COUNCILLORS staged a revolt at this week’s budget meeting amid claims that they are being ‘blackmailed and intimidated’ by the SNP Government.

The dramatic scenes unfolded during the meeting to rubber stamp a letter to Finance Secretary and Deputy First Minister John Swinney agreeing to his budget terms.

In his letter to North Ayrshire Council (NAC), the SNP Minister warned if councillors did not agree to his budget, North Ayrshire would face a further £11million worth of cuts.

Mr Swinney warned of the removal of £7.220million from Health and Social Care, £2.04million from teacher numbers and £1.769million from council tax - meaning an increase of 23 per cent to householders - if the council did not write to him by February 9 accepting his proposals.

However the controversial proposals have enraged elected members of North Ayrshire Council who have made allegations of blackmail.

Addressing the full council, and specifically Provost Joan Sturgeon, Councillor Peter McNamara, who is leader of the Labour Group, spoke passionately of “threats and interference” to local democracy from the SNP Government.

He told the meeting: “In recent years we have witnessed a growing interference, and I call it interference in local democracy.

"It starts with the council cuts and now it’s health and social care and then of course it’s teacher numbers. What will it be next? 

“My fear is that this government which is showing a tendency for centralism will take over control of education leaving locally elected councillors as nothing more than administrators.

"So for me the argument is not whether we send a letter to John Swinney or not, of course we will send a letter, it’s what’s in that letter that is extremely important to reflect the wishes of North Ayrshire.

"And the wishes of North Ayrshire are that their locally elected councillors take decisions on their behalf without the interference of Central Government. It’s democracy that is under threat. 

“We can no longer tolerate people coming in and telling us how we should construct our budget under threat - under threat - of £7million out of health and social care, £2million from teacher numbers and £1.7million from council tax.

“How is that democracy, threatening people in that manner? I am fearful for the future of Local Government at this late stage in my term.”

Irvine Times:

Cllr McNamara was supported by fellow councillor and Labour colleague Alex Gallagher, who said: “I endorse everything that Cllr McNamara said. 

“This is a real challenge for the voters of North Ayrshire – they voted for me but I can’t set the budget.”

SNP member Cllr Tony Gurney in turn claimed that if Scotland had voted Yes in 2014’s Independence Referendum then North Ayrshire councillors would have been allowed to properly scrutinise the budget.

He said: “The change of the budget timetable has been as a direct consequence of the late changes being made by the Tory Westminster Government.

“I will not go in to who actually voted us to actually stay in the Westminster Government but the changes were made by (George) Osborne, they were passed on to Holyrood and then passed on to us.

“How else could we have done this when we got the changes so late from Westminster?”

His colleague Cllr Ruth Maguire said: “I’m really concerned that we would consider sending a letter to the Government which says that the councillors of North Ayrshire Council are unable to set their budget when that’s a requirement of exactly what we have to do.”

That prompted a collective response from the room saying “It’s not.”

NAC Chief Executive Elma Murray adding: “It’s a competent amendment, Cllr Maguire.”

Independent councillor John Hunter told the meeting: “I find myself in the unusual and rare position of agreeing with Cllr McNamara.

“When I read Mr Swinney’s letter the word that jumped into my head was ‘blackmail’. It feels like that.

“The penalties for non-compliance are out of all proportion, so I’m going to support the amendment.”

Conservative Cllr Tom Marshall also backed the amendment and accused Mr Swinney and the SNP of being ‘bullies’.

He said: “While I support the decision to accept the settlement from the Scottish Government I can only do this under protest. 

“The timescale for this agreement is not acceptable.

“In spite of receiving devolved powers from the UK Government, the SNP Government wishes not to devolve them to local authorities but behaves in the opposite manner by not only removing powers from Local Authorities, for example Police Scotland, but now seems to cajole, instruct and bully the council as to how to set its own budget and threatens Draconian penalties.

“Mr Swinney in his letter talks of ‘partnership’ but there can only be a partnership between equals, not between bullies.”

However not all of the councillors were in agreement.

And one - SNP member Cllr Anthea Dickson - compared her Labour colleagues to ‘dumped lovers’.

She said: “I can really fully understand why the Labour Party and some of the other members are feeling so upset. 

“They feel the pain and rejection of a dumped lover post-referendum.

“They had expected more, at least a vow, and instead felt the cold water of rejection of their proud Scot status to find that they had supported the people who are not actually interested in what they have to say about the needs of Scotland.”

SNP Cllr Alan Hill said: “Whilst I hear all the bombast this afternoon, I’m kind of struggling to find what it is within the agreement that the Labour Party finds so objectionable.

“Because it seems to me that everything we have been asked to do is stuff that we have either committed to doing or we support.”

A furious Cllr McNamara replied: “I’m talking about local democracy.

“I don’t want to sit on a council and have a minister of the Scottish Government or any other minister, whether he be SNP, Labour, Liberal or Tory, telling me what happens in the local community that I represent.

“I was elected to do that, Alan and if you want to sit back on this council and let John Swinney or whoever dictates to you, then that’s up to you but it’s not going to happen to me.”

While refusing to pass opinion on the settlement, Council Leader Willie Gibson appeared to agree with Cllr McNamara’s impassioned speech on the importance of local democracy.

He said: “I think there’s enough been said. 

“I, like Peter came into politics because I believe passionately in local democracy and I think it’s really important we try to maintain that in every way we can. 

“I have nothing else to say on the matter.”

The SNP-led council lost the roll call with 14 votes to 12 - all 12 SNP members voting against amending the letter.

Cllr Gibson thereafter issued a statement about the budget deal.

He said: “Our overriding priority when we come to set our budget next week will be to protect key frontline services.

“This is a challenge for us at a time when we have to balance reducing resources with increased demand for services.

“By accepting this financial settlement from the Scottish Government, we will be protecting the people of North Ayrshire from a potentially crippling rise in Council Tax.

“The settlement makes available resources to the Health and Social Care Partnership to meet rising demand, reduce charging for non-residential care services and support payment of a living wage of £8.25 per hour to all social care workers by October 2016.

“Working within our budget we remain committed to growing North Ayrshire’s economy to create more jobs, strengthen communities and tackle inequalities.”