Dundee City Council’s leader said he will not be “lectured” by anti-poverty campaigners who have challenged him to a public debate ahead of the V&A opening.
Unite the Community plan to stage a series of protests in the lead-up to the opening on September 15 and asked councillor John Alexander to discuss what they have branded the “obscenity” of the £1billion investment.
Mr Alexander insisted he was aware of Dundee’s poverty problem — and said the council was already taking action to tackle it.
Michael MacGregor, of Unite the Community, said: “Councillor Alexander mentions the billion pounds spent on the Waterfront Development. This is an obscenity while bairns and their folks go hungry including those in employment in the fabled hospitality sector.
“Unite the Community Tayside challenges Councillor Alexander to a public debate on the economics of trickle down, confident that solid evidence already exists to win our argument.”
Mr Alexander said Unite the Community was failing to understand the wider context of investment in the city, and that the £1 billion related to private investment in addition to public investment.
He added: “I’m a Dundonian, from the Kirkton area and I don’t need lectured on the realities this city faces, I know them well.
“In reality, I’ve been talking about the challenges that this city faces since my first day as leader of the council and acting upon them.
“To see the V&A in isolation is missing the point. It’s one part of a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle.
“All of the jobs being created within the waterfront pay a Scottish living wage and they won’t all be in the hospitality sector, so the suggestion is incorrect.”
