WITH more than 30 years of experience in reporting on local government, Vivienne Nicoll has seen her fair share of fireworks in the City Chambers.

And now her new regular column in the Evening Times promises to lift the lid on what goes on in the corridors of power.

She said: "I'm going to try and keep it a bit light-hearted but it will be an insight into what's happening in the chambers, the sort of things that might not normally be reported.

"I've been reporting on councils for probably 30 years, from Aberdeen City Council to Edinburgh District Council, and I've covered Glasgow City Council for the Evening Times for the past 15 years.

"I must have seen thousands of councillors.

"I've been trying to think how many leaders that have come and gone.

"I think I'm on my fourth Glasgow leader, and seen more than a dozen Scottish Secretaries and First Ministers come and go."

And Vivienne is pretty clear on what makes a good councillor.

She said: "It's the ones who are passionate about Glasgow and there are quite a few on the council. The days when people thought councillors were just freeloaders are long gone.

"But there are some who are more passionate than others, and they're the ones who are a joy to work with because they have a real desire to make things better and improve the lives of the people of the city."

The city has changed dramatically since Vivienne began covering the City Chambers. She points to the decisions taken by councillors as being vital in making those changes happen.

She added: "You only have to look at the regeneration of the Clyde, the Concert Hall, the Hydro, the Armadillo, the housing along the Clyde, the regeneration of the city centre, the impact of housing stock transfer which improved the lives of people.

"In the years I've been here Glasgow has changed into a city that is much prouder of itself and has more self-confidence.

"There's the commonly quoted figure of the second best shopping area outside the West End of London.

"That's quite an achievement for an industrial city which had suffered badly.

"People don't realise the vast majority of the reasons for the changes are the decisions made in the City Chambers.

"Not all of them are right, and they make mistakes. When they make mistakes they deserve to be criticised for that, but they do deserve to be praised when they get it right.

"I've got two roles in this. One is to let the public know what is happening, the other is to hold them to account when they get it wrong and the public are unhappy. The most recent one being the George Square fiasco, their £15million plan which the public hated.

"It's the Evening Times's job to go to the council and say you got that wrong. The public don't like that, and don't want it."

Vivienne's column starts on Monday.