By Liz S
BBC have an article on their website which is the top story on their Scottish Politics page and top story on the Tayside & Central page too and also it’s the sixth story on the main Scotland page with a headline that states:
“Falkirk sets largest council tax increase of 15.6%”
The text of the article explains that “The budget of the council’s SNP administration was defeated. Instead the motion of Independent councillor Laura Murtagh was backed by the Labour group and other Independents”.
“Council leader and SNP councillor Cecil Meiklejohn said her administration’s proposed 13.7% would have brought Falkirk’s council tax closer to the Scottish average”
(BTW one of the other ‘Independents’ in Falkirk Council, who was formerly elected as a Conservative councillor, has now defected to the Reform UK party. So is that how Reform UK will make supposed ‘gains’ in Scotland, as in them coming in ‘through the back door’, seems so, as how many is that now who were formerly Tories but who have now defected to the Reform UK party, strangely this story, of her defection in Falkirk council, is currently not on any Scotland page on the BBC website yet it broke, as a revelation, only two days ago????).
Also MSM Monitor tweeted this today:
“The deputy political editor at The Daily Record posted this tweet yesterday. He turned off replies after angry responses pointed out that the SNP administration wanted a lower rise but Labour joined up with opposition councillors to force the higher rise through”
The tweet from the DR Deputy political Editor ,Chris McCall, was this:
“SNP-run Falkirk signs off 15.6 per cent council tax rise. Largest increase in the Scotland. Sheesh”.
McCall’s tweet has not been deleted , but at least he now knows that he has been caught out , in him trying to promote something that was (strongly) indicating that the blame was only with the SNP, and not with the DR’s beloved Labour party, for whom the DR constantly promotes political propaganda on their, Labour’s, behalf.
Sheesh, Labour and The Daily Record both always ‘playing politics’, they both just never stop doing that do they, in the so called ‘News where we are’ that is heavily tainted by an overwhelming media bias against the SNP.
Liz S
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The , checks bloody notes, ‘Scottish. Daily Express had a headline:
“SNP-run local authority agrees a staggering 15.6% Council Tax hike that will hit residents hard”
Note the word ‘agrees‘ in their headline meaning it was not their , the SNP’s, suggestion, but they, the SNP supposedly , checks bloody notes again, agreed?…..
However they did not really agree , did they ?
As was it not more a case of someone else , an independent Councillor, suggested this “staggering 15.6% council tax hike” and then Labour in this council backed their suggestion, as did other independents , so the SNP were outvoted on this by the Labour group of Councillors and also the Independents in this council.
Daily Express lies, or rather, once again they are twisting the facts to generate another #SNPBAD story, take your pick or choose both as they are both applicable in reference to the Daily Express.
They , the Daily Express, also state in the article that “the Labour group in Falkirk lay the blame at the door of the Scottish government”.
Of course they do.
Just as Anas Sarwar accused the SNP of “always blaming others” he himself , has no qualms (or shame) with either himself or others in his party “always blaming the SNP, and also blaming the Tories as well”……also known as “others” to Anas Sarwar.
Do as I do not as I say.
It’s never Labour to blame is it (said no one), as they were supposed to be the party for “change” but now in a change of direction Labour , in Scotland, are going to go in a “new direction” allegedly, one that will see them them going in the ‘same direction’ as Labour UK ,which so far , has proved to be the ‘worse direction’ for the public in the UK. (and would also be an even worse direction too for the people in Scotland, if Sarwar was elected as our next FM, which is looking highly unlikely so far).
But wait if the Falkirk Labour Group are really blaming the Scottish government for this increase in Council Tax in Falkirk …..
( As in the higher one that Labour supported as in voted for aka #TheBainPrinciple strikes again).
Well does that then mean they, the Falkirk Labour group , are also blaming the UK government for what is happening in Birmingham ?
Birmingham council is a Labour council.
BBC Headline on 4 March 2025
“Hundreds protest against £148m council cuts”
“Striking bin workers and residents opposed to service cuts are among hundreds of people protesting outside Birmingham City Council’s headquarters ahead of a key budget meeting”
“The council is expected to sign off about £148 million of spending cuts, which will impact services including adult social care, bin collections and libraries”.
“The council effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023 and had to find at least £300m in savings and sell assets worth £750m by April 2026”.
Socialist worker reported this:
“At the end of February, the Birmingham bin strike against attacks on pay and safety stepped up. Frustrated at the council’s use of agency staff to undermine the dispute, Unite pickets exercised their right to walk and stand in front of the entrances to the depots.
Managers reacted by calling the police on the strikers, who made it clear that they wouldn’t be intimidated. In the end there was a complete shutdown of all three depots, with wagons parked up and agency staff stood down.
At the Perry Barr picket, the police reportedly turned up, wished the workers good luck, and left! However, the next day Unite members returned to find an increased police presence, which the strikers believe was paid for by the Labour-run council”!
Quick someone speak to the Labour Group in Falkirk.
Then ask them if this Birmingham Council situation is something that they blame the Birmingham Labour council for , or if they blame the UK Labour government for all of this financial mess happening in Birmingham with the Birmingham Labour council ?
If not, then is this to be yet another case of , with the Labour party (and too for the Labour Falkirk group) …..a….
‘Do as I (we) say not as I (we) do’ situation…..?????
I think so.
Liz S
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*Do as I do not as I say.
Speed type error…but it should have been….
Do as I say not as I do….but is it the same difference then ? Ha Ha
Liz S
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Ah the Daily Record. The “folded up must read” paper of the 70’s, often seen in boiler suits on the way to the lavvies in many factories for an unofficial break.
So lets just go back to 2014 and the Record had a daily circulation of 227,640, however by 2025 its a paltry 44,210. Huge right enough compared to the Herald.
Anyway, just keep publishing the lies and distortions Chris as it has served you and your remaining readers well. Just mind and polish up your CV though.
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Being a lot older Stephen, when I first went to work in the early 50s, the paper you were supposed to be seen with was the Daily Mirror. At that time the wrecker was owned by Lord Kemsley, so as such a Tory paper.
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Cheers Alex, I didn’t know about the Daily Mirror. You learn something new every day!
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Talking of “staggering” but then also talking of it being shameful , what about the “Cuts” being made by, checks bloody notes, the Labour UK government.
We had the BBC online (and others in the media and social media too), reporting that “Chancellor Rachel Reeves has earmarked “several billion pounds” in draft spending cuts to welfare ahead of her Spring Statement”….
The current Labour Works & Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall , who seems to be channelling her inner Esther McVey persona, has stated that “Some people on benefits are “taking the mickey” which she said “as the Labour UK government seeks ways to curb welfare spending”. (Esther McVey was once the Tory Works & pension Secretary in 2018, and she too tried to punish people on Welfare Benefits).
So let’s just look at this shall we.
So there is money , as in loadsa money, to spend on defence (from Labour’s Magic Money tree) and also to give to Ukraine (not dissing or disrespecting the needs of Ukraine’s people, who I know are going through a terrible time, but the PM and his Chancellor told the UK people that times for them going forward would be hard as apparently there was a “financial black hole” so money was tight).
However there is also less money for foreign aid to poorer countries outwith the UK and also less money for the poorest and most vulnerable within the UK , or so it seems.
Got it……as in I really have….Got it !
However will more voters in Scotland who voted Labour last year in the GE now finally ….’Get It’ too ?
That is , will they now , as voters, finally understand who Labour truly are, what they really represent, who they want to represent and who they do not want to represent as a UK government .
Also do they now realise how Labour UK will negatively impact them and their families and also negatively impact Scotland as a country .
Surely Liz Kendall sees that the more wealthy within UK society are also “taking the mickey”.
Tax avoiders, offshore accounts, non-dom status, large corporations not paying enough tax comparative to their profits, no cap on bankers bonuses and no wealth tax on the rich of the UK to be imposed by the Labour party as the current UK government.
However does Liz Kendall or the Labour Chancellor even care , or indeed, does anyone in teh Labour party even care ?
No I doubt it , solely based on the words and actions coming from their Labour leader and certain Labour government ministers and also what Labour refuse to do, as in to generate more money from the wealthy within the UK, in what Labour say is a ‘cash strapped UK’. (cash strapped for the “many” but not for the “few”, or so it seems).
As the more wealthy within the UK are now actually being aided by this new Labour UK government, who as a UK government , are more willing to listen to the concerns of the millionaire and billionaire non-doms as well as also listening more to the large corporations as Employers.
The Labour party had “pledged to scrap the Nom-Dom status in its election manifesto, saying this would address unfairness in the tax system and raise extra money for public services”. However, in another U Turn the Chancellor then “amended this plan to allow a more generous phase out of tax benefits” as she said “she had been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community”
Labour are also now watering down one of their former pledges that they made to workers in the UK, in the workers having the “right to switch off” , which now , in yet another Labour U-Turn has been dropped by them, as they , Labour, decided instead to listen to the ‘concerns’ of the Employers on this.
Saw this below tweet online by Saul Staniforth , who has a lot of followers online, which I suspect is mainly due to his astute observations on Politics:
“In 2015 Lab ordered its MPs not to oppose the Tories Welfare Reform bill. This shameful act was one reason members elected Corbyn (he’d opposed the bill) The Lab right then spent years smashing the left so they could regain control of the party & get back to backing welfare cuts”
BTW Anas Sarwar was one of the MP’s who complied with the (UK HQ) order to “not oppose the Tories Welfare Reform Bill” and now under Keir Starmer’s Labour are trying to go even further than the Tories on welfare (Cuts).
#ReadThisCommentLabourAreImposingMoreAusterity (ignore Anas Sarwar’s lips as if you read them ?……it seems that when he speaks using his “Lips” then he seems to be lying).
Vote SNP in 2026, as to vote for any Pro UK party in 2026 is to vote for many lives to be destroyed and damaged too and also your (real) country, Scotland, to also be destroyed and damaged too.
Liz S
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More people need to vote SNP to keep their council tax down. The unionists councils waste so much money. Borrowing and spending like there is no tomorrow. Ganging up together to corrupt the administration.
The unionists councils spend too much on empty shops and offices. Not enough on schools and houses. They borrow, spend and waste monies on ridiculous projects. No one wants or supports. Instead of funding essential services and following Scottish Gov guidelines. The unionists councils supported by mavericks, Independent councillors aligned to unionists. Some of them are onky in one it for the money. They could not give a damn about sensible guidelines.
People need to stop voting unionists and turn out to vote. 40% turnout. People who support Independence need to vote SNP for better local management of the economy. Keeping council tax down.
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