IT WOULD appear that Glasgow’s Lord Provost has been blinded by the bling.

Eva Bolander could certainly have gone for a different look.

Firstly, there is no need whatsoever for the Lord Provost to be chauffeur-driven to engagements in a Rolls-Royce. It might have been acceptable to some in previous decades, but not any more.

So much of the stated agenda of the new administration at the City Chambers is based on being connected with the people they represent.

Days earlier, the deputy leader announced the first four areas to be given control of a slice of budget cash to give people more say in how to improve their communities.

This is part of the council’s empowerment agenda. The message is we are with you, we are part of you, not above you.

Some people, and clearly the person who donated the car, think the Lord Provost should be surrounded by grandeur and luxury. 

That however is total nonsense. There is no need for this car. There is nothing wrong with the Lord Provost turning up at events in a Ford Focus. 

There is nothing wrong in the Lord Provost driving herself to engagements and there would be nothing wrong with the Lord Provost turning up on a bike or on the bus. In fact, it would be a whole lot better than sweeping in to a school or an older people’s day care centre in a Rolls-Royce.

The City Council is introducing a Low Emissions Zone because Glasgow has one of the worst pollution problems in the UK. 

A Rolls-Royce six-litre engine with CO2 emissions three-times higher than most top-of-the-range saloons will do nothing to help. Glasgow is a city with low car ownership – around half of the people in the city have no access to a car.

So the sight of an elected official beaming at the gift of a luxury vehicle and driver at her disposal is unlikely to be greeted with delight in homes across the city where pennies are scraped together for bus fares to send children to school.

I have no doubt the person in question truly believed they were doing something good for the city and it would be wrong to criticise someone for offering to do something that they believed would be of benefit. 

And if there is nothing asked for in return then it is a truly generous offer. 

But for the reasons above it should have been graciously acknowledged but very politely declined.