COUNCIL COALITIONS EXPOSE LABOUR’S TORY ALLIANCE

COUNCIL COALITIONS EXPOSE LABOUR’S TORY ALLIANCE

A COSLA website exposes Labour’s formal coalitions with the Tories in town halls across Scotland as an SNP MSP accused them of hypocrisy on the issue. SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn highlighted how Labour are in formal coalition with the Tories on five councils throughout Scotland – which puts them at odds with their party’s rhetoric.

According to the COSLA website which lists the political control of councils throughout Scotland Labour is in formal coalition with the Tories on Angus, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Inverclyde and South Lanarkshire.

Commenting Mr Hepburn said said:

“These coalitions between Labour and the Tories throughout Scotland expose how Labour can’t be trusted on anything they say, and shows up their hypocrisy.

“They underline the recent comments from Ed Miliband about Labour and the Tories being the same, and Lord Mandelson’s willingness to serve under the Tories.

"And Labour must think voters are stupid if they believe they won't remember Gordon Brown's invite to Margaret Thatcher for tea at No. 10, or how Labour allied with the Tories to take us into an illegal war in Iraq.

"The people in Scotland remember the 1980s. They remember how the Labour Party failed to protect Scotland from a London Tory government cutting public spending and creating unemployment. This, despite Labour having a majority of MPs in Scotland during that period.

"And Labour want to go down that road again as they impose £500 million of cuts in Scotland's budget.

“Labour, Tory – Tory, Labour – tweedledum and tweedledee, and in cahoots in town halls all over Scotland as the clear evidence shows.”