Dozens of protesters from various trade unions gathered outside the city chambers this morning to oppose Glasgow’s budget for the coming financial year.
A sea of red, orange and purple flags were waved by members of the GMB, Unite the Union and Unison, as the SNP administration prepared to find savings of £49 million in a bid to close the budget gap. A further £40 million is estimated to be cut from health and social care services.
Chants of “what do we want? No cuts. When do we want it? Now” could be heard as campaigners demanded the return of the £500 million of cuts that Glasgow has experienced over the last ten years.
The scale of the cuts led to Labour, the Greens and the Conservatives refusing to put forward any alternative budget plans, and all three parties walked out of the meeting in protest, meaning the SNP was the only party left to pass its budget unopposed.
Labour were the first to leave the building, having never entered the council chamber. At 11am they exited the City Chambers, to the unexpected background music of disco classic No More Tears (Enough is Enough) by Donna Summer and Barbara Streisand.
That came courtesy of members of the Homeless Project Scotland who had brought along the loudspeaker to disrupt the meeting.
And while there were cheers from happy protesters at the move, the councillors were criticised by other political groups for not attending the debate at all.
Council leader Susan Aitken tweeted that: “Not turning up is not “fighting for Glasgow”. The consequences for Council staff & Glasgow’s services of not setting a legal budget would have been catastrophic.”
And SNP Erskine Councillor Michelle Campbell described the move as a ‘dereliction of duty’, tweeting: “It is a dereliction of duty to just not turn up for the budget. Moaning on the sidelines does nothing for the communities needing leadership through this incredibly tough time.”
Trade unionists on the other hand were delighted at the move saying it was “about time” that Labour decided not to be complicit in agreeing more cuts.
GMB union member, Barry McAreavey, said: “This is not before time.
“I have spoken to Labour councillors over the years and they will admit to being part of it, that they were making these cuts under the guise of austerity but eventually the penny has dropped with them that they can’t be complicit with that anymore as the city is in so much decline.”
Labour leader George Redmond branded the SNP budget “a sham” and insisted that Labour had had no other option.
He said: “Over the last two or three months the Labour group have been engaging with families, neighbours, friends and community organisations about the budget options that we had.
“There were severe cuts planned right across each service. What we got from them was that they had had enough. Not only have we had enough, the people in this city have had enough.
“Those cuts combined with the cuts since 2013 means we are approaching £500 million of cuts to this city. We are in a situation where we need to decide if we are complicit in a sham of a budget which takes money from the services that we deliver which has an impact on education, vulnerable people, people with disabilities, homelessness.
“We are standing up because the people of the city are demanding that from us - not to cut services that puts their life on the line.
“Why would you participate in a sham of a budget, which is made in Holyrood, by the political masters and being implemented in Glasgow.
“We have to make people aware in this city of what is being done to them by the SNP and the Greens. If we don’t do it this year, we will do it next year.
“We have made a statement to the people of Glasgow.”
GMB convenor Chris Mitchell said he hoped that every councillor who represented the city “did the right thing” and stands in solidarity with the general public and the trade unions.
He said: “This city, which is in decline, has had enough. If these cuts go through it is going to destroy the city.
“There has been £2 billion in cuts over ten years across every local authority across Scotland and £500 million of that has impacted Glasgow. We can’t accept any more cuts.
“The city is in decline and in despair because of these cuts and the public and the workers that serve them are simply saying they have had enough.
“Everybody in this city has got to come together to protest dramatically. Statutory services are in decline and people are going to suffer as a result. The workers are going to suffer. The public is going to suffer. I would actually contemplate calling a Glasgow strike.
“There has got to be a change right across the country. We have got to hit the reset button to try and come up with a new solution to this problem.
“I would like to thank everyone for coming as I think we have all had enough of these cuts. There is going to be an uprising for Glasgow to demand better for Glasgow.”
Members of the GMB Branch 40 agreed that “enough is enough” and the city should prepare for long-term campaign to “get the city back on track.
Jim Barr, member of Glasgow cleansing, said: “The amount of cuts we have had over the last 12/13 years has had a big impact on Glasgow.
“We just can’t afford it any more. It is getting worse and worse as the years go on. We need to make a stand, which we do every year, but they don’t seem to be listening.
“We are going to be involved in campaigns to get some investment back into Glasgow and turn it into the great city it used to be prior to these cuts.
“I would urge Glasgow councillors to take a look around and come back down to reality.”
Barry McAreavey, from the GMB, added: “It is sad that we need to do this every year. Part of our job as a trade union is to try and get the best deal for our members but it has gone beyond that now as we are trying to get the best deal for people living in this city.
“I am one of them. I live in the city. I use these services and my kids go to school here and I stay in Pollok. I can see that standards have fallen off a cliff because they have cut back on sweeping streets, bin collections and services that they used to provide to tenemental properties.
“We need that £500 million back to invest in our communities.
“Yesterday myself, Chris and a few councillors were in a back court in Cessnock. It was one of the saddest things I had ever seen with all this rubbish that had been lying there for years.
“In the midst of that, there is a wains chute that has been recently bought and a trampoline that is still getting used. People are having to live in the midst of that. I am actually heartbroken to see that as a father myself.”
Glasgow's Conservative leader Thomas Kerr said: "Every single year I have been elected we have had savage cuts from the Scottish Government despite them having a record funding deal with the UK Government. We have been asked to sit in there and pass £50 million worth of cuts and £40 million onto health and social care.
"It is ludacris. We will make our points and hold the SNP accountable unlike our Labour colleagues who have just walked out. We are standing up for the people of Glasgow."
And the Green Jon Molyneux said: "Green councillors have written to the SNP and city treasurer to say we can't support the budget that he is putting forward. We can't do that for two reasons. We have said all along that we wouldn't support cuts to statutory services which would put additional pressure on our workforce.
"This budget does nothing to address £40 million worth of pressures in our social work department. That's hugely significant and concerning for us. The Greens are leading the case for revenue raising powers within the council that we can use to make a difference. We're talking about workplace parking schemes, a tourist levy, greater ability to raise fees and charges across a range of our services.
"These are really important steps that can get more money into the council and actually give us the long term solutions we need to address Glasgow's funding challenges."
Labour Councillor Dr Soryia Siddique spoke outside the meeting and said: “Sadly Glasgow is now a mere shadow of its former self.
“During a cost of living crisis, this year services will see approximately 100 million of cuts between GCC and the health and social care partnership.
“While we agree with the overall aim of protecting teachers and supporting young people’s attainment in our schools, the Scottish Government is placing huge pressure on every single other service that councils deliver.
“We badly need major investment in our city, high quality public services, well paid jobs at all levels taking advantage of the growth sectors to drive our economy.
“Glasgow was once the industrial capital of Scotland and with hard work it can be again.”
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