It defied the adage that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But now many a well-fed councillor in Glasgow, in the parlance of colleagues along the M8, have been told: “You’ll have had your tea then.”

New regulations, due to start when Scotland’s first salaried councillors take up their new posts on May 4, will see the current meals allowance system for hundreds of elected members scrapped across the country.

Specifically, it will spell the end of one of Scotland’s more generous methods of feeding its public servants – Glasgow City Council’s free buffet service.

Once described as boasting “Victorian opulence” and costing £250,000-a-year to feed 79 councillors and a small handful of senior officials, from early May those who want to enjoy its three-course lunches or high tea will have to pay a cost yet to be decided.

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