Councils in the frame for ‘Holyrood power grab’
This week, trade unions warned local authorities will be left responsible for only ‘bins and bodies’ if Scots Gov continues centralising services ... as FM Nicola Sturgeon doubled down on the SNP’s aim to get rid of Trident
Monday, May 2 Sturgeon: Ukraine war will not stop us ditching Trident
NICOLA STURGEON has said she still plans to kick out the UK’s nuclear deterrent in the early years of an independent Scotland, despite Russia’s ruthless war in Ukraine.
The First Minister yesterday told The Herald it was her “expectation and hope” that Trident would be removed from the Faslane naval base on the Clyde in the first Holyrood term after a Yes vote.
In spite of the global ramifications of Vladimir Putin’s aggression, this is the same timetable as the one proposed by the SNP almost a decade ago. The policy could effectively disarm the UK – one of three nuclear powers in the Nato alliance – as there are no alternative sites in the UK for the Trident submarines and warheads.
While Milford Haven in Wales, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and Devonport in Plymouth have all been touted as possible alternatives, none is ready and all have major limitations.
Crucially, no other site in the UK has the equivalent of Coulport near Faslane, the UK’s strategic nuclear weapons facility where the warheads for the Trident system are stored. The opposition parties accused the SNP leader of being “reckless”. Last week, journalist and broadcaster Andrew Marr warned that “Trident could be the issue that makes winning an independence referendum next year impossible”.
Tuesday, May 3 Train drivers could walk out for first time in 20 years
TRAIN drivers could strike for the first time in 20 years after talks between a rail union and transport bosses failed to reach an agreement over pay.
Aslef met with ScotRail yesterday to discuss a pay increase amid inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
While other sections of ScotRail staff have gone on strike in recent years, the move would be a first in two decades for drivers. It is understood ScotRail has offered drivers a 2.2 per cent increase, which Aslef says is a “derisory offer”.
Kevin Lindsay, industrial organiser for Aslef, said: “Aslef members who have kept the country moving throughout the pandemic have been presented with a derisory pay offer from ScotRail management which takes no account of the costof-living crisis workers face.
“Scotland’s train drivers did not make the decision to consider industrial action lightly – indeed we have not had a single pay dispute with Scotland’s railway operators for 21 years. Yet, just one month into the Scottish Government’s stewardship of ScotRail, we are being left with no option but to consider action in response.”
Wednesday, May 4 ‘Scotland’s councils risk extinction in Holyrood power grab’
COUNCILS will be left responsible for only “bins and bodies” if the Scottish Government continues centralising services, the head of Scotland’s largest local authority trade union has warned.
Speaking ahead of the elections tomorrow, Tracey Dalling, Scottish secretary of Unison, said that those successfully elected must not act as “managers of decline” or mouthpieces for Holyrood, and instead stand up for local services and the staff who deliver them.
Ms Dalling said there was a real risk that councils could become essentially extinct in their current form in the next decade, if the Government continues with its centralisation plans such as the National Care Service.
She said: “It’s been my fear for the last 10 years and will continue to be my fear for the coming 10 years, over what is the nature of locally delivered and locally accountable services in our communities.
“I’ve used this expression over the years – bins and bodies. We will have refuse collection and we will have burials and graveyards [run by councils] and very little else.”
Speaking exclusively to The Herald, Ms Dalling said there was “a huge centralised agenda from the Scottish Government and has been for some time”, pointing to examples such as Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which were formed in 2013 from multiple regional bodies.
Thursday, May 5
£30m hydrogen network project aims to replace natural gas
A NEW £30 million project has been launched in Scotland to find out if hydrogen can be a clean alternative to
natural gas for homes and businesses.
Grangemouth Refinery owner Ineos is leading a project with the business that runs Scotland’s gas networks, SGN, in an attempt to bring hydrogen distribution networks a step closer to reality in the UK. Hydrogen is being championed as the fuel of the future and experts believe it can help tackle the biggest root cause of climate change – air pollution.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA), the industry body representing energy network operators in the UK, says that hydrogen could heat homes around the country from next year, with all five of Britain’s gas grid companies preparing to provide the gas.
It says that up to one-fifth of the natural gas currently used could be replaced by hydrogen.
Friday, May 6
Rates hike will now leave families £2,100 a year worse off
THOUSANDS of households face soaring mortgage payments after interest rates were hiked to the highest level in 13 years, further fuelling a cost-of-living crisis that will leave the average Scots family more than £2,100 a year worse off.
A new think-tank analysis has calculated that 1.7 million people in Scotland will not be able to afford the cost-of-living rise this year, with many middle-income families also bearing the brunt. Around 200,000 Scots borrowers now face hikes in their mortgages of more than £200 a year as the Bank of England hiked base rates to 1 per cent from 0.75% – the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
Inflation, which is at its highest for 30 years, is set to reach 10% by the end of the year, with fuel, energy and food costs soaring partly due to the war in Ukraine, which has seen people rein in their spending.
In the latest blow, it has emerged that those on variable rate mortgages will see their bills rise by around £12 per month for a £100,000 mortgage.
Saturday, May 7 Tories are overtaken by Labour Party in Scotland
BORIS Johnson is facing the wrath of his MPs after the Conservatives suffered a wave of election defeats across the UK, including being overtaken by Labour in Scotland.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost hundreds of councillors south of the Border as Labour toppled Tory bastions in London and Wales, and the Liberal Democrats made big gains across traditionally blue parts of England.
Tory activists reported electors turning away over the partygate scandal and questions over the Prime Minister’s integrity.
In Scotland, the SNP won comfortably, increasing its grip on local government, with 453 of the country’s 1,227 councillors. Even after 15 years in power, the party emerged as the largest in 21 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was an “astonishing” result and a “brutal rejection of Boris Johnson and the Conservatives”.
She said the SNP was willing to work “with other parties who share our progressive principles”, which excluded the Conservatives.
The battle for second place was won by Scottish Labour after it made modest gains while the Scottish Tories suffered heavy losses.