07.03.1996

Shameful day for Scottish councils

In spite of the fact that there are no Tory councils in Scotland, the working class throughout the country will face savage cuts in services, job losses and increases in council tax. If they get their way, spineless Labour and SNP councils will impose them.

Following the huge demonstration of 40,000 in Edinburgh against education cuts, Scottish secretary Michael Forsyth was forced to rethink. He hurriedly announced that the councils would receive an extra £100 million, not to bail out ‘spendthrift’ councils, you understand, but to help council tax payers facing huge rises. Compare this with the £789 million the government has recently written off in the run-up to the privatisation of water in Scotland.

Forsyth’s gesture has ‘reduced’ council tax increases to an average of 13% (more than four times the rate of inflation). However, the multi-million pound cuts, closures and job losses will continue to go ahead. The working class is continuing to pay for the Labour Party’s collaboration with the Tory government.

Demonstrations took place across Scotland on March 5 as councils approved cuts and set new council tax levels.

Hundreds of protesters in Glasgow disrupted the council meeting, delaying it for several hours. When it finally met, it agreed a 19% council tax increase and £68 million cuts, which could lead to 2,000 job losses and 21 school closures.

In Dundee protesters brought the council meeting to a standstill and councillors were forced to listen to a speaker from the protesters. Needless to say, calls for defiance and the setting of budgets to meet working class needs fell on deaf ears. After agreeing to a 13.1% tax rise and cuts of almost £15 million these misrepresentatives left the council chamber to shouts of “Fight or resign”.

This is not the end of it. As they try to implement these cuts they will be met with resistance every step of the way.