John Swinney accused of planning council tax freeze 'bribe' ahead of Holyrood election
EXCLUSIVE: A senior council figure said the First Minister did not rule out a freeze during a meeting with local authority leaders.
John Swinney has been accused of planning to 'bribe' voters by freezing the council tax weeks before the next Holyrood election.
The First Minister refused to rule out the move in a summit with town hall chiefs last month.
The SNP has pushed through a freeze in most of the years they have been in Government since 2007, with critics saying the policy starves councils of cash.
A freeze was ditched this year and councils backed average bill rises of 9.5%.
It is understood Swinney met council leaders late last month and was quizzed about his final Budget ahead of the Holyrood election.
A senior council insider who was at the meeting said the First Minister did not close the door on another freeze: 'It is deeply disappointing that the First Minister has refused to rule out a freeze or cap on council tax next year. It looks like he may be planning yet another pre-election bribe for voters.
"All councils in Scotland are facing having to make huge cuts to services and jobs next year yet the First Minister seems to want to deprive us of the only real means we have of limiting these cuts. It is an affront to democracy and yet another clear breach of the Verity House Agreement.'
It is understood council umbrella body COSLA will decide this month whether they will continue to be part of a working group with the SNP Government on council tax reform.
The insider said pulling out is an option because of Swinney's refusal to rule out a freeze.
If a freeze was voted through by Parliament, it would come into force on April 1st - coinciding with the Holyrood election campaign.
Labour MSP Mark Griffin said 'The SNP's shambolic approach to local government funding has left families paying more and getting less in return. Years of SNP austerity has forced Scottish Councils to make impossible choices between raising taxes on struggling families or axing local services communities rely on.
'The SNP must treat local government with the respect it deserves and work with Cosla to deliver a budget settlement that protects local services from cuts and doesn't force brutal Council tax hikes on Scottish families.'
A senior SNP figure said Swinney wanted to go into the next election showing voters he had made a difference on the cost of living crisis.
Central to this agenda is restoring winter fuel payments, abolishing peak rail fares and scrapping the two child benefit tax.
Roz Foyer, general secretary of the STUC, said: 'We think the council tax is at root a regressive tax and needs to be replaced. Freezing it is not the answer. A freeze is both damaging to local authorities and to people when there are sudden increases when the freeze is lifted.'
Green MSP Ross Greer said: 'Freezing the Council tax rather than actually fixing it would mean more budget cuts for schools, social care and other local services. John Swinney knows that this tax needs to be scrapped and replaced, but doing so would upset some very rich people who live in very big houses, so he won't do it.
'Most people already pay the wrong rate of Council Tax, which is totally absurd. It's those in smaller homes paying more than they should, all while the super-rich get off with an absolute steal. Another freeze doesn't solve that problem, it just harms the local services we all rely on."
Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said: 'Has John Swinney learnt nothing from Humza Yousaf's disastrous handling of the council tax when he was leader? Instead of meddling with the decisions that should be left to councils, he should focus on improving the NHS and growing the economy, which are his responsibilities.'
Tory MSP Craig Hoy said: 'If John Swinney does impose a council tax freeze next year, he must give local authorities the funding to be able to deliver it without decimating essential services. If he failed to do so, this would be no more than a cynical pre-election ploy that would put councils in an impossible position.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Future local government finance settlements will be set out in the usual way at future Scottish Budgets.'
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Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Labour leader praises new MSP Davy Russell
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The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Starmer's time will be up if he fails to address two crucial issues
Labour's by-election win wasn't a shock: it was a lottery. Davy Russell was, of course, elected under the first-past-the-post system, which works perfectly well when there are only two main candidates. But that's no longer the case and hasn't been for a long time. Westminster MPs are elected in the same way and our current Labour government has the benefit of a massive majority from only 34% of the vote on the second lowest turnout in almost 100 years. The Electoral Reform Society calculated that 28.8 million people voted and 27.5 million eligible to vote did not: almost the same amount. That in effect, is a 17% endorsement for Labour and certainly not representative. John Milne ("For many, politics isn't working") hits the nail on the head when he writes that 'politics in our country is not working for a significant element of our population' and warns of 'the inequalities and injustices in our society and economy'. UK politics isn't working, firstly, because the UK electoral system is so unrepresentative and, secondly, because of the widening gap between the wealthy and poor of our society that our politicians seem unable or. more likely, unwilling to correct. I should be a natural Labour supporter but the party led by Sir Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar bears little resemblance to its founding principles. Evidently, many others feel the same and are turning to Reform UK in protest and, possibly, in the vain hope that its offer of change will work. Keir Starmer could fix the first problem by changing our undemocratic voting system. But if he continues to bury his head in the sand against the wishes of the majority of his party members, he might as well start writing his political obituary now. David Bruce, Troon. 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He of course was right – and what a week we have seen in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. First, we had the First Minister of Scotland claiming that only the SNP can beat Reform and stating that Labour cannot win here. Then we had Reform and Nigel Farage having to defend a campaign video condemned by rivals as 'blatantly racist', followed by Farage accusing Sarwar of introducing sectarianism into Scottish politics. Meanwhile, the voters who deliver the final verdict get on with their lives, thinking 'what have we done to deserve all of this?' The final verdict was delivered by the people who rejected Farage and Reform, rejected Swinney and the SNP and plumped for the local hero Davy Russell and Scottish Labour. I have to give huge credit to Anas Sarwar for his dignified response to Farage and Reform and his noble response to the SNP, which cosied up to Reform by attempting to give them credibility by describing the election as a two-horse race between them. 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Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven. Sarwar was embarrassing Martin Geissler acquitted himself well in his Sunday Show interview with Labour's Anas Sarwar. But that is more than could be said for Sarwar, who was unsatisfactory. He rattled off criticisms of the SNP (not all of them undeserved) but when it came to defending Labour's record in office, its policies and its U-turns he spoke very quickly and without much in the way of conviction. Asked how Labour could put more money into people's pockets, he outlined, in the space of a few seconds, various measures but declined to elaborate and then quickly detoured into the NHS, Swinney and Farage. Geissler tried to pin him down but Sarwar didn't seem to listen to the questions that a hard-pressed electorate deserves serious responses to. Were I a Labour voter I would be embarrassed by Sarwar's painfully thin and cliched answers. S. McArthur, Glasgow.
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Readers' Letters: Reform's policies are not far right, they're common sense
Reform has plenty to offer moderate voters, says reader Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... David Hamill (Letters, 9 June) writes that Reform is preaching 'far right poison' while the new Hamilton MP, Davy Russell, stated that 'the poison of Reform is not us', although 7,000 of his constituents voted for Reform. Anas Sarwar has described Nigel Farage as a 'pathetic little man'. Inflammatory language has no place in political debate I doubt if any of the Farage haters have ever looked at Reform's policies, which are available for all to read online in a 28-page document. They challenge much of the current policy consensus across Labour, the SNP and the Conservatives and I suppose that is what so enrages those who do not believe that this consensus has failed Britain and Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The party's aspirations include cutting migration, with the UK already having a population density of 300 people per square kilometre; stopping the Bank of England paying £35 billion a year in quantitative easing interest; lifting the income tax starting rate to £20,000; cutting the 6,700 EU laws still in use hindering growth; abolishing corporation tax for 1.2 million SMEs; scrapping net zero, saving billions; reforming the NHS to cut waiting times, but keeping it free at the point of use; putting bobbies back on the beat; removing transgender ideology from schools; and reviewing diversity, equality and inclusion policies. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Deputy Leader Richard Tice at a press conference in Aberdeen last week (Picture:) These are not far right polices, there are simply sensible policy proposals which much of the electorate regard as common sense. Too many of our politicians fear to speak out against their party policies which they know are wrong. William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire Denial duo What do David Hamill and First Minister John Swinney have in common? Following the Hamilton election they are both in denial. Mr Hamill says 'three-quarters of the voters in Hamilton want nothing to do with the pernicious, far-right poison preached by Reform' but neglects to say that 87 per cent of the electorate didn't vote for the SNP. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Swinney says 'the SNP is in the process of recovery', but with a swing away from the SNP of 16.8 per cent, what does he think will constitute a full recovery? Bruce Proctor, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire Turn the tide Ian Murray MP wants to 'turbocharge' the economy with nuclear power (your report, 9 June). A far cleaner, cheaper, low-tech way to cut electricity prices would be to harness the tides. A 2021 paper to the Royal Society claimed that a Severn Barrage alone could supply 6-7 per cent of UK demand; sling road/rail across the dams and it's a double bonus. Scotland, with its indented coast, would be ideal for such projects, in particular the Black Isle firths, where the boost to the northern economy would be significant, and the Invergordon to Nairn drive cut by a whopping 15 miles. George Morton, Rosyth, Fife Nuclear nod A long time ago I used radioactive isotopes to study smallpox and an antiviral agent that had the potential to stop it in its tracks. Ever since I have made it my business to evaluate the safety of nuclear reactors and nuclear waste, and have concluded that with the exception of the Soviet Union, our obsessional attention to safety in their design and use means that it has not been possible to ascribe any health harm to humans from them, unlike coal waste at Aberfan or oil extraction like Piper Alpha, or, worst of all, climate change-causing CO2 waste generated by burning fossil fuels. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad So I consider the SNP and Greens' antinuclear policies based on arguments about safety (your report, 9 June) to be evidentially wrong. In any case, they will soon be overtaken by events. When the gas has run out and the wind doesn't blow, to prevent blackouts Scotland will be obliged to import electricity generated by nuclear reactors from England. Hugh Pennington, Aberdeen It's over, John In addition to points raised in The Scotsman's report on John Swinney's BBC Sunday Show interview (9 June) he was still touchingly clinging to the independence panacea, citing polls claiming 54 per cent support for the SNP. That doesn't stack up with Hamilton. On a turnout of 44 per cent the SNP got 30 per cent of the votes. That's only 14 per cent of the total electorate. Applying these numbers to the 4.3 million voters in Scotland their 2014 Indyref total of 1.6m votes plummets by one million to around 600,000. Come on John, you know it's over, so why not publicly announce you're jacking it in. Then Holyrood 2026 can be about which party has the best policies and candidates to halt our health, education, worklessness, Net Zero and public services nosedive. Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire Who cares? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Otto Inglis (Letters, 9 June) writes an excellent assessment of the Hamilton by-election, but for all the analysis and comment, it should be noted that almost 56 per cent of the electorate could not be bothered to vote, so really don't care who represents them in the Scottish Parliament. Malcolm Parkin, Kinnesswood, Perth and Kinross Spad news The SNP have announced that their bill for Spad services in the previous year has been a jaw-dropping £1.7 million of our taxes. In any case, considering the party's image plunged to rock bottom in the period, they should be asking for their – our – money back. Alexander McKay, Edinburgh Do nothing I recall, many years ago, being on a course to help senior doctors to become managers in the NHS, as if there weren't enough of them already! We were taught that among the many actions that might be employed to solve any problem there was always the 'do nothing' option. I am currently suffering from a progressive and untreatable lung condition. I am in constant distress due to shortness of breath which is only partially relieved by Oxygen therapy. I can do little more physical activity than shuffle around my house and the condition is putting extra strain on my heart. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Last week, still being of sound mind, I obtained, with no problem, a form I can carry around which says that should I have a cardiac arrest, I do not wish to be resuscitated. Here is a perfect example of a problem where doctors can, without risk of retribution, apply the 'do nothing' option, while at the same time, not reneging on their Hippocratic oath, which says 'first do no harm'. While the assisted dying issue rages on, could not resuscitating be construed as doing just that, by the back door? (Dr) S R Wild, Edinburgh Reform Forces Introducing the Defence Review, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer repeated words he heard on HMS Vanguard, 'nothing works unless we all work together'. Money is short. The Defence Secretary John Healey spoke of 'defence reform' and he should question the need for three services. Most of the RAF's 30,000 personnel are in the UK, as are most of its 500 aircraft (including 46 support aircraft, 37 helicopters, 160 trainers, 90 gliders). The RAF has 75 per cent of all MoD aircraft and 50 per cent of frontline aircraft, the other half being Army or Navy. Only 20 per cent of RAF personnel have flying duties, most of its 'aviators' are ground crew or support staff, yet 20 per cent are officers – including 40 air marshals and 100 air commodores. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Most RAF operations support land forces, some support Maritime Britain. With 60 uniformed personnel for every aircraft, trainer and glider, the £10 billion-plus a year RAF, with its ten display teams, seems overmanned and under-employed. In times of plenty all this may be justifiable – it's not today. Defence costs too much to maintain three services. Unsentimental reorganisation of HM Forces would help make them 'battle-ready', providing huge savings, advancing the government's 'defence dividend'. There is no need for a separate air force. An army and navy with RAF air assets and personnel transferred would see defence emerge leaner and more cost-effective and, importantly, be operationally more efficient with no loss of air capability. 'Nato first' would be better achieved by the UK being tasked as the principal maritime power in the eastern Atlantic, the land powers of the Continent providing the principal armies. The Defence Review should prompt radical change here and in Nato. Lester May (Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy – retired), Camden Town, London Power babies Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rarely has the saying 'the love of money is the root of all evil' borne such lethal purchase than during the monumental falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk this past week. It seems a long time ago that Musk and his fellow oligarchs made up a billionaire front row for Trump's inauguration as president. Their fallout has been a long time coming, not helped by Musk's infamous Nazi-style salute on that occasion. He never recovered from the deserved barb that he was unelected, all the while wielding a hacksaw indiscriminately through whole swathes of US life in the notorious DOGE. It says everything about US politics that the Democrats would now even consider taking Musk's money. The whole affair stinks of two-uber rich big babies tossing their grown-up toys out of the pram. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh Write to The Scotsman
