Last week, the SNP set their budget for Glasgow. Amidst the handwringing and the protests that they were not happy with the settlement given to local government, there was no effort to fundamentally challenge the absurdity of the entire situation.

How can SNP politicians in Glasgow go out and campaign for the very SNP politicians sitting in Holyrood, when they are wreaking havoc on public services here?

If SNP Councillors in Glasgow believe that their colleagues at Holyrood are failing to listen to them, then how can they continue to support them?

The truth is that the quality of public services here in Glasgow is subservient to their mission of independence.

No matter how bad it gets, no matter what new charges have to be introduced or who suffers as a result of cuts, SNP politicians will never truly break ranks because the goal of independence is worth all this suffering.

Glasgow deserves better than the SNP who kowtow to their bosses in Edinburgh.

Our city needs real champions who will stand up for local services and local people. It needs politicians who are honest about the challenge the city faces, and honest about the steps needed to confront that challenge. Surely the first is to get rid of the SNP government at Holyrood, which has shown itself to be indifferent.

I was reflecting on the other significant event to take place in 2014 – the best-ever Commonwealth Games. It really wasn’t that long ago – not even a whole generation.

And Glasgow did itself proud in staging those games. As with COP26, we became a focal point for people around the globe. Our typical Glaswegian hospitality was on full display, and the people of this city welcomed the world with open arms.

But the success of the games was also down to the strategic direction and investment from the council at the time. A council that, instead of sitting by as services were slashed, sought to invest in new sports facilities and new homes.

It is only a short period later, and Glasgow is caught in the clutches of managed decline. Once the fastest-growing urban area in the UK, we are now relegated to struggling to keep the lights on in council buildings.

What’s changed in that time? A lack of leadership and ambition from the SNP, both in the City Chambers and at Holyrood. And crucially, a lack of investment.

This year means that Glasgow has been forced to find cuts of over £400 million since 2013/14 – entirely down to the decisions of the SNP at Holyrood.

That’s £400 million of services that are forever lost.

Opportunities for our young people that will never be realised.

Opportunities to prevent illness and disease that will be foregone.

Some 400 million opportunities to make Glasgow a better, fairer, cleaner and greener place to live and work – gone.

This year, Glasgow Labour decided that enough is enough. The Scottish Government has attacked Glasgow for far too long.

Now is the time for Glasgow’s politicians to stand up and be counted.