Hansard

One of the most impressive witnesses at the local government evidence session at the commission on local tax reform was a councillor from the Scottish Borders. She told us that she wanted to go into the next election with a manifesto stating what her party proposed to do if elected. She wanted to tell her electors how much her proposals would cost and how she proposed that they be paid for. In other words, she wanted to do what most politicians in a representative democracy want to do. However, in Scotland that ability has been eroded to the point where it is really not possible to make such an offer, as councils today are, in the words that Tom Johnston used in writing about burgh reform in 1832,

“mere miserable starved caricatures of their former greatness”.

Derek Mackay has repeated the assertions that he made on the radio this morning seeking to justify the mechanism for redistribution of moneys among councils by arguing that it is a well-established practice. It is not. It is a practice that was introduced by Mrs Thatcher. It was introduced in the Rates Act 1984, when non-domestic rates were removed from local control and centralised. That act also introduced domestic rate capping, which is another proposal from the SNP that no doubt Mr Mackay would argue is traditional and well established.

Mr Mackay said that we are on a journey. I look forward to that journey. I hope that we can all get on board the bus. I think that some parties will get off the bus a little sooner than other parties, but I hope that, when we do get on that bus, everything comes on the bus with us and nothing should be off the table, and I would be happy to be on the same bus with everybody in this chamber. Perhaps we should call the bus the commission on local tax reform.

At no time have Scottish Greens ever sought to block this legislation. We took great care not to do so in committee and we are taking great care not to do so tonight. I commend my amendment to members.