SCOTLAND'S largest Orange parade will be three hours shorter than usual this year.
It will avoid large parts of central Glasgow and see upwards of 20 so-called “feeder processions” eliminated, its organisers claim.
But the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland has accused Glasgow City Council of trying to squeeze “further unreasonable concessions” from it ahead of July’s Boyne Celebrations.
The Order has also threatened to defy a council date-change for its Divine Service processions in June, which clash with an Armed Forces commemoration.
Order Grand Master Henry Dunbar said 1300 Orangemen would walk along the pavements of the route carrying bibles to a church service.
The antipathy with the city council centres on the new parades policy, which seeks to have more say on the number, timings and routes of all parades.
The city has more parades than Belfast and Derry combined, and with most of these being Orange marches, the policy is largely aimed at them.
But in recent months everyone from the EIS to climate change protesters have had their routes and timings changed.
Mr Dunbar said: “This is purely a libertarian issue. Our position is that our rights to civil and religious liberty and to march and peaceful assembly are being denied.”
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