SNP veteran warns colleagues not to make political capital from Commonwealth Games

Usain Bolt at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
-Credit: (Image: 2014 Getty Images)


An SNP veteran has warned colleagues not to make political capital out of the Commonwealth Games amid concerns that staging it again will be a gamble for the party.

It was announced last week that Scotland’s largest city would put on the event again more than a decade after hosting the £543m sporting spectacular in 2014.

Some party insiders told the Sunday Mail they feared that if a single penny of public money was spent on the 2026 event it could be a car crash for the SNP given its proximity to the Holyrood and council elections.

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But former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “I would urge people not to make political capital out of it and just celebrate a good thing. It’s about sports, not politics so let’s not make it into something it isn’t.”

Leader of Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken said there will be no need for taxpayers’ cash as the funding is coming from the previous hosts Victoria. The Australian state had to withdraw its bid after costs spiralled and will now contribute £100m towards the Glasgow event.

One SNP insider said: “There is a political concern that it will be seen as a downgraded version of the 2014 games. It will be coming up to the Scottish Parliament and council elections around the time of the Games and if it’s not a big success and there isn’t the same level of public buy-in as there was in 2014, what will that symbolise?”

Ian Blackford
Ian Blackford -Credit:PA

Former Glasgow South MP Stewart McDonald posted on social media last week: “Almost everyone in politics who I’ve talked to thinks this is a bad idea, and yet it has run away with itself and got to this stage. The idea that it won’t cost the public purse any money is demonstrably not true.”

Austin Sheridan, a former SNP councillor in Glasgow also said: “I agree. With the current pressure on public finances there are very few members of the public out there who are in the mood for this or feel it is a good way to spend public money. We should have said a clear No from the beginning of the process of finding a new host.”

Asked if spending public cash on the Games, or if it ended up being a flop, could be damaging to the SNP council leader Aitken said: “I’m not setting out for the Games not to go as planned. We’ve been hosting and indeed delivering major events incredibly successfully and I see no reason why this should be different.”

Aitken said the Games shouldn’t be compared to 2014 and they would be a “great thing in their own right”. She said: "We want to get it back to a more manageable scale that could allow other cities a chance of bidding and hosting in future.

“Both the Scottish Government and ourselves have been very clear that we are not the funders of these games - the Commonwealth Games Federation is and they have taken it on in that knowledge.

"As part of the package there is a contribution for the city and some capital funding towards our venues. We’ve made it clear that if there are additional costs on our services then we would look for that to be covered as well.

"The bottom line is that we won’t be spending public money and the First Minister has been equally clear that the Scottish Government doesn’t intend to do that either.”

A date has yet to be set for the 2026 event but some details have been confirmed including that only 10 sports will be happening as opposed to the 23 Victoria had planned to stage.

Athletes are also expected to travel to the city for a few days only to compete rather than stay for the full fortnight of the event.

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