Glasgow has 17 of Scotland's 20 poorest 'hoods

[Ronnie]

... according to a report published today. BBC Scotland has the story:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3805031.stm

Whar's yer City of Culture noo?

[duncan]

"Glasgow: Scotland with poverty"

[glasgowgub]

shocking as it is ,good to see that my south side suburb (castlemilk) didnt make the top ten,must be number eleven!

[escotregen]

Some factors, as always, are common to the poorest listed neighbourhoods. For one thing, many of them are dominated by the council; in fact in several cases (Queenslie, Barlanark etc.) they were invented, built and managed by the council. Interesting that the same council that has preserved for generations these neighbourhoods with their heritage of poverty and deprivation is the same council that cannot preserve the Greek Thomson heritage, is strangely muted/silent on the struggle to reform and preserve Scottish Opera and over several years has 'redeveloped' city parks like Tollcross into car parks with attached leisure centres. Of course all this has nothing to do with politicians who harvest votes from the poorest neighbourhoods and few votes from culture, arts and decent civil society. Oh, and the responsible Scottish Executive Minister for Communities was 'nat available' for the Riddoch programme at lunch time today to discuss the index her department published... a bit like Jack McConnell's golf club dinner displacing the D Day memorial?

[PlasticDel]

Yeah I saw some of this report in my local paper. I live in the UK's fifth poorest town. What a sucky thing!

1. Cumnock
2. Belshill
3. Kirckaldy
4. Clydebank
5. Irvine

7 out of the top 10 on the list are in Scotland. Shocking!

Personally I blame the government (who else?) pushing wealth into areas and concentrating it there. Like Edinburgh, and the parliament building, and the way they tried to shut down the agricultural college in (rural) South Ayrshire and move it to an already wealthy part of Edinburgh!

What?

[KonstantinL]

They must have forgot about Airdrie/Coatbridge!

[escotregen]

I think different surveys are maybe being mixed up here? The Index that Ronnie refers to was published yesterday by the Scottish Executive and deals with local neighbourhoods and not towns or cities, it's also concerned only with Scottish neighbourhoods and not ones elsewhere in the U.K.

[PlasticDel]

Oh.

[Strike Team]

Some factors, as always, are common to the poorest listed neighbourhoods. For one thing, many of them are dominated by the council; in fact in several cases (Queenslie, Barlanark etc.) they were invented, built and managed by the council. Interesting that the same council that has preserved for generations these neighbourhoods with their heritage of poverty and deprivation is the same council that cannot preserve the Greek Thomson heritage, is strangely muted/silent on the struggle to reform and preserve Scottish Opera and over several years has 'redeveloped' city parks like Tollcross into car parks with attached leisure centres. Of course all this has nothing to do with politicians who harvest votes from the poorest neighbourhoods and few votes from culture, arts and decent civil society. Oh, and the responsible Scottish Executive Minister for Communities was 'nat available' for the Riddoch programme at lunch time today to discuss the index her department published... a bit like Jack McConnell's golf club dinner displacing the D Day memorial?

The cooncil is indeed a big part of the problem. For decades Glasgow Corporation refused to allow private housing to be built within the city boundary. That's why most of the nicer house and the affluent people in them are concentrated in the suburbs. Extortionate council tax to pay for anti-motorist schemes, cooncilors junkets to Havana to meet Comrade Fidel, those useless city centre representatives, etc. just makes the poor even poorer. The council are so soft on neds who destroy the quality of life and drive away business and jobs from the schemes too. They hardly ever use anti-social behaviour orders or eviction to fight them. What I don't understand is why Glaswegians keep voting Labour again and again.

Answers on a postcard please.

[escotregen]

You know Strike Team there is a perverse logic to the voting syndrome in Glasgow. If you are a politician and you keep people in dependency (on your party for housing, jobs, local services) then they will be strongly influenced to vote for you because they are so dependent and worry that others will pull away the supports from them (this is not to suggest anything nothing immoral or weak about the dependent folks, after all they have to live to). But the other factor, and the more worrying one for us all, is that less and less Glaswegians and Scots in general are voting for anyone. I believe the present Minister for Culture Frank McAveety was voted in at the last election on a 26% turnout in his constituency?... and he is the Minister for 'Culture' and his constituency is Shettleston... in the city that seems to want rid of Scottish Opera...??

[kn0wledge]

2. Belshill

Having worked in Bellshill for two years, all I have to say is that it should be walled off and the inhabitants starved to death as punishment for being a pack of dole-scrounging bums.

I would never have said that had I not actually worked there, in the position that I did. It gave me great insight into the mindset of the community.

[turbozutek]

Uhmmm,

You might get lottery funding for a plan like that K ???

As for voter turnout, one word: Apathy. But what are you gonna do ?



Another thing that occours to me is that people who don't see anyone they wish to vote for simply do not attend at polling day.

Me ?

I go and write in thick letters 'DON'T WANT TO VOTE FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE' on my ballot paper.

Chris...

[Seamey]

You can tell things get posher in Giffnock, which is the most affluent are of Scotland apparently.

Of course there are no pubs (that'd just be too 'Glasgow'), only tennis clubs and a hotel that has only just opened up it's bar on a sunday afternoon.

There's no fruit and veg shops, the local safeway is decrepit but there is one glimpse of sunshine - the Thresher's in Merrylee keeps it's bottles of buckfast in the fridge.

Seamey

[duncan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3852499.stm
Glasgow: poorest city in the UK. 41% of households living in poverty.

[paladin]

BBC1 @ 20.30 tonight.........Glasgow Mess, Rubbish & 20 Tenants

A despairing Scottish landlord serves an eviction warning to an untidy tenant.