Former leader of Glasgow City Council Pat Lally dies

The former leader and Lord Provost of Glasgow City Council Pat Lally has died aged 92.

Pat Lally was a well-known figure in Glasgow municipal politics for several decades

The Labour politician passed away on Friday after a long illness.

Lally was first elected as a Glasgow Corporation councillor in 1966 and served as provost from 1995 to 1999.

He backed Glasgow's successful bid to become European City of Culture in 1990 and played a pivotal in the creation of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

He was temporarily suspended from the Labour Party in 1997 after becoming embroiled in the "votes-for-trips" scandal but was later reinstated.

Lally quit the party in 2003 and stood unsuccessfully as an MSP three times, including a 2007 bid as a candidate for the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: “Pat Lally was a towering figure in the Labour Party and in Scottish politics more widely.

“Pat spent decades in local government fighting to improve the city of Glasgow and the lives of its citizens.

“Some of his finest achievements included helping bring the Garden Festival and the European City of Culture home to his beloved city.

“He was held in great regard by all in the Labour Party, and I know his death will be felt by many in the party. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

Veteran Labour councillor and former MSP Frank McAveety said: “We have lost of the most significant figures in Glasgow’s recent history, and a towering figure in Glasgow Labour politics. Born in the year of the general strike, and brought up in the very best traditions of the labour movement, Pat made an enormous contribution to this city and to our wider movement.

“He championed arts and culture in Glasgow, he championed the communities that he represented but above all else he was a champion for the city that he loved.

“Pat Lally will always be remembered for his unwavering and undaunted commitment to his city, and his ambition for all of our people. I am sure that Glaswegians will remember him fondly, because he was one of them.”