Fife Council’s Labour administration has come under fire from an anti-austerity organisation that describes its controversial draft budget proposals as an “ideological attack on the very fabric of our society”.
The People’s Assembly Fife whose members include people from various campaigning organisations and trade unions said the Labour-run council is “obviously resigned to either a Tory government or a Labour government who will still be pursuing the same ideological austerity agenda of further cuts and privatisation”.
The People’s Assembly Fife said its members are “extremely concerned” that at “no point is there a rejection of the imposed cuts to public services”, as the council strives to plug a £77 million black hole.
But the Labour administration has defended its controversial draft budget, which will be firmed up on February 12, and instead accused the Scottish Government of short-changing the people of Fife, a claim the Scottish Government says is “wrong”.
Tam Kirby, spokesman for the People’s Assembly Fife, said: “Austerity is designed to reduce the welfare state, reduce and privatise all our public services.
“It is a return to Victorian values and economics, where the poor and working class are to blame for the budget deficit, where the poor and working class are now carrying the can and are blamed for causing all of the debt.
“It was not the poor or working class that created the crisis of capital in 2008 but it is the poor and working class that now have to pay the price for the collapse of the neo-liberal free market economy.
“We are in a position where we have privatised the profit but have nationalised the debt.
“The creators of the crisis have continued to increase their wealth, while the poor and working class now foot the bill for the greed and folly of the privateers.
“This is what Fife Council is accepting as a fact. This is the true nature of the budget cuts to Fife and all other councils.”
Depute leader Lesley Laird said the local authority shares the People’s Assembly Fife’s concerns but all councils, including Fife’s, have a legal responsibility to balance their books a challenge that is proving “increasingly difficult due to ongoing underfunding of local government from Edinburgh.”
She said: “Fife Council has to cut £77 million to balance its books over the next three years. The draft budget proposals set out the very real challenges and concerns facing the council and the people of Fife.
“The Scottish Government has imposed real cash cuts on local government, while there is significantly increasing demand for services in health and social care.”
Mrs Laird said that with “significantly less money from Edinburgh”, doing things the way the council has always done in education or any other part of the council is simply not sustainable.
She added: “Given that the Scottish Government has just declared a £444m underspend, I also hope that the People’s Assembly are asking questions of the Scottish Government. I would be delighted if they asked why is Fife Council having to take £77 million from its budget against the backdrop of this underspend?”
However, a Scottish Government spokesman said: “These claims are wrong. The Government’s overall budget underspend figures from last year were set out by the Finance Secretary (John Swinney) in June and represent just 0.5% of our discretionary budget.
“The money has been carried forward into this year and will be spent on Scottish Government priorities and has been factored into existing budget plans.”