Glasgow welcomes back the Commonwealth Games - but with some concerns

The return of the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2026 will bring a welcome boost to a city that has endured a tough few years. Covid lockdowns emptied office blocks and temporarily closed the Dear Green Place’s famous hospitality industry.

Life has returned to the city centre in the years since but businesses have in turn been shuttered by soaring inflation and brutal energy bills. There have also been growing concerns over the state of the city, with litter piling up, in some streets for months at a time.

The arrival of a large-scale sporting jamboree in less than two years should be a time for celebration. It will bring an influx in visitors and investment. But many Scots will be asking how such an event can be paid for at a time of wider cuts to public spending.

READ MORE:NHS and social care targeted as Scottish Government faces £1billion black hole

READ MORE:Independence campaigners need to admit their flawed economic case lost them the referendum

The Scottish Government is aware of such concerns and has insisted it will not be picking up the bill for the Games. The event will instead be funded by private investments, ticket sales, ­broadcasting revenues and millions in compensation paid to Commonwealth organisers after the previous host state in Australia pulled out.

This commitment on spending must be iron-clad. There can be no appeal for bailouts in the run-up to the 2026 event. No community centres or after-school clubs in Glasgow can be closed to hand public cash to the Games.

At this stage, we must take organisers at their word and welcome the return of an event that brought such joy to ­Scotland in 2014. We can all look forward to a golden summer of sport in two years’ time.

Take-off and lend

The Scottish Government has been praised for trying to create a fairer tax system that places a greater burden on the broadest shoulders. By using tax-varying powers granted to Holyrood, the SNP has long advocated for higher rates of tax in Scotland for medium and high earners.

This is the correct approach but only when the public are sure they are getting better public services as a result. Few of us would agree that Scotland is streets ahead of our southern neighbours when it comes to the NHS or education as a result of these extra taxes.

That’s why we should look at other ways to raise money for services we all rely on – which don’t hit hard-working families. One method is the jet tax proposed by campaigners – hitting the super-rich every time they fly from a Scots airport.

Such methods – alongside windfall taxes on the profits of energy and tech giants – are a way to get money from those that can best afford it. If that can ease the burden on the rest of us, it can only be a good thing.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.