The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily, finishing in 8 days, to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland - a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson
Professor John Robertson OBA
The Herald today has:
Biggest council tax rise in years for Glasgow as deal agreed – A Budget deal has been agreed between the SNP and Greens in Glasgow that will see a council tax rise of 7.5%. The parties have decided on a budget that will see council tax payers pay more but it will increase staff for cleansing and provide free school meals for more pupils.1
How are big city Labour council’s doing?
Birmingham City Council has signed off a deal to impose tax hikes of 21 per cent and devastating cuts to public services.2
What level are the increases from?
In November 2023, from Policy Mogul, an AI enhanced blog:
Scotland could do more to put money in pockets with full powers of independence New figures from the House of Commons Library show Scotland has had the lowest council tax for 16 years under an SNP government, when compared with England and Wales.
Whilst the average amount of council tax in Scotland has decreased by -7.1% (around £101) in real terms since the SNP came to power, in Labour run-Wales it has increased in real terms by 31.6% (around £445). In England under successive Tory and Labour governments, it has slightly increased.
Council tax is also cheaper in every Band (A-H) in Scotland, when compared with England and Wales, and will likely remain so given the Council Tax freeze the SNP Scottish Government has recently announced, which has not been replicated elsewhere in the UK. The figures come after reports revealed the Labour Party’s ‘shocking’ plans to raise council tax by 32% in East Lothian, which has been stopped in its tracks by the SNP’s council tax freeze.3
Sources:
- https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24949616.biggest-council-tax-rise-years-glasgow-deal-agreed/?ref=ebbn&nid=1388&u=54f15f1382a35160f5f9fbd9de82faff&date=200225
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/birmingham-council-tax-vote-latest-b2507136.html#:~:text=Birmingham%20City%20Council%20has%20signed%20off%20a%20deal,to%20public%20services%20over%20the%20next%20two%20years.
- https://policymogul.com/key-updates/32461/new-figures-scotland-has-lowest-council-tax-every-year-for-16-years-under-snp
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brow
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The Scottish media will be in full anti–SNP mode as Councils announce their Council Tax hikes , regardless of the party controlling each Council .
Comparisons with English or Welsh tax rises will be absent ; unionist mouthpieces will be to the fore , condemning that SNPEEEE for its mishandling of the finances ; interviews with specially selected individuals will state that this could all be avoided if only that SNPEEE were not in Government …..
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The ‘Scottish media’ is not ‘Scottish’ though..they are all HQ’d in England mostly in London, or outwith their UK.
As for your comment, ‘SNP ‘mishandled finances’, we all know here at TUS that if the SNP ‘were not in government’, the alternative, having English parties and their jobsworths pretending to be ‘Scottish’ parties, were in power at Holyrood in Scotland, the BritEngNats would destroy everything positive that the SNPEEE have done, (against huge odds and constraints under devolution), in a few short years, to start to repair the damage in Scotland at the hands of the English being in control for centuries.
We just have to look at the massive SCAM of the English Labour party in Scotland duiring their ten years tenure at Holyrood, plunging Scotland into literally £BILLIONS of dent via their PFI scheme. Also when LabCons were in power at Holyrood they sent £1.5BILLION back to Westminster saying ‘nothing to spend it on in Scotland’!!! Not health, education, jobs, infrastructure, social care, reducing poverty, housing, ‘NOTHING’.
The SNPEEEE need to make sure they REMIND people, and inform those who are new to Scotland, about just how the BritEng LABOUR PARTY in the Scottish parliament ‘MISHANDLED’ Scotland’s money while keeping the people poor and begging, with very few if any opportunities for the people, so yes DRUGS WERE IMPORTED INTO SCOTLAND and widely distributed, and that was no doubt BIG business as they are attempting to make that so now. There are BIG movers behind drugs and you can read about that re Latin America where drugs are imported by the US etc…keeping people poor and begging and having to leave their own countries…it’s big business.
NO THANKS, Scotland’s on a postive life affirming path and the SNP and possibly the Scottish Greens need to make sure to keep it that way, vote for any BritENGLISH Labour party operating in Scotland, and Scotland will be taken back decades and it wasn’t good back then for the people of Scotland at all.
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Excuse typos, I have an unwell son and a cat crying in my ear all the time argh!
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Don’t tell me, the cat is not upset but wants you to do something for them.
I hope your boy improves.
John
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