THE SNP have hit back at Keir Starmer for “trashing” Glasgow and claiming the city has a “waste crisis”.

The Labour leader made the comments on Twitter last night (August 5) after a meeting with council cleansing staff as part of his two-day trip to Scotland.

Starmer accused the SNP of a “failure of leadership” and called on the Scottish Government to intervene ahead of COP26.

However, the SNP have hit back at the claims of a “waste crisis” and said Starmer was “trashing a city he clearly knows nothing about for the sake of a photo op”.

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Starmer said: “Glasgow's in a waste crisis after a failure of leadership from the SNP Council.

“Workers and communities have been left to live and work in unsafe conditions.

“The eyes of the world are on Glasgow - the Scottish Government must intervene to ensure the city is ready to host COP26.”

Starmer and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar posed for photographs with council staff holding a GMB Scotland banner which reads, “Don’t treat us like trash, we are key workers, we deserve more cash”.

However, SNP councillor Ruairi Kelly hit back at Starmer and the legacy of his Labour colleagues who ran Glasgow City Council in the past.

Kelly, city convener for neighbourhoods, housing and public realm, said: “Glasgow could do so much on many fronts with the £30m required every year over the next decades to foot the bill for the policy of discrimination against female workers put in place by Keir Starmer’s Labour colleagues.

“This is the long-term and real-life price Glasgow pays for Labour buying the support of sections of the male workforce.

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“Waste management is a challenge for every city in the world and Glasgow is no different. The SNP will not shy away from taking on those challenges through continuing modernisation and investment in the service.”

Kelly said that Glasgow will “deliver a world-class experience” for COP26 delegates.

He continued: “After decades of Labour inaction, the SNP City Government inherited a cleansing service that was struggling to respond to the needs of a modern city, and we have invested millions to replace ageing infrastructure and improve conditions for staff at depots.

The National:

Cllr Ruiari Kelly hit back at Starmer's claims there is a "waste crisis"

“In fact, on the very day Keir Starmer was trashing a city he clearly knows nothing about for the sake of photo op and a few likes on Twitter, councillors in the southside were briefed on the imminent deployment of new, better quality bins in our parks.

“At the same time the SNP city government was agreeing £1.5m investment for community green space, putting forward our plan for building record-breaking numbers of affordable homes, and launching our Citizens Climate Assembly."

It comes as Starmer kicked off his two-day campaign visit by attacking the SNP government on climate issues.

He accused the SNP of a “huge failure on the climate crisis” and attacked their “progressive” credentials.

The Labour leader also said that there shouldn’t be an independence referendum in the next parliamentary term during an interview with STV.