The SANE Collective

Solidarity Against Neoliberal Extremism

About us

The SANE Collective is an activist group working to develop solidarity against neoliberal extremism. Our shared perspective is that neoliberal capitalist ideology is responsible for promoting and perpetuating, amongst other ills, extreme social and economic inequality, global inaction on climate justice and patriarchal structures and norms. Our shared aim is to educate, agitate and organise around progressive democratic values to assist in building a powerful counter social movement,  that offers positive anti-capitalist alternatives which support communities and individuals to live in harmony with each other and the planet. Glasgow has many activist groups standing up to defend human rights, democracy and the common good which could similarly make a sustained impact yet  there is currently a lack of synergy and solidarity in their work and a huge need to reach beyond our current activist bases to involve the wider population of the city.

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Photographs of Glasgow captured by GovanLens for the SANE Collective, exploring representations of hopes and fears for Glasgow, and the relationships between Glaswegians and the built environment

Funded by Necessity

SANE Reports:

Glasgow's Money
Glasgow Strife
Glasgow's Alchemy

Latest News

8th July 2022

Levelling Up, Talking Down

LEVELLING UP, TALKING DOWN: GREENWASHING, GENTRIFICATION AND GATEKEEPING IN GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL’S APPLICATION TO THE LEVELLING UP FUND. Glasgow City Council is submitting seven bids for projects in the city to the UK Government’s flagship ‘Levelling Up’ fund, a competitive …

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SANE (solidarity against neoliberal extremism) Follow

Working to build a social movement of social movements, bringing together all those who want to transform our city of Glasgow for the many. #PeoplesPlanGlasgow

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20th May 2022

A New City Council and A Four Minute City

Last month we dedicated our monthly meeting to launching the ‘4 Minute City’ project being run under the People’s Plan for Glasgow. The project is open to any person or organisation working or campaigning to make a positive difference in …

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A square black image depicting the covid virus with the text 'Has the virus won?'
6th April 2022

HAS THE VIRUS WON?

Written by Mike Downham, 6th April 2022, with many thanks to the people who fed back to me about the original version of this piece, which has become a collective contribution to discussions about the pandemic.  1 in 11 people …

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a group of people sit in chairs in a circle in a large room with a wooden floor
26th March 2022

A Day of Sanity!

We kicked off our day on Saturday 26 March with a stall at St Alberts Primary Spring Eco Fayre. We were invited by SANE member Zarina Ahmad, who recently spoke at our event Glasgow’s Greenwash. Our stall featured excerpts from …

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Glasgow’s Finances: In Numbers

Taken from SANE’s report Glasgow’s Money.

  • £0: The amount of tax paid by the owners of the Glasgow schools PFI consortium.
  • £562 million: The amount still owed to the Glasgow schools PFI consortium by the council, 19 years after the project began.
  • £346 million: The asset value of the Glasgow schools built by the PFI consortium.
  • £11 million: The amount per annum the council could save if it re-financed its ‘Lobo’ loans, equivalent to the cost of running four primary schools.
  • 13%: The number of owner-occupiers in the new housing built in Dalmarnock as part of the CommonWealth Games 2014 regeneration project who have a prior connection to the area.
  • £249,256: The amount earned in 2020/21 by Dr Graham Paterson, executive director of council owned City Buildings (Contracts) LLP, whose contract was terminated on 12 March 2021.
  • 13: The number of senior council staff who earn over £100,000 per annum (up from six in 2016/17)
  • 62: The number of Glasgow Life venues which remain closed in 2021/22 (out of 172)
  • 71.6%: The % of council services expenditure which is going towards Education and Social Work in 2021/22.
  • 14.3%: The rise in cost of Band D council tax in Glasgow over the past five years.
  • 45p: The pence in every pound of Council Tax income which went towards paying off the council’s debt in 2020/21.
  • 40.9%: The growth in the cost of private rents in Glasgow City from 2010 to 2020. Private renters have to pay the increased cost of council tax while private landlords do not.
  • 3.5: The times more which Band H local taxpayers pay than those in Band A.
  • 15: The times more which Band H properties are worth than those in Band A.
  • £270: The drop in real terms revenue funding per head from the Scottish Government to Glasgow City Council from 2013/14 to 2019/20, the highest reduction in Scotland.

Glasgow Finances: In Numbers

PDF poster available to download here:

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Glasgow Finances: In Numbers