Whimpered Out

The BBC reported the other day that the majority of councils in Scotland - have agreed the budget settlement proposed by the Scottish government.

In effect the settlement was agreed at a meeting of council leaders - held at COSLA - the umbrella body for Scottish councils - and self-styled 'voice of Scottish local government'.

At the heart of the settlement is a commitment from the Scottish government - to freeze the council tax for five years - which has gone down very well with the voters.

Because this was one of the key planks in the SNP manifesto - in the run-up to the recent Scottish elections - and the pledge was one of the reasons that the SNP won an historic victory at the polls. 

At the time - the big Labour-controlled councils made a huge fuss.

Suggesting all hell would break loose - if councils were punished (financially speaking) - if they dared to raise taxes by more than the amount set centrally - by the Scottish government.

But in the end the Labour 'campaign of resistence' just fizzled out - with a whimper instead of a bang - and it's back to business as normal.

Labour has dominated Scottish local government and COSLA for years - but there signs that their political hegemony is coming to and end - with the next set of council elections due in May 2012.

Labour's Scottish heartlands are slipping away and - of the big councils - only Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire - remain under the party's leadership and control.

And it's interesting to note that these three Labour-run councils - still face the biggest issues and challenges - when it comes to equal pay.

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