Kane slams SNP over their 'civic vandalism'

Local MP is furious over further cuts to local councils

- STEWART MCCONNELL

Stirling MP Chris Kane MP has slammed the SNP, accusing them of delivering “another round of civic vandalism” to Scotland’s local authorities.

He voiced strong criticism after last Tuesday's Scottish budget confirmed further cuts to council funding.

Despite a £10.1billion injection of funding from the UK Government, the SNP’s budget increases local government cash by just 0.3 per cent in real terms.

Independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warns that from 2027-28, councils face average real-terms reductions of 2.1 per cent per year, forcing council tax hikes of around eight per cent just to stand still.

The IFS also criticised the presentation of the budget as “misleading,” stating that the Scottish Government “continues to bury the most appropriate spending figures in an annex” and that headline figures “cannot be meaningfully compared.”