Latest news with #MoRazzaq
The National
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
Labour and Tories vote down Hamilton community funding
At South Lanarkshire Council's Hamilton area committee on Wednesday, SNP councillors proposed giving more than £5000 to 11 community groups in Hamilton, Larkhall and Bothwell, highlighting there had been tens of thousands of pounds in underspend in the community grants budget in previous years. However, Labour councillors Allan Falconer and Mo Razzaq proposed a much smaller amount, with their plan receiving backing from Tory councillors – including Tory by-election candidate Richard Nelson. One group that was eligible for more than £1900 only received £300. It comes a day before voters in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse hit the polls to elect a new MSP following the death of Christina McKelvie. READ MORE: New poll shows Scots overwhelmingly back independence over direct rule Hamilton councillor John Ross said Labour and the Tories teaming up to deny community groups funding was "egregious". He said: "South Lanarkshire SNP are disappointed to see Labour and the Tories team-up once again to deny local community groups in the Hamilton area the funding that they need and deserve. "This is particularly egregious given there is money sitting unused in the Community Grants budget specifically for this purpose. "We call on the Labour party and their coalition partners to end their austerity agenda and invest in the people and places of South Lanarkshire." South Lanarkshire Council had been run by a minority SNP administration before the local elections in 2022, and the party was returned as the largest that year. However, the SNP's 27 seats were not enough to take a majority on the 64-seat council and instead Labour won the support of the Tory group and LibDems which allowed them to form an administration. The SNP will be aiming to hold onto the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Scottish Parliament seat they have held since 2011 when the seat was created. READ MORE: Labour minister in 'jaw-dropping' U-turn on drug consumption rooms Clacking at the heels of SNP candidate and South Lanarkshire councillor Katy Loudon will be Reform UK's Ross Lambie and Scottish Labour's Davy Russell, with the contest widely expected to be a three-horse race between the parties. McKelvie won the seat three times on the trot with a majority of more than 4500 over Labour in 2021. Professor John Curtice has predicted whichever party wins they will likely do so on less than a third of the vote. He told The National he would be surprised if Reform won the by-election, predicting they will come "a good third". Curtice no party "is going to do terribly well" in a fragmented political environment, but he considers the SNP to be slight favourites in the race.
Scotsman
15-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
SNP ministers told to ditch 'latte levy' on disposal coffee cups as tax will not come into force this year
Sign up to our Politics newsletter 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... Scottish ministers are being told to ditch their 'latte levy' proposals for good after it was confirmed the charge will not come into force this year. The Scottish Government wants to charge at least 25p on drinks such as tea and coffee sold in disposable cups. An estimated 388.7 million disposable cups are used in Scotland each year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish businesses had expected this charge to be brought forward this year, but it has now been confirmed this will not be happening. Disposable coffee cups are stacked on a table. Photo illustration by. |. Business leaders say imposing an extra charge on single-use cups will stop Scots buying takeaway drinks altogether as opposed to encouraging them to bring a reusable cup with them. They also say they are worried about independent retailers' ability to cover any extra costs. Ewan MacDonald-Russell, deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: 'The cups levy remains a terrible idea, which deserves to be dumped in the bin. Adding a charge to drinks on the go is more likely to affect whether consumers buy the drink in the first place rather than encourage them to use a reusable cup. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The idea consumers will treat cups the same way as shopping bags is implausible. The reality is many hospitality businesses cannot effectively offer reusable alternatives because they sell self-service drinks, deliver drinks or don't have the capacity to safely clean customers' cups.' He added: 'We're glad Scottish ministers have listened to our representations and those of shops and cafes and delayed bringing forward legislation. 'We hope the focus will now be on working collaboratively with industry on more realistic options to reduce single cup use - such as the national cup recycling scheme, borrow cup, and the use of discounts and rewards to incentivise the use of a reusable cup over a single-use one, along with investing in recycling capacity and infrastructure. 'Scotland's retailers want to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices. That is best done by incentives rather than ineffective levies.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Federation of Small Businesses said a 'latte levy' could put retailers off using disposable cups made from recycled materials. The Scottish Government has wanted to bring in a 25p levy on single-use cups Mo Razzaq, national president of the federation and owner of Premier Mo's in Blantyre, said: 'This could push coffee drinkers to larger outlets as they can absorb the tax better than smaller retailers.' He added: 'We are pleased that the Government is acting on Fed members' concerns. We agree that action is needed to better protect our environment, but this 'latte levy' is not the right way to go about it. 'Instead of adding at least 25p to the cost of disposable hot and cold drinks cups, Fed members believe that litter louts should be given heftier fines of £500 or £1,000 and community service picking up litter.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A date of 2025 for this levy was included in a draft circular economy route map by the Government. However, no date was included in the final route map. The Scottish Government has now confirmed no levy will be brought in this year. A Government spokeswoman said: 'The Scottish Government is working closely with stakeholders to develop a single-use cups charge that is deliverable and allows businesses and consumers time to prepare.
