Ex-FM at town hall

Alex Salmond used a tour of Ayrshire last Thursday to unveil his ALBA party’s ‘key pledges for pensioners’.

The former First Minister stopped off at Ayr Town Hall with party activists ahead of Thursday’s council elections.

Whilst in Ayr, Mr Salmond said: “Pensioners across Scotland, and especially here in South Ayrshire with one of the highest proportion of aged population across the country, are facing the brunt of the cost of living crisis. ALBA is proposing three ways in which it is possible to put money into the pockets of pensioners now and to help offset the rising cost of fuel, food and transport. ALBA is proposing a doubling of the winter fuel payment, currently worth £100 to £300 for one million eligible pensioners; a 25 per cent reduction in the council tax for those in receipt of council tax reduction; and is calling on the Chancellor to cut fuel bills by a third to be paid for by a windfall tax on the excess profits of the energy giants.”

Town hall gathering Mr Salmond was joined in Ayr by the party’s South Ayrshire Council candidates Denise Sommerville (Ayr North), John Caddis (Prestwick), Geoff Bush (Kyle) and Eileen Spence (Girvan and South Carrick).