‘We weren’t pressurised into U-turn over trams’

THE Scottish Government has denied forcing SNP councillors into a U-turn over Edinburgh’s troubled tram project, amid claims the local politicians were left with “no choice” but to abandon their opposition to it.

Labour and Tory councillors have accused finance secretary John Swinney of forcing the hand of Nationalists on Edinburgh city council after pulling the plug on funding for a curtailed tram line to Haymarket.

SNP group leader Steve Cardownie, also the deputy leader of the council, insisted no pressure had been brought to bear, despite the party’s decision to abandon its opposition being revealed less than 24 hours after Mr Swinney’s dramatic intervention.

There was an immediate backlash from the union representing workers at the council-owned Lothian Buses, whose profits will have to underwrite the tramline. They are now demanding the entire scheme be “mothballed”.

The SNP group’s failure to back its Liberal Democrat coalition partners last week saw the council vote to cut short the first phase of the tram scheme at Haymarket after Labour and Tory councillors joined forces, only for a special council meeting to be ordered when contractors warned of a dramatic price hike.

Only a last-minute rebellion by a handful of SNP councillors would be enough to plunge the project into more turmoil, although the council still faces having to borrow £231 million to meet the £776m price tag of building the tram line to St Andrew Square.

However, insiders say the government has secretly offered more financial help to the council if it can come up with a robust plan for getting the first tram line operational.

There have been widespread concerns about the financial impact on the council over plans to borrow £15.3m a year over the next 30 years to pay for the line.

It is thought Labour councillors may now be softening their stance to the St Andrew Square option, because of the government’s threat to pull the plug on its remaining funding for the project.

Mr Swinney, who was involved in emergency talks with council leader Jenny Dawe and Mr Cardownie this week, had urged the council to rethink its position after it emerged the government was withholding £72m due to the council for the ill-fated scheme in the wake of the Haymarket vote.

But a spokesman last night said: “Ministers, as you would expect, are in regular contact with local government colleagues in Edinburgh and elsewhere. The decision of the SNP group in respect of the trams project was theirs and theirs alone.”

However, Jeremy Balfour, Tory group leader on the council, said: “It’s a complete 180-degree turnaround for the SNP, and it is obvious John Swinney has told them which way to vote on this. A national politician is dictating which way local councillors should vote. They’ve been left with no choice.

“The SNP locally have continually said they don’t want anything to do with the tram project, but when it comes to the final vote they are now going to vote the other way. The government has made the decision for them, which should have been a decision for the council alone.”

Labour group leader Andrew Burns said it was obvious the Scottish Government had issued an “ultimatum” to vote in favour of a tram line to St Andrew Square, even though the council has not been offered any additional financial help.

He said: “Only the SNP group can explain why they have had such a change of heart. But there is no doubt the government’s intervention has influenced things.”

Mr Burns said, although his group still had many concerns over how the St Andrew Square line was to be funded, the government’s intervention had dramatically changed the options open to the council.

“Neither the government nor Transport Scotland has had any involvement in this project for the last four years. There has clearly been a significant change now with this letter from Transport Scotland and John Swinney’s comments.”

Mr Cardownie was last night adamant Mr Swinney had left the council’s SNP group to make its own decision, pointing out that his group had abstained last week, rather than vote for a complete cancellation because of the “horrendous” costs involved.

He insisted it would be “wrong not to intervene” over the tram project now, claiming a refusal to get involved would be “nonsensical” and a vote in favour of cancellation would be “far more than this city can bear”.

He added: “There was no attempt to influence our decision by the government, I can promise you. We did not put forward cancellation of the project last week because the costs are so horrendous, and after what happened last week with the vote, which the unholy alliance of Labour and the Tories won, we have decided we cannot run the risk of the council voting to cut short the route again.

“The impact on the council’s finances of cancelling the contract are just unpalatable. We are not prepared to leave the council facing an immediate bill, and that’s what it would be, of £161m, which would have a huge impact on council services.”

Ms Dawe made it clear she welcomed Mr Swinney’s threat to withdraw the remaining £72m due to the council, claiming that his intervention was “fair enough”.

“Last week’s vote certainly took all of us by surprise, elected members and officials, and it has had a major impact,” she said.

“I think the Scottish Government were quite reasonable in looking again at the terms of the initial £500m grant and making the decision they made.

“The SNP now accept terminating the tram contract is simply not an option for the council, and they could not live with their consciences were they to vote for it.”

Ms Dawe added that last week’s vote had had a “major impact” on the prospect of work restarting in the city centre, saying it was not just a question of a week-long delay.

And she said there was no guarantee of the £776m price tag for St Andrew Square remaining intact.

Meanwhile, Pat Rafferty, the Scottish secretary of the Unite union, said an immediate public inquiry should be ordered following the government’s intervention.