Liberal Democrat MPs across the north were under attack last night for calling for Highland Council to be allowed to impose a staggering 20% rise in council tax.
The charge was levelled by SNP chief whip Pete Wishart after a motion calling for “a fairer funding settlement for Highland Council” was put down in the Commons.
It called for “restoration of financial flexibility to the Highland Council by the Scottish government”, an extra £10million from Holyrood in recognition of the extra cost of delivering services in a sparsely populated region, the UK Treasury wiping out the £140million housing debt and fuel duty reductions to offset higher prices at the pump in remote areas.
Mr Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said he would put down an amendment to set the record straight, adding it was “completely untrue” to say Highland Council had the ability to change council tax removed, when what was happening was a freeze in council tax funded by the Scottish government.
He said: “What the Liberal Democrats aren't telling people is that the removal of the package of support from the Scottish Government would mean a 20% increase in council tax just to match current funding.
“That is the threat facing people in the Highlands from this wrongful claim.”
He accused Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Danny Alexander, who put down the motion, of being “a politician in a panic about the looming general election”.
The motion was also signed by Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP Charles Kennedy and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP John Thurso.
Labour Highland MSP Peter Peacock, a former Highland Council leader, gave the Lib Dem initiative a mixed reception, backing its call for higher funding from Holyrood but attacking its plea for a huge handout from the Treasury on housing while demanding “savage cuts” in spending – in Westminster.
But Highland Council budget leader David Alston said an independent report showed extra help is needed.
He pointed out the UK Treasury had written off housing debt in Glasgow and other areas where tenants had voted to move to housing associations as private-sector landlords.