'Tolling the Clyde Tunnel would be a tax on Glasgow'
This is yet another sign of skewed thinking from an SNP-run council backed by an [[SNP]]-led Scottish Government increasingly out of touch with reality.
Let's be clear: tolling the Clyde Tunnel would be a tax on work, a tax on NHS frontline staff, on patients - all in all, a tax on Glasgow.
Tens of thousands of Glaswegians use the tunnel every day.
For many, it's not a luxury route - it's essential.
It links communities across the city, provides vital access to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and is heavily used by NHS staff, carers, ambulance services, shift workers, and everyday families.
To charge people for using it would be economically reckless and morally indefensible.
What message are we sending to NHS staff on their way to a night shift?
That they should pay for the privilege of helping others?
What about patients needing treatment, or working parents on the school run before heading to their job?
This proposal would be a penalty for simply participating in daily life.
Let's also ask a basic but important question: why is maintenance of a piece of national infrastructure like the Clyde Tunnel still the responsibility of Glasgow City Council?
Where is the Scottish Government's leadership on this?
For 18 years, the [[SNP]] has been in control at Holyrood, and their answer to every problem seems to be the same: shift the burden and raise more taxes.
Scotland already has the highest income taxes in the UK, punishing ambition and making it harder for working families to get ahead.
Businesses are being squeezed by rates and regulation.
Under the SNP, council budgets have been cut to the bone, leaving bins unemptied and roads crumbling.
Now, they're salivating about slapping a toll on a tunnel - all while claiming to stand up for ordinary people.
A slap in the face more like it!
The truth is, this is part of a wider pattern.
The SNP Government is addicted to taxing rather than fixing.
Rather than grow our economy, they pile on costs.
Rather than invest in our NHS, they shift the blame.
Glasgow has already borne more than its fair share of cuts, underfunding and mismanagement.
We don't need more short-term schemes that punish people just trying to get to work or a hospital appointment on time.
I believe in a better way.
I've used my time in Parliament to campaign for real, practical NHS reform and improvement - including a new Drumchapel Health Centre.
I've argued for fair taxes that grow our economy, not punish productivity.
Glasgow needs infrastructure that connects, not tolls that divide.
Tolling the Clyde Tunnel would be a step backwards.
We need to back our workers, not bill them.
We need to improve access to healthcare, not make it more expensive.
And we need a government that sees the Clyde Tunnel not as a cash cow, but as a public good.
Let's ensure this wrongheaded proposal is rejected and start building a fairer, more forward-looking Glasgow.
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