From Brian Wilson, in the Herald today:
THE SNP’s treatment of local government has been consistently brutal. Year after year, funding was cut in real terms, both for capital projects and service provision. Freedom to innovate and meet the needs of its own communities was steadily whittled away.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/23213753.snps-sustained-brutal-assault-local-government/
Wilson, a minister under Tony Blair’s New Labour from 1997 to 2003, seems to have forgotten his own role in slashing local government funding.
From the Guardian in 1998:
The Blair government is on course to spend relatively less than any administration since that of Harold Macmillan 40 years ago, according to an analysis today that will fuel grassroots Labour unrest at government economic policy.
Current spending plans are said to mean that public spending, expressed as a proportion of national income, will be sharply lower under Tony Blair than under even the Thatcher government that was villified by Labour for draconian spending cuts.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/aug/25/labour.labour1997to993
Talking-up Scotland 
New Labour, New Lies, New Hucksterism, New Hypocrisy.
Republican Wee Brian (sings rebel songs in Hillsborough Castle, while a Minister) Wilson makes his money these days despising Scots who wish to be independent.
Nae rebel songs for Scotland, apparently, and happily takes the Kings shilling for payment.
Creepin’ belly-crawlin’ New labour fraud.
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Very strange person.
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He seems to have a finger in every pie as well.
How bloody dare he accuse the SNP of cuts to councils, when funding to Scotland has been cut by the English government.
What I will say is that Edinburgh’s a mess now with a Tory Labour coalition council. Graffiti is everywhere, rubbish bins hardly emptied until absolutely overflowing and with rubbish strewn everywhere. They have plastic barriers up blocking roads and pavements, where you don’t see any road works except a bit of tar dug up, or a paving stone taken up, meaning major traffic disruption, with no indication as to why. Also they are wrecking the bus service, publicly owned, they have removed the bus service to our area by half, so much for reducing car use, and if like me you don’t drive or own a car, you have to walk to the big shopping centre. Tory/Labour council are imo, deliberately wasting money on roadworks for no reason, they are not removing traffic redirected/roadworks signs from the street which are lain on the pavements, creating a huge hazard to everyone, but imagine if you are disabled / blind. There’s a huge round bin in our local shopping street which has been damaged, it’s now a massive trip and break your neck hazard!
Labour/Tory council have cancelled plans for more allotments, (plans made by the previous SNP council) and no doubt the land will be sold to developers. The allotment waiting list is huge, especially since Covid kicked in. Tory/Labour council in Edinburgh, who took council control from the SNP (who won majority of votes), are not going to spend wisely, or improve infrastructure, or repair social housing, no, they are wasting our money,
They will keep running the city down, because guess who that looks bad for, the Scottish government. Capital city, what a mess, that SNP are cutting funds so bad bad bad will be the narrative. Expect council tax to be hiked up in March as well.
There’s something very wrong about the whole council system, when political parties who weren’t even voted in, can use (abuse) it, to attempt to undermine the work of Scotland’s democratically elected government, and hand SNP bad stories to the media on a plate. I take photos of the ‘roadworks’ and signs lying across the pavements etc, just for reference. 😉
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Wilson’s preference to lay blame on SNP (in majority power for 11 years but only in Scotland) for over 40 years of systematic defunding by Tory and Labour governed Westminster across ALL of the UK is pretty desperate stuff, but he’s dyed in the wool Labour even when the Party has lost it’s mojo, essentially the Keir Hardy brand of what once was Labour which is no more.
He must have been looking at Labour’s polling figures in Scotland to have felt compelled to write such utter drivel, or perhaps it presages yet more drivel from Sarwar…
The difference between faith and religion is the latter going through the motions, as perfectly exampled by Brian Wilson…
The problem is he’s still paid for it…
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Illegal wars, financial fraud, tax evasion, Trident. Etc.cost £Trillions. Trillions wasted by Labour. Kept secret under the Official Secrets Act. Iraq, Lockerbie and Dunblane kept secret for 100 years.
The unionist councils wasting £Millions/Billions. Wasters for all to see.
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Brown UK banking crash. Westminster Gov totally removes banking regulation and let the sharks. Thatcher onwards. Established tax havens. Ruined the world economy.
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Wee Brian wiz a Tory flunkey at one time, so he probably thinks it “REASONABLE” for people —
who dont live in Scotland,–
dont get elected in Scotland (therefore we cannot vote them out).-
to OVERIDE the elected parliament in Scotland.
Wee Brian, who left Scotland’s old mining areas with huge holes in the ground that cost a £150 million to sort, when he was a Scottish Coal director.
Oh, and the miners lost part of their pensions when the company didnt pay contributions.
That’s Wee Brian Wilson fur ye!
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Re- Mr Wilson and coal mining: I wonder if anyone has ever verified the following claims made back in 2013 about this involvement in the Scottish coal industry whilst a Labour energy minister?
Source: https://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/aftermath-of-the-scottish-coal-deep-mine-company-limited-liquidation/
Headline: ‘Aftermath of The Scottish Coal (Deep Mine) Company Limited liquidation – Scottish taxpayers paid Liquidation tab for private company’.
‘In 2002, as well being the recipient of £41 million in Labour government subsidies over the previous 2 years, it was discovered by the Scottish opposition, the SNP, in Holyrood that The Scottish Coal (Deep Mine) Co. Ltd had been given a secret blank cheque by the UK Labour govt when the bill came through for their £4.5million liquidation and it was paid by the Scottish Executive i.e. Scottish taxpayers.
‘This guarantee was agreed in 1999, when Peter Lawwell was the company’s Group Finance Director and Brian Wilson was Labour UK Energy Minister and responsible for coalmining. Now of course Mr Lawwell is CEO of Celtic PLC and Mr Wilson is a Celtic PLC Director.’
And we’re told that: ‘Surprise, surprise, Gordon Brown was also the local MP in Fife where the mine was located.’
‘Financial impact: No enquiry was ever held on behalf of the Scottish taxpayers to find out how the secret guarantee was engineered. With the Labour party in power on both sides of the border the possibility of an enquiry was smothered. We still don’t know who in the Labour parties, Scotland & London, committed Scottish taxpayers to an open ended guarantee for a Private company. All we do know is the £41 million direct subsidies were lost and Scottish Enterprise [taxpayer] paid the £4.5 million liquidation bill to the Royal Bank of Scotland.
‘On the 25th October 2003, John Reid, former UK Labour Home Secretary/Senior Cabinet Minister and Celtic chairman welcomed Peter Lawwell as Executive Director, Head of Operations of Celtic Plc. Mr Lawwell had resigned his Clydeport directorships the day before. Brian Wilson became a Celtic director on 1st June 2005’.
There is a lot more information at the link given above. I came across this by chance some time ago: IF the information can be ‘stood up’, it seems like a murky tale!
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UK decommissioning cost £13Billion a year over ten years. Hinkley Point year’s over budget and late. Nuclearwaste is being flown around the world.
Scotland is covered in coal. UK Gov reneged on CCS projects at Peterhead and Longannet in Fife. The European countries are investing in CCS. Scotland is the best place for it. With the technology and access to offshore capacity. Scotland loses out again because of Westminster poor, bad decisions. Scotland 25% in surplus in fuel and energy pays more. Not parity with the rest of the UK. Fuel and energy compNies wanted to charge Scotland less. Westmibster refused convent. Scotland in surplus and nearer the source should be paying less. Instead of subsidising the rest of the UK. .
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In 2002 Blair committed to an illegal war. Knowingly. The mass murderer should be in jail. Not tax evading on public monies. £Trillions wasted and the world economy damaged by lying incompetents.
Brexit anothe4 Westmibster failure.
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