This year, under threat from the Scottish National party government in Edinburgh, Highland council had to make savings totalling £39.856m to produce a balanced budget. All services will be affected to a greater or lesser extent from education through to burials. One of the cruelest has been an incredible 60 per cent increase in burial charges
How hugely ironic that this is the outcome for the people of the Highlands and Scotland from a political party who just one year ago fought and won nearly every Westminster seat in Scotland on the basis of their pledge to fight austerity.
Every Labour politician in Scotland opposes the ideologically driven Tory austerity but were the money from the Treasury distributed as it was meant to be across local government, Highland council should have been 0.8 per cent below last year’s settlement. The reality of SNP choices and policies, including the council tax freeze, meant that the Highland council settlement was 4.5 per cent below last year’s. The SNP group in Highland did the deal with the Independents to get this budget through, despite their public protest opposing aspects of it to gain headlines.
For nine years the SNP have removed the right of local government to set the council tax.
This year they gave all 32 councils in Scotland an ultimatum to either accept the settlement within a matter of days or be fined. (Highland council was threatened with a fine of £18m.)
The centralisation of the fire and police services, along with their call centres led to the alarming attempts to have armed police patrolling Highland streets on routine duties. The failure to respond effectively to emergencies contributed to loss of life.
Education is the next area under threat. The SNP manifesto makes it clear that schools are the next target.
Scotland is far too diverse a country for such centralization. The geography of the Highlands presents enormous challenges for service delivery. Nobody denies that.
However, decisions about how we face these challenges are best understood and implemented by those we elect locally. That is what local government is for – and that is what local democracy is all about.
Scottish Labour believes in local democracy. Devolution has to go further than more powers in Edinburgh.
We are also the only party with a plan to end austerity and invest in our future and our leader, Kezia Dugdale has been honest enough to set out how this will be paid for.
The SNP slogan says ‘stronger for Scotland’ but with their agenda of local government cuts they are crippling vital services and weakening the social fabric of our country.
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Jimmy Gray is leader of the Labour group on Highland council and a former provost of Inverness
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