NORTH Ayrshire’s warring politicians have stuck to their opposing views on the amount of money the council will receive in the run up to this May’s council elections.

New North Ayrshire SNP leader Marie Burns hailed the Scottish Government budget as a sensible approach.

But Labour’s council leader Joe Cullinane took a fresh swipe at the budget, arguing that North Ayrshire got £3.5million returned to its coffers after refusing to accept the Scottish Government’s finance settlement, but still faces £5.7million in cuts.

Cllr Cullinane said: “The draft budget would have cut local government budgets by £327million, despite the SNP Government’s budget for 2017/18 increasing by £418million. The amended budget, agreed by the Greens at stage one, will see local government budget cut by £225million according to UNISON.

Councillor Cullinane has promised to “continue lobbying the Scottish Greens” to seek a ‘fair deal’.

He said: “The SNP/Green budget passed at Stage 1 will cut North Ayrshire Council’s revenue budget by £5.7million in 2017/18 but it is some £3.5million better than the SNP’s original draft budget proposal. However, despite the spin by the SNP and Greens this budget does not provide additional resources or extra money – it cuts our budget.

“The real reason that £3.5million has been returned to North Ayrshire Council is because our Labour administration, and other Labour councils across Scotland, refused to be bullied by the SNP Government into accepting the cuts they offered in their draft budget. They are a minority government and they wanted us to accept a cuts deal before opposition MSP’s could negotiate or vote on the proposal.

“It was a clear attempt to circumvent the democratic process and ensure that they could dump cuts onto councils.

“It is fairly obvious that there would be no movement in the local government settlement at all if council’s had signed up to the draft budget offer of cuts and that’s exactly what an SNP led authority in North Ayrshire would have done.

“Let me be clear – I will not simply manage austerity cuts like the SNP did in power, I will oppose them no matter who is imposing them on our communities.

“That is exactly what local Labour councillors have done and will continue to do.

“It remains unacceptable to our administration that, in a year when the Scottish Government’s budget is increasing and they have a range of new tax powers that could be used to stop the cuts, our revenue budget is being cut. What happens in future years where the Scottish Government’s budget is projected to decrease? What sort of ‘offer’ will North Ayrshire Council get from the SNP then?

“A sensible budget which will support jobs and deliver a fair deal for North Ayrshire” – that was the verdict of SNP Group Leader Councillor Marie Burns on the outcome of Holyrood budget discussions.

She said: “Despite continuing Westminster austerity, the Scottish Government is delivering a sensible budget which will support jobs and deliver a fair deal for local services in North Ayrshire and across Scotland.

“I welcome last week’s SNP Government announcement of an additional £220 million, £160 million of it for local services, alongside extra funds for police and Scottish Enterprise.

“ This comes on top of additional funding for health and social care partnerships and for schools, with attainment cash going directly to every primary and secondary school in North Ayrshire.

“The SNP and the Green Party have worked together at Holyrood to deliver a sensible budget across a range of public services, all of which will support the poorest and most vulnerable in North Ayrshire. These budget discussions at Holyrood have resulted in an additional £4.2 million for North Ayrshire Council.

“But, astonishingly, Labour’s Councillor Cullinane is trying to claim the credit for this.

“Far from supporting it, Labour and the Tories actually voted against it. Labour’s only response is to call for across-the-board tax increases which would force those already struggling to pay for Tory austerity. “