Labour And Scottish Local Government

EDM number 495 in 1996-97, proposed by Alex Salmond on 06/02/1997.

That this House notes with concern the Labour Party's failure to defend Scottish local government from the Government's savage spending cuts; recognised that the Right honourable Member for Dunfermline East effectively undermined the fight against the cuts by declaring that a Labour Government would not allocate any new resources to local authorities, thus imposing the exact same Tory cuts on housing, education and other services; further recognises that Councillor Keith Geddes, the Labour President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, is compromised by his position as a Labour Party prospective Parliamentary candidate and is unable to effectively challenge the cuts; noting with dismay the disarray in Glasgow City Council caused by the 'junkets for votes' accusations, regrets that Labour councillors in the largest council in Scotland are fighting each other rather than leading opposition to the Tory devastation of local government in Scotland; and recognises this triple failure to defend local government at a time of crises reveals that Labour cannot be trusted to defend local democracy or essential local services in Scotland.

This motion has been signed by a total of 4 MPs.