Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Tory councillor accused of budget “cheek”

John Alexander and Derek Scott.
John Alexander and Derek Scott.

The leader of Dundee City Council said he refused to be “lectured on austerity” by Conservatives in a bitter budget clash in the City Chambers.

SNP councillor John Alexander was speaking after Conservative Ferry councillor Derek Scott submitted an amendment to the council’s policy and resources committee asking it to write to Scottish Government finance secretary Derek Mackay about anticipated cuts to the local authority’s budget.

Councils across Scotland are bracing themselves for swingeing cuts when Mr Mackay announces his Budget on Thursday.

A report before the committee presented to councillors warns Dundee City Council may have to make cuts of nearly £20 million from its budget next year.

This promoted Mr Scott to submit an amendment that asked city council chief executive David Martin to write to the Scottish Government demanding the city receives its “fair share of funding”.

Mr Scott told the Chamber: “I was concerned to read comments (by Mr Alexander) about prioritising education and social care over things like grass cutting.

“I think we should be able to provide all the work we do at a decent level.

“We should get our fair share of funding. The Scottish Government has, for years, been passing on disproportionate cuts to local government.”

But in an angry rebuke, Mr Alexander laid the blame for the cuts at the door of 10 Downing Street.

He added: “As local councillors I would expect us all to take not just short-term but medium and long-term views.

“The Scottish Government has to take some very difficult decisions just as we have to do.”

Mr Alexander said he had already made Dundee’s case to the finance secretary in earlier meetings.

SNP councillor Willie Sawers also attacked Mr Scott, accusing the Conservatives of hypocrisy.

He said: “Perhaps the Conservative group is living in a parallel world. It beggars belief that a government that is hellbent on austerity and dismantling the welfare state has the cheek to come forward and criticise the Scottish Government.”

West End Labour councillor Richard McCready said his party was willing to work with the SNP administration and other parties to ensure Dundee gets the best deal possible – and finds the best way to deal with anticipated cuts.

But he said the financial black hole facing the council was of “great concern” and would have an impact on everyone in the city.

All 13 SNP councillors present voted to approve the report without the Conservative amendment, which was supported by the three Tory members.

The eight Labour councillors present and Liberal Democrat Craig Duncan did not vote.