Is freezing Council tax fair to

[BCram]

To be fair it was always going to happen - the man's obsessed with it

But he is capable of choosing what he wants to say. There are many questions about budgets and how local government is "controlled" by central government. Maybe there are websites that show how much money is actually spent by local councils and how it changes from year to year. I think if we compared cash spent at the end of each financial year, like the accounts that companies prepare we might find things easier to understand?

[islaydarkblue]

If you take this thread down the ferries route, I will be cross. ��

I have no plans to do that.
I was just showing that a previous Scottish Government minister has previously made a ill thought out similar announcement at an SNP annual conference to keep their members sweet.

[islaydarkblue]

But he is capable of choosing what he wants to say. There are many questions about budgets and how local government is "controlled" by central government. Maybe there are websites that show how much money is actually spent by local councils and how it changes from year to year. I think if we compared cash spent at the end of each financial year, like the accounts that companies prepare we might find things easier to understand?

Local authorities throughout Scotland have lots of funds squirrelled away containing millions of pounds.
The only way that you can obtain details of their funds is to submit a freedom of information request to Dundee City Council asking for details of the balance if each of their funds at 31st March 2023.
About ten years ago I submitted a request to Argyll and Bute Council when their councillors were pleading poverty asking what the balance of their accounts were at 31st March which is the end of their financial year.
From memory their general fund had a balance in excess of £18 million at the end of their financial year.
For the record the Scottish Government via the Barnett Formula hands over 87% of funding to each local authority with the remainder coming from council tax, business rates and other income such as green fees paid to local authority golf courses, putting greens and charges for planning applications etc.

[Deeranged]

I have no plans to do that.
I was just showing that a previous Scottish Government minister has previously made a ill thought out similar announcement at an SNP annual conference to keep their members sweet.

What did you make of your Tory pal Sunak making promises to scrap policies that the Tories had never even thought about implementing before he 'scrapped' them? Meat tax? Seven bins? That speech was well thought out wasn't it? Or was it just lies hoping to con the gullible voter again and to keep Tory voters on his side? Give them something back that you never actually took from them or intended taking from them.

All politicians lie, regardless of party leanings, they have to because if they told us what they really planned we'd never vote for them - that's why we're now lumbered with an entirely incompetent UK Government, with an entirely incompetent Scottish Parliament and with complete incompetents running our Councils. They all had to lie to convince the gullible that they knew what they were doing.

Don't point fingers at one party without at least recognising that other parties also do the same.

[BCram]

What did you make of your Tory pal Sunak making promises to scrap policies that the Tories had never even thought about implementing before he 'scrapped' them? Meat tax? Seven bins? That speech was well thought out wasn't it? Or was it just lies hoping to con the gullible voter again and to keep Tory voters on his side? Give them something back that you never actually took from them or intended taking from them.

All politicians lie, regardless of party leanings, they have to because if they told us what they really planned we'd never vote for them - that's why we're now lumbered with an entirely incompetent UK Government, with an entirely incompetent Scottish Parliament and with complete incompetents running our Councils. They all had to lie to convince the gullible that they knew what they were doing.

Don't point fingers at one party without at least recognising that other parties also do the same.

I agree. The problem is how do you get people who wield power to act in accordance with some moral code? There is perhaps a political influence on civil servants and local government officers that distorts their thinking and actions. Maybe the voters will change their voting pattern but I don't think that will change this basic flaw, where actions are taken for self serving political reasons rather than in the interests of good government.

[islaydarkblue]

I agree. The problem is how do you get people who wield power to act in accordance with some moral code? There is perhaps a political influence on civil servants and local government officers that distorts their thinking and actions. Maybe the voters will change their voting pattern but I don't think that will change this basic flaw, where actions are taken for self serving political reasons rather than in the interests of good government.

In my opinion all local authority councillors should be standing as Independents and not representing a political party.
Then they would have to vote in favour of policies which were best for their own constituents and not vote on party lines which happens at present.

[islaydarkblue]

What did you make of your Tory pal Sunak making promises to scrap policies that the Tories had never even thought about implementing before he 'scrapped' them? Meat tax? Seven bins? That speech was well thought out wasn't it? Or was it just lies hoping to con the gullible voter again and to keep Tory voters on his side? Give them something back that you never actually took from them or intended taking from them.

All politicians lie, regardless of party leanings, they have to because if they told us what they really planned we'd never vote for them - that's why we're now lumbered with an entirely incompetent UK Government, with an entirely incompetent Scottish Parliament and with complete incompetents running our Councils. They all had to lie to convince the gullible that they knew what they were doing.

Don't point fingers at one party without at least recognising that other parties also do the same.

The SNP are in power at Holyrood now aided by the useless Greens.
In my opinion the only way that we can get rid of the SNP Government is to vote tactically.
The political party which was in second place behind the SNP the previous General Election and Scottish Government election should stand against the SNP at the next General Election and Scottish Government elections with all the other political parties not putting up a candidate.
EG. If the Labour candidate was second to Chris Law in the Dundee West constituency at the last General Election then the Labour candidate would go ‘head to head’ against Chris Law with the Conservative and Lib Dems not putting forward a candidate in the Dundee West constituency.
At present the Better Together vote is split between the Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem candidates whilst the Independence vote goes to the SNP candidate.
That is why we are currently stuck with all these SNP MPs and MSPs.

[Deeranged]

The SNP are in power at Holyrood now aided by the useless Greens.
In my opinion the only way that we can get rid of the SNP Government is to vote tactically.
The political party which was in second place behind the SNP the previous General Election and Scottish Government election should stand against the SNP at the next General Election and Scottish Government elections with all the other political parties not putting up a candidate.
EG. If the Labour candidate was second to Chris Law in the Dundee West constituency at the last General Election then the Labour candidate would go ‘head to head’ against Chris Law with the Conservative and Lib Dems not putting forward a candidate in the Dundee West constituency.
At present the Better Together vote is split between the Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem candidates whilst the Independence vote goes to the SNP candidate.
That is why we are currently stuck with all these SNP MPs and MSPs.

But opposition parties declining to stand is completely different from tactical voting.

Labour has just massively turned over two big Tory majorities in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth so I can see no reason why Labour would, or should, decline to have a candidate stand in any constituency where the Tories are second to the SNP - as things are going Labour would have a very good chance of passing both of them and taking the seat.

The very best thing that could happen right now in Scotland is that the Blue Tories could take all candidates out of all Scottish seats and leave it as a (more or less) straight battle between the SNP and the Red Tories (Labour). Because of the mess the SNP has made of Scotland, and because we all now know they're corrupt to the core, I reckon Labour would easily win a majority. The risk is though that if the Labour majority wasn't big enough they'd likely also take up with The Greens to create another waste of a parliament.

[islaydarkblue]

But opposition parties declining to stand is completely different from tactical voting.

Labour has just massively turned over two big Tory majorities in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth so I can see no reason why Labour would, or should, decline to have a candidate stand in any constituency where the Tories are second to the SNP - as things are going Labour would have a very good chance of passing both of them and taking the seat.

The very best thing that could happen right now in Scotland is that the Blue Tories could take all candidates out of all Scottish seats and leave it as a (more or less) straight battle between the SNP and the Red Tories (Labour). Because of the mess the SNP has made of Scotland, and because we all now know they're corrupt to the core, I reckon Labour would easily win a majority. The risk is though that if the Labour majority wasn't big enough they'd likely also take up with The Greens to create another waste of a parliament.

You should know by now that the electorate use by elections to register their protest vote at the way the country is being run by the party in power whether it is the Conservative Party or the Labour Party.
However when it comes to the General Election the electorate vote for their normal first choice political party candidate.

[Deeranged]

You should know by now that the electorate use by elections to register their protest vote at the way the country is being run by the party in power whether it is the Conservative Party or the Labour Party.
However when it comes to the General Election the electorate vote for their normal first choice political party candidate.

This feels different Islay. I really feel a lot of Tory voters realise how badly they were conned by allowing Johnston in at the last General Election just as SNP voters, myself included, realise how badly we were conned.

I've already said the SNP will never get another vote from me and wouldn't be surprised if a very good number of Tory voters down south are saying similar. Only problem now is deciding which of the alternatives is the least bad one.