No public funds on Commonwealth Games, unless it's a networking salon for elites |
Spending £150,000 of public money when you assured Scotland you wouldn't is bad, but spending it on a Scotsman Group venue might be worse, writes columnist Marissa MacWhirter.
“I’ve been very clear with the public that there are huge pressures on the public finances, so there could not be a call on the public finances for any financial support,” First Minister John Swinney told PA News back in October 2024, when he was assuring us all that No Way Jose would the country be whipping out the public purse to fund the Commonwealth Games.
At this, I sighed so deeply and dramatically that I sounded just like a white elephant.
“There will be no call on the public purse and, indeed, there cannot be a call on the public purse by the agreement we have negotiated,” he added.
But this week, Health Secretary Neil Gray made a very poorly timed announcement that the public purse (thankfully so skinny it can easily be wriggled out from the tight belt around Scotland’s trousers) had £150,000 in it for a swish athlete’s hub in the Merchant City.
Scotland House will be taking over The Corinthian Club when the Games come to Glasgow next year. Throughout the Games, the Corinthian will “operate as a central hub for business engagement, a private space for Team Scotland athletes and families, and a media centre”.
Unfortunately for Mr Gray, the news was released at........