Could Aberdeen Labour really – really? – have voted to close Bucksburn swimming pool without knowing what they were doing? The fallout from a farcical city budget continues a fortnight on.
“SNP, hear us say, you won’t close our pool to-day,” Aberdeen Labour leader Barney Crockett rallied on Sunday.
The Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone councillor has been a vocal critic of the imminent closure of a pool in his northern city ward.
Along with residents and Labour activists, he protested the SNP leadership hustings in Aberdeen at the weekend, to urge a halt to the closure of Bucksburn pool.
Both Mr Crockett and his Labour colleague in Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone, Graeme Lawrence, have lambasted the ruling partnership since budget day on March 1.
🎶 SNP, hear us say! You won't close our pool today! 🎶
Great to join the 'Save Bucksburn Swimming Pool' group outside the @theSNP hustings earlier today 🏊♂️
Why they want to close such a vital community resource in Bucksburn is beyond me 🤷♂️#SinkOrSwimSNP pic.twitter.com/gLZpsNWnOg
— Jacob Campbell (@JacobMCampbell) March 12, 2023
The Scottish Government has already once been forced to undo cuts unveiled in the SNP-Lib Dem city council budget.
Money was made available to save the at-risk Big Noise Torry – but not before administration councillors launched a very public “unsubstantiated attack” on charity Sistema Scotland.
Closures were a known outcome of the SNP-Lib Dem £700,000 Sport Aberdeen cut
In their first budget, the SNP-Liberal Democrat administration voted through a £687,000 cut to Sport Aberdeen’s funding.
They did so knowing it would result in the closure of Bucksburn pool and the demolition of the Beach Leisure Centre. Sport Aberdeen boss Alistair Robertson had told them as much.
Since the budget was set, there has been a packed public meeting on the Bucksburn shutdown and street protests of future first ministers.
Labour, the largest opposition party, had positioned itself as the voice of a community fighting to save a vital local facility.
The SNP’s finance convener Alex McLellan – battered and bruised from a fortnight of bad press – has ‘revealed’ Labour proposed the same near £700,000 cut to Sport Aberdeen’s funding in their alternative budget.
That particular gun has been smoking since budget day. It was there for anyone to see in the Labour proposals.
Mr McLellan’s intervention has been met with fury from the Save Bucksburn Swimming Pool campaign group.
They lashed out on Facebook: “We are under no illusion and are not blind to political agendas.
“First and foremost, this is a social justice campaign led by the citizens of Aberdeen, irrespective of any political nonsense.
“Regardless of any other parties’ past involvement, this is happening under the current administration’s watch.”
Labour voted for the same £700,000 Sport Aberdeen budget cut… but not for the closures (like at Bucksburn pool) bosses warned it would bring?
A more interesting question is whether or not Labour knew they had done it. Is the charge “hypocrisy”, spin-doctoring or innocent incompetence?
Extraordinary emails from the Aberdeen Labour group appear to show they did not understand the scything cut would result in closures.
Could a fortnight of Labour outrage be based upon… not understanding they proposed the exact same course of action?
In the post-budget insult tombola, Mr Crockett’s response to being branded a hypocrite, in response to branding the SNP hypocrites, was to tell finance convener McLellan to “stop digging”.
“Documents from the budget show item CP-23 Sport Aberdeen – close Bucksburn swimming pool,” he said.
“Only the SNP chose that as a cut and Councillor McLellan should not be attacking Labour [on Sport Aberdeen funding].
“He should be working with us to reverse this cut and save Bucksburn pool for the community.”
String of emails suggest Labour councillors did not know what they were voting for
The P&J understands Bucksburn pool’s continued operation until April 2024 was priced at £80,000.
Finance bosses put forward screeds of options ahead of the March 1 meeting.
Among them, that £80,000 figure was included in the pre-budget briefing for councillors as CP-23 – the option “only the SNP chose”.
Except, looking at the budget passed, the ruling parties did not.
Malcolm Tucker could be relevant to something I write one day. pic.twitter.com/LC37hjy3Vn
— Alastair Gossip (@AlastairGossip) March 16, 2023
Instead, the administration voted to cut £687,000 from the council’s leisure operator Sport Aberdeen.
That also appears in Labour’s budget, as does a CAPITALISED LIST OF THINGS THEY WOULD NOT DO.
Closing Bucksburn pool is not among the 24 bullet points.
A group spokesman argued that because they had not explicitly swung the £80,000 axe at Bucksburn pool, Labour had not endorsed the closure.
Enlightened by The P&J to the fact the SNP and Lib Dems had not done so either, Labour group leader Mr Crockett doubled down.
He suggested it was the SNP who did not know what they had included in the budget.
“It is simply shocking that the SNP finance convener Alex McLellan does not know what he voted for – unlike Aberdeen Labour which agreed not to take the £80,000 cut to Bucksburn pool,” he told The P&J.
The spokesman even pitched us a headline: “Council admin votes to save pool but closes it anyway.”
So what did Labour expect from its £700,000 cut to Sport Aberdeen?
But, if we can stop our heads spinning for just a second, that assertion of SNP-Lib Dem incompetence begins to look shoogly.
The Press And Journal asked Aberdeen Labour if it was not just the case that the ‘£80,000 – close Bucksburn pool’ was included in the all-encompassing £687,000 cut for Sport Aberdeen.
We were told that was “incorrect”.
Working out how to embed gifs on The P&J website. pic.twitter.com/2PxaAYQzZv
— Alastair Gossip (@AlastairGossip) March 16, 2023
Asked what Labour thought the £687,000 cut would mean instead, we were told: “Officers confirmed as part of the budget process there was an opportunity for Sport Aberdeen to increase commercial revenue from advertising and sponsorship.
“So the short answer is we expected them to do exactly that to cover any shortfall, bearing in mind the Beach Leisure Centre was also closing.”
The P&J understands the budget proposals from the council finance chiefs did put forward an option titled ‘Sport Aberdeen: Increased commercial revenue from advertising and sponsorship’.
That is included in the confidential budget briefing, along with the £80,000 pool closure suggestion.
However, it is thought the increased commercial activity would have raised only around 10% of the £687,000 that Labour suggests it was worth.
We asked chief executive Alistair Robertson if he thought Aberdeen Labour would know what their budget would mean for Sport Aberdeen.
“I’m sure that all elected members would be fully aware of the implications that such a significant reduction in funding would have on Sport Aberdeen, and its ability to sustain all of its services.”
SNP finance convener: Are Aberdeen Labour ‘incompetent or deceitful’ on Bucksburn pool?
The confusion left SNP finance convener McLellan claiming Labour was either being “incompetent or deceitful”.
“Now that their duplicity has been shown up for what it is they should probably dry away their crocodile tears and apologise to the people of Bucksburn for leading them up the garden path.
“The fact that Labour has had Calamity Crockett back in the top job only a matter of months, and he already has them out campaigning to save the pool they voted to close is proof – if ever it was needed – Aberdeen Labour is in disarray and cannot be trusted by the public.”
If Labour really did not know what they were axing, their faces should be as red as their rosettes.
On the other hand, in light of reports of SNP councillors “hiding quietly” when facing Bucksburn pool campaigners, the administration’s bellies are as yellow as theirs.
Kate Forbes vows to help councils keep under-threat swimming pools open
Conversation