Councillor claims Falkirk's 15.6% council tax rise could have been lower
Councillor Laura Murtagh says it feels like the main political parties are saying 'It's ma ba' and you're no playing!'
A Falkirk councillor has said that the district's massive council tax rise "might not have been so high" if Independent councillors had been part of a group that helps set the council's budget.
Councillor Laura Murtagh, whose budget proposing a 15.6 per cent rise in council tax to save vital services, told a meeting of Falkirk Council yesterday (Thursday) that Independent members should have been given an earlier say in discussions.
She was proposing that members who are not in the main political parties be given a place on the council's Financial Strategy Group - which discusses how the council can make enough savings to allow it to set a budget - as well as an invitation to discussions when group leaders are involved.
Her motion, however, was not backed by any of the three main parties which led Cllr Murtagh to comment: "What is being asked for is not in any way unreasonable.
"To be a bit tongue-in-cheek, it kind of feels a bit like, 'It's ma ba', it's ma rules and yous arnae playing'."
She told the meeting: "It's just maths, never mind politics, to acknowledge that no single party or Independents can pass a budget by themselves.
"Excluding members who can make an important and effective contribution to that process is totally counter-productive - it's also offensive and democratically reprehensible."
She pointed out that the budget that finally won enough support to pass in February was put forward by Independents.
She said: "Could that budget have been better? Absolutely! But had more open discussion been available and included those who ultimately went on to develop the successful budget, we might have been able to come to a better compromise.
"We might have been able to have a lower council tax!
"We certainly would have cost the council less money in terms of officer time frustration, repetition and indeed saved some of our citizens the anxiety and pain of worrying that some of our services were going to be cut."
The SNP administration, Labour and Conservative groups countered Cllr Murtagh's motion with an amendment which pointed out that Falkirk Council's standing orders define a main opposition group as having at least ten per cent of council membership (three councillors).
The winning amendment suggests that any changes should be considered through an ongoing Collaborative Leadership review, "which includes a number of recommendations" and a phased action plan.
They also say that Independent members all currently have the opportunity to meet with council officials, including the Chief Finance Officer.
In the meantime, members agreed, representation should remain unchanged.
Baillie James Kerr proposed the three main parties' joint motion, saying that "80 per cent of the council agreed on the amendment."
"I believe that the ongoing review of the Collaborative Leadership should take its course and we should then have a debate to see if that's the way we continue forward," he said.
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn said Cllr Murtagh's "impassioned speech" demonstrated some of the reasons "why we shouldn't be making a decision on this today", as she had talked about having less restrictions and no party structures.
"By going through the collaborative leadership process we can have a better understanding of how the Independents could interact constructively within the remit of the financial strategy group," she said.
There are currently six councillors who are not members of mainstream political parties: two are members of the Non-Aligned Independents Group, three are Independent and one is a Reform councillor.
The Labour group leader Cllr Anne Hannah said she does have some concerns that "such a large portion of councillors are not actually involved in the process", but she said she would prefer change to be implemented "in a measured manner through the Collaborative Leadership process, which is already ongoing".
Councillor Brian McCabe, of the Non-Aligned Independent Group, supported Cllr Murtagh's call, saying: "Councillors find themselves repeatedly impacted by not receiving information; not having committee memberships/briefings; and therefore, not having an adequate say in the council decision-making process.
" All councillors not within the Administration or a main political group (as defined under the Council's current standing orders), are regarded as Independent members, devoid of representation, unable to engage in meaningful policy discussion.
"It's their ba'. And they're no for playing!"
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