Is Glasgow miles better with money than Edinburgh? – Helen Martin

Why is Glasgow’s pandemic-induced budget shortfall much lower than Edinburgh’s, wonders Helen Martin.

The city's budget shortfall, thanks to the pandemic, is £83.8 million (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

EDINBURGH’s budget shortfall, thanks to the pandemic, is six times the size of Glasgow’s. How did that happen?

And it’s £83.8 million, which amounts to £159 per resident compared to just £23 in Glasgow!

The pandemic wasn’t the council’s fault. If we all admired our council’s decisions, knew they were acting on our behalf, put our needs first, stopped acting like “owners” of the city and its people, had asked our opinion on trams, didn’t randomly ban cars from roads we and our businesses and communities need, didn’t expect the elderly and immobile to get on a bike or an infectious bus, and didn’t put over-tourism before those who paid their council tax, they might have had our support.

Edinburgh’s an affluent city. Not all, but many could afford a one-off voluntary payment of £159, lots who earn more than £100,000 could give £300-£500, and earners of £250,000 could chuck in £1000.

That could never happen with our council (even though they clear up the Meadows). They are very unpopular – though they might get donations from the tourist sector and cyclists.

Are they going to explain to us what they spent the dosh on over and above the extra funding already received from the government? And how can they expect the government to pay off such a higher debt than Glasgow’s? It seems a reasonable guess that the council tax will be hiked up even more than anyone expected. And that would definitely produce another black mark on their popularity rating.

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