SNP to freeze council tax for two years

Published on Thursday 14 October 2010 18:32

THE SNP has promised to freeze council tax for a further two years as the Nationalists officially launched their campaign for next year's Scottish election.

• Nicola Sturgeon addresses the conference

In a clear challenge to Labour, which has said local authorities should be able to raise council tax, the SNP announced that the 70 million it will cost to maintain the freeze in 2011-12 will be included in the Scottish Government's budget to be published in the next few weeks.

The party's election manifesto will also include a commitment to freeze the tax in 2012-13.

The pledge, which was announced on the opening day of the party's October conference in Perth yesterday, creates a clear dividing line between the SNP and the Labour Party.

Labour has backed calls by some councils to let them set their council tax as they see fit, amid warnings they need more revenue in the face of cutbacks to protect front-line services in schools and social services.

However, speaking from Delhi in a pre-recorded message to the SNP conference, First Minister Alex Salmond argued he wanted to "protect family incomes".

Later, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the two-year pledge when she made a speech in which she fired "the starting gun for next year's Scottish election".

Ms Sturgeon said that the council tax freeze had helped the low paid and pensioners and criticised Labour for saying it should be ended.

"They say council tax should rise," she said. "Tell us by how much. Tell us how much more families and pensioners will have to pay under Labour."

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She pledged: "The budget we will present to parliament in the next few weeks will make available the money to freeze the council tax year.

"But we will go further than that. Our manifesto for the election next year will also include the commitment to put the resources in place to freeze the council tax the year after as well." But the policy faces opposition from unions and local government leaders who fear they could be among the worst hit from budget cutbacks across the public sector from next April.

Those calls have been led by Glasgow City Council Labour leader Gordon Matheson who has claimed he needs to increase council tax to support services, such as early-years education.

The SNP claims its policy is in tune with public opinion, following a BBC poll earlier this week which found that ending the freeze and allowing councils to increase tax was the second most unpopular measure to boost government coffers, marginally ahead of cutting spending on the NHS.

The poll found that only 4 per cent of people chose raising council tax as the best way of increasing government resources.

However, critics insist that the total cost of the freeze - now running at 420m since 2008 - is not worth the savings to homes.Ministers have admitted that the average saving for Band-D taxpayers over the past three years has amounted to only 191 - or 1.20 a week.

New figures obtained from parliamentary questions have also revealed the full impact of the council tax freeze on individual households.

They show that those in a Band-D property would be paying between 97 and 116 more this year if the freeze had not been funded by the Scottish Government. Those in a Band-E home would be paying between 118 and 142 more in tax this year, and those in a Band-H home 194 to 232.

Labour's local government spokesman Michael McMahon said last night: "Councils are saying they need the ability to set their own rate of council tax to avoid the worst cuts. Alex Salmond and the SNP need to explain how many more thousands of teachers will face the axe as a result of their underfunded freeze. How many more old people are going to see their home helps or care visits cut?"

Mr McMahon said Labour would support a lifting of the freeze but said he would cap increases if they were unjustifiable.

The extension of the freeze was the most eye-catching announcement on the first day of the final SNP conference before Scotland goes to the polls in May next year.

The start of the SNP's campaign was also marked with a showing of the party's latest party political broadcast, which will be screened on TV today.

Based around a cover version of the rock and roll song Let's Work Together by the Edinburgh band Jackil, the broadcast attempts to present an uplifting image of a future under the SNP as the UK faces the worst cuts in living memory.

Yesterday also saw the unveiling of the SNP's campaigning slogan "SNP Be Part of Better" - a call for people to work together to make Scotland better.

The electioneering continued in Ms Sturgeon's speech at Perth Concert Hall, which saw her attack the Labour leader Iain Gray, suggesting he lacked the leadership qualities of Mr Salmond.

It comes with all recent opinion polls showing Labour has a clear lead over the SNP in the contest for the Scottish Parliament. Ms Sturgeon said: "We have a leader who is head and shoulders above the opposition. Delegates, in a choice between Alex Salmond and Iain Gray for First Minister, there can only be one winner. So our campaign to re-elect Alex Salmond as Scotland's First Minister starts today as well."

Her comments fire the starting gun on what is expected to be a highly personalised SNP campaign which will attempt to contrast its own front-bench team with Labour's relatively low-profile outfit.

Having shelved his most important policy of a referendum on independence until after the election, in his message to conference Mr Salmond underlined his intention to put the constitution at the heart of the SNP's campaign.

The SNP leader suggested that independence could result in the deficit facing the country being halved.

"Victory next May is more important than ever," Mr Salmond said."The SNP is the only political party offering a solution to the problems facing our nation. It is only through independence and greater financial responsibility that we will be able to protect the very fabric of our society."

He added: "Friends, huge cuts are coming, and independence cannot magic them away. However, it will allow us to create the economic growth and increased revenue that will reduce the size of the problem by half."

Despite facing widespread criticism that his government has run out of steam, Mr Salmond defended his record. He said that hospital waiting times were at a "record low". There were 1,000 extra police on the streets, crime had fallen to a 30-year low, exam results were at a record high and there were "tens of thousands" of new apprentices.

The SNP also issued a new defence of independence following claims that the financial crisis - and the near-collapse of both RBS and HBOS - had shown the pitfalls of separating from the UK.

Labour claims the crisis has led to a slump in support for the SNP. However, the party's statement declared: "If an independent Scotland had faced the banking crisis, we would have had enough collateral in the 1,000 billion remaining North Sea oil and gas reserves to easily support any financial rescue, and we would see the benefits when the banks return to strength."