other leaders have been clear they consider the event to be the planet’s best last chance to avert a climate disaster – and, here in Glasgow and across the globe, it is precisely the most disadvantaged communities that are at risk of being hit hardest by that chaos, despite contributing least to it.

“For Glasgow, COP is about attracting investment; making safer and healthier places to live; creating jobs and providing skills for a new low carbon economy; making our homes more affordable to heat and connecting communities with accessible, green public transport.

“We are the right host precisely because of the challenges we face as a post-industrial city, which are replicated across the world.”