AS I sat down to write this column, I could hardly have predicted what would transpire a mere few hours later. It is a watershed moment in Scottish, and UK, politics. The response has been mixed across the political spectrum.
I think regular readers of this paper will know – or at least guess – that I’ve never been a fan of Nicola Sturgeon in any of the 15 years that she has held Ministerial office. But it is always a significant moment in the political history of a country when a political leader – particularly one who holds such a dominant position – chooses to step down.
Regardless of your politics or your personal views of the First Minister, you cannot deny the importance of her announcement yesterday. In the face of huge challenges, particularly as a woman in front-line politics with all the gendered abuse that brings, she has held on for eight years as First Minister and seven years as the Deputy First Minister. That is no small feat.
In that time, she has made many mistakes. Some of the more recent ones I’ve written about here.
As she announces her departure from the stage, she leaves behind a growing mess of ‘loose ends’.
Teachers are on strike, and the revised offer has been rejected by the E.
The National Health Service is in crisis mode as it faces its greatest pressures ever.
Councils up and down the country, especially SNP-led Councils, are expected to achieve significant savings by reducing their Teacher numbers. This despite the First Minister claiming that reducing the poverty-related attainment gap was her defining mission for the duration of her time as First Minister.
And, with Glasgow City Council expected to set its Budget today, I am disappointed that attention will turn away from the impact of SNP cuts to Glasgow, and the First Minister will likely begin her farewell tour.
Undoubtedly, Nicola Sturgeon has become a polarising figure in UK politics.
There are a significant number of fellow Scots who remain deeply supportive, and a number that remain deeply sceptical. But she does command respect across the growing chasm that is the political spectrum in Scotland.
Though, it’s clearly not a mutual respect as she continues to fail her colleagues in Local Government.
Earlier this week, I and my Depute Leader Soryia Siddique, wrote to Glasgow’s MPs and MSPs. We asked them to commit to three simple pledges:
1. To protect the IJB Budget and to ensure that sufficient resources are made available to ensure that there will be ‘’No breach of statutory duties’’ contained in options decided by the IJB.
2. To pledge support to the City Council to ensure that the budget provides adequate resources to support our schools and our children’s education.
3. To pledge to sustain and maintain resources to enable Glasgow City Council to protect services.
At the time of writing, not a single SNP or Green MSP was able to commit to these pledges, including the First Minister.
Glasgow City Council will agree the latest of more than
£400 million worth of cuts at its meeting today. And the silence from SNP and Green MSPs is deafening. Our communities rely on these services, and they are willing to turn the other cheek.
Glasgow deserves better.
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