GLASGOW’S Lord Provost Eva Bolander is to step down after claiming thousands of pounds worth of clothes, shoes and underwear on expenses
Bolander, whose £8000 claims included 23 pairs of shoes, decided to quit after a discussion with SNP colleagues on Glasgow council.
A source said she acceptedher mistake and will make way for a successor to take over.
Labour councillor Martin McElroy, who helped expose the row, said: “I’m glad that she has finally stood down. Her actions had made the important office of Lord Provost a running joke in the city. We need to select someone who can help rebuild its credibility.”
A council source confirmed: "She accepted she had made a misjudgment in claiming for things that, although it was within the rules, she should not have."
One source at today’s meeting told the Herald: “Eva has resigned. A lot of councillors were getting a lot of flak from people in their wards about her spending.
“I think that really topped it off was the shoes. Maybe she could have claimed for a few pairs of shoes or half a dozen, but 23?
“Everyone is exceedingly sad. I think there will be a lot of repercussions over the Lord Provost’s role, and that’s a shame because Glasgow needs a role like that.”
Bolander said, of the controversial expenses: “In submitting claims, I have always tried to ask myself the question, ‘would I require this if I were not Lord Provost?’ Each has been made in good faith and scrupulously accounted for, within the rules.
"Although the spending incurred was within the rules, on reflection, there are items which I should not have chosen to reclaim.”
"I am sorry about that and I am in discussion with financial services to come to an arrangement to repay the relevant expenditure."
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