Letters: Swinney is SNP answer to Thatcher

COSLA may not support John Swinney's funding settlement for Scotland's local authorities (The Scotsman, 30 January), but I hope he is reassured by the fact that Margaret Thatcher would have.

The cuts the SNP are inflicting on public services show the same lack of respect for local democracy that she exhibited.

Just as Thatcher did, Swinney is passing disproportionate cuts on to local authorities at a level which will have a direct impact on key public services such as social care and education. Imagine the fuss the SNP would create if the UK Government treated Holyrood in the same way.

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In a move which also mirrors the “rate capping” Thatcher so loved, the SNP is again forcing its Council Tax freeze on local authorities. This comes despite unequivocal evidence from Naomi Eisenstadt, the SNP Government’s poverty adviser, that the freeze disproportionately benefits the wealthiest Scots and is funded by cutting the public services needed by the poorest in society. Imagine the fuss the SNP would create if the UK Government forced such a regressive measure on Holyrood.

Of course, an individual local authority could decide to raise council tax to invest in reducing the attainment cap or improving social care. However, similar to the “grant penalties” Thatcher imposed against councils, Swinney has made it clear any local authority which dares raise council tax to fund public services will be heavily fined. Imagine the fuss the SNP would create if the UK Government treated Holyrood in the same way.

There is one difference between Thatcher and Swinney. Thatcher was unsympathetic to those who relied heavily on local public services as she knew they were unlikely to vote for her. The SNP, on the other hand, take these votes for granted in their effort to gain support for their independence nirvana amongst middle-class Scots.

As ever, the constitution must come before supporting the vulnerable in society.

(Dr) Scott Arthur

Buckstone Gardens, Edinburgh

There is little point in the SNP having a big majority in Holyrood without using that power to their advantage and John Swinney is using his power to force local authorities to accept a reduced funding deal which will have a catastrophic effect on essential services. The authorities are right to scream “foul”. Power is the greatest of all aphrodisiacs.

Dennis Forbes Grattan

Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn