Say what you want about Glaswegians, but we are proud of our city and its reputation for being welcoming.

Not just the welcome of its citizens but the welcoming nature of its local communities and open spaces. Not for nothing is our city called the “Dear Green Place”.

Over the course of an average week, I get a fair few emails from constituents who, being rightly protective of that reputation, are concerned about the condition of their locality commenting in their concerns re the condition of roads, pavements, litter or the maintenance of the many open and green spaces across the city.

All of this correspondence is borne of a desire among citizens to make sure that their own community and the wider city are safe, clean, well maintained and a nice place in which to live, work and play in.

As residents and tax payers, my constituents have the right to expect their local authority to be fully engaged in providing that safe and well maintained environment and not just in the areas of high footfall or tourist attractions, but across all of the city.

In addition, the city council, quite rightly, has an obligation to meet its contribution to national issues such as Net Zero carbon emissions and making sure we as Glaswegians “do our bit” when it comes to the challenges the planet faces regarding climate change.

Having spoken with the reasonable folk of Glasgow I recognise that they are happy to play their part in the challenges we all face as human beings in protecting our planet and understand, that in order to do so, sacrifices may have to be made. What they are not, however, are easily duped by SNP/Green spin and recognise cuts and lack of proper service being dressed up as virtuous contributions to climate change targets.

Hard-working Glaswegians looking to the SNP run local authority to keep their communities dear and green continue to see cuts in services leading to open spaces not being properly maintained, grass not cut properly (precluding children from playing or locals from walking their dogs), the growth of weeds near pavements and, as a result of cuts to waste collection, a rise in rodent activity.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am not blaming council operatives for this situation; they have to carry out the policies put on to them by their political leaders and deal with budgets sent down to them by the SNP and their Green buddies. Isn’t it ironic that the Greens are in every way as responsible for the decay of our “Dear Green Place” as the SNP as they continue to put their divisive independence agenda before local services at every turn.

For it is the SNP/Green and their service slashing budget in combination with additional charges for services such as garden waste collection which acts against our local areas being greener and more community-focused.

While the SNP/Greens talk big of biodiversity and encouraging small mammals and their habitats; Glaswegians look on at the well-manicured gardens around George square and wonder why those aims are not evidenced at the heart of the city.

Is it too much to expect consistency in their approach to the city environment and that ordinary Glaswegians can have local green spaces as nice as Susan Aitken is able to look on to from her office window?

Or is it, as many of my constituents suspect that the lack of maintenance of their local green spaces is not as a result of attempts to be environmentally friendly but as a cover for service cuts.

My constituents, quite literally I fear, smell a rat…