(Image: Media Scotland)
Like many larger cities, Glasgow has a number of air pollution hot spots which detract from its growing reputation as a cultural centre, the best shopping centre in the country and a generally good place to live.
Working in collaboration with SNP-run Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government will help prepare a plan to improve air quality in Glasgow by, in particular, eliminating the above hot spots. You have to wonder why the Labour-run administration never got round to this kind of thing.
It’s worth remembering however, that Glasgow’s problems do not compare to those of mega cities like London and Beijing where pollution ‘red alerts’ are becoming ever more common, forcing the frail, the elderly and the young to stay indoors at risk of serious harm. There have been repeated red alerts for air pollution in more than 20 global cities in the last year.
See, for example:
https://news.gov.scot/news/first-low-emission-zone-for-glasgow
Talking-up Scotland 
I think Labour in Glasgow did not go for a policy like this because it is a ‘green’ and a “Green” policy. So, not being their idea they were agin it. I think that Labour’s general coolness towards ‘green’ policies stemmed from its relationship with the large industrial trade unions who saw ‘green’ policies as probably leading to job losses. Labour UK supports nuclear missiles and Trident because the trade unions see the nuclear industry as one in which there are jobs and pretty well paid ones.
I suspect the tranche of first-time elected Labour councillors in Glasgow will be more amenable to Low Emission Zones. I suspect their tack will be that there should be more, possibly covering the entire city.
Much of the high emission areas are along main routes into the city such as M8, Maryhill Road, Kilmarnock Road/Pollokshaws Road which are substantially used by residents of East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire and other areas to get into and out of the city quickly. The residential areas on either side of these roads are substantially populated by lower income groups, with low car ownership and, in years past, would have been rock-solid Labour voting. These are the people whose health is being affected by the emissions. At times, the level of traffic on these roads is such that there is a metal wall dividing communities.
Despite not being a mega city, parts of Glasgow have very poor indicators of health and air pollution is a contributory cause.
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good points again
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