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SNP-run council accused of ordering cleaners to tidy streets in Sturgeon’s constituency ahead of Anas Sarwar visit

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in Govanhill, part of Nicola Sturgeon's constituency, to highlight the lack of refuse collection in the area - Stuart Nicol
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in Govanhill, part of Nicola Sturgeon's constituency, to highlight the lack of refuse collection in the area - Stuart Nicol

Anas Sarwar has accused an SNP-run council of dispatching cleaners to tidy the streets of Nicola Sturgeon's constituency shortly before an election photocall he held on Thursday to highlight their dirty condition.

The Scottish Labour leader claimed that cleansing workers in Glasgow Southside, which is the First Minister’s constituency, told him they were ordered to do a clean up operation ahead of his visit to the Govanhill area.

The Daily Telegraph photographed three bin lorries and street cleaners that turned up shortly before Mr Sarwar's election stop. Local residents said it was not the normal day for the refuse collections to occur.

Ms Sturgeon has faced repeated accusations throughout the Holyrood election campaign of dropping the ball in her own backyard, with cleansing, poverty and housing being huge issues in Glasgow Southside.

“I met cleansing workers there who were telling me about the huge cuts they’ve seen, not just in terms of staff but also in terms of the investment they’ve had,” he said.

Glasgow City Council refuse workers clearing the street an hour before Anas Sarwar's planned media event - Stuart Nicol
Glasgow City Council refuse workers clearing the street an hour before Anas Sarwar's planned media event - Stuart Nicol

“They were also telling me about how whenever they hear that there’s going to be a political visit, either from Nicola Sturgeon or when they heard that I was going to be visiting Govanhill today, they were ordered to go and do a clean up operation the night before.

“Because there’s going to be a politician visiting, they didn’t want it to be a bad site for when the cameras turned up.”

Chris Mitchell, the GMB convenor for cleansing in Glasgow, told the Daily Telegraph that the council ordering clean ups ahead of high-profile visits is “common practice” throughout the SNP-run city.

Mr Mitchell said the orders come through Glasgow City Council’s management team, which forces workers to be redirected from planned cleaning schedules and means that planned routes get abandoned.

“Somebody paying council tax won’t get their street cleaned today because they’ve been rerouted - it’s beyond me,” he said, describing the practice as “despicable”.

“We’ve been debating with the council and Scottish Government that Glasgow is facing a waste crisis. It’s shocking that when someone high-profile is visiting that they’ll put a sticking plaster over it.

Anas Sarwar talking with Glasgow City Council refuse workers  - Stuart Nicol
Anas Sarwar talking with Glasgow City Council refuse workers - Stuart Nicol

“When he [Anas Sarwar] leaves, that place will be left another two or three weeks.”

Accusing the SNP of “burying their heads in the sand” over the issue of cleansing in the city, he warned that workers “cannot provide a service” with existing staff numbers because their budget has been halved in the last eight years.

Mr Mitchell also warned that tourism in Glasgow could be harmed if the Scottish Government fails to address the situation urgently, with the city set to host COP26 in November.

Mr Sarwar, who lives in the constituency and is standing directly against Ms Sturgeon for the seat, branded the clean up orders as “not acceptable”.

“Nicola Sturgeon has taken her eye off the ball in terms of home turf, in terms of her constituency,” he said.

“There is poor housing in Glasgow Southside, there is too much unemployment, there are large parts of communities that feel unsafe and insecure, there are huge parts of the population that are being exploited by gangmasters in Glasgow Southside,” he added.

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “This didn’t happen. Managers made no such an instruction – and, if anything, Govanhill received a slightly reduced service on Wednesday after crews were evacuated from their depot due to a fire.

“However, the council does have a whistleblowing policy – so, if the person who claims they received this instruction has any evidence of that, we would obviously look into it.”