Labour politician seems to have sense of humour about SNP austerity – John McLellan

Cammy Day prompts chuckles from John McLellan after the Edinburgh Labour group leader urges people to lobby for fairer funding from the (SNP) Scottish Government while propping up the (SNP-led) council coaolition.

Labour leader Cammy Day is calling for fair funding for Edinburgh from the Scottish Government (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

Good old Cammy Day. You have to credit the Council’s Labour leader with a sense of humour as he wrote his article on the budget he and his SNP chums are setting.

He has the obligatory pop at the Conservatives, while being fully aware the SNP has slashed Scottish local government funds while receiving more money from Westminster. His colleague Gordon Munro reminds him at every council meeting.

Further confirmation came from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre this week, with new figures showing real terms council funding from the SNP Government has fallen 3.8 per cent in seven years (£404m) while Westminster’s payment has risen 2.6 per cent (£795m).

“I would urge you to lobby your local MSP and MP to fight for Fairer Funding for Edinburgh,” he wrote, knowing there’s not much point in approaching a Labour councillor because they are too busy keeping the SNP in office. How we laughed...

A tale of two reshuffles

For shameless chutzpah, you’ve got to hand it to Nationalist Angus Robertson who now hopes to become an Edinburgh MSP. The SNP cabinet reshuffle was “very different” to what he described as the UK Government’s ”control freakery”.

Different indeed. Boris Johnson’s appointments reshuffle weren’t driven by the resignation of a senior figure for bombarding a 16-year-old with flirtatious messages.

Lothian Buses not a ‘council service’?

Readers may be aware of the bold plan for Lothian Buses to run free “hopper buses” to link services no longer able to cross the city centre when the Council implements its City Centre transmogrification.

Readers may not be aware that the little 69 bus, a vital link for elderly people living at the top of the hill in Willowbrae, is to be withdrawn next month.

And the extra £7m Lothian Buses has to pay the Council to fund the tram will have no effect on council services... if you don’t regard the wholly Council-owned bus company as providing a council service, that is.