All quiet on the Borders budget front!

by OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDITOR

They may be bitter rivals in the Holyrood parliament and elsewhere, but Conservative and Scottish National Party politicians have forged a unique alliance in the Scottish Borders to present local taxpayers with a united financial plan for the coming financial year.

Later this week a budget statement will be delivered at a full meeting of Scottish Borders Council by the authority's Tory leader Councillor Euan Jardine with the full backing of the 'rival' SNP group. It will mean a five per cent increase in local council tax with no blame for significant spending cuts being laid at the SNP Government's door.

The unprecedented spirit of co-operation between elected Unionists and Nationalists in Borders local government was born several months ago when membership of the council's powerful Executive was increased from 11 to 16 to accommodate two "opposition" SNP councillors along with one Liberal Democrat.

The move means that local politicians of every political hue now sit side by side on the "bloated" Executive. It means almost half of the 34 elected members are ensconced at SBC's top table. 

In his budget motion to Thursday's council meeting Councillor Jardine will tell colleagues: "The draft revenue and capital budget proposals have been developed following collaborative work over a number of months by a cross-party group of Councillors. Councillors across the Chamber have put aside political differences and have successfully come together to develop this single financial plan for 2023/24."

And he will also claim: "This is a budget for the Borders which maintains services and delivers our commitments on major capital projects, despite rising costs. In spite of significantly increased costs, particularly due to average inflation of 10 per cent, budget plans being presented today include a commitment to deliver all capital projects previously announced and protect frontline Scottish Borders Council services."

The recommended five per cent hike in Borders council tax bills - a proposal which is expected to be sanctioned without dissent - will mean Band D taxpayers will pay £1,356 in 2023/24.

Not Just Sheep & Rugby asked Stuart Bell, former SNP group leader on Scottish Borders Council what he made of the Nationalist-Conservative budget coalition.

Mr Bell, who did not stand for re-election at last year's Scottish council elections told us: "Although a small number of SNP friends have expressed concern at the lack of a distinctive profile of my Party on our Council I don’t really share that sentiment.

"A welcome reality is that there is a more co-operative profile from the Tory-led administration than we in the Opposition were confronted with over the previous five years.  So the expansion of the Council Executive to make it more representative of the political balance - something that the previous Tory group refused to countenance - is a change for the better, even if it makes for an enormous Executive!"

He pointed out that the SNP-Green Opposition had taken a distinct position in leading the challenge to spending public money (£50,000 in the Borders case) on Coronation parties.

 Mr Bell said: “It remains to be seen if the current budgetary co-operation across the Council will deliver better results for the Borders. Cross-council agreement certainly provides ‘cover’ for an administration that finds itself forced to implement an unwelcome five per cent increase in council tax. But what will a budgetary consensus deliver for those who chose not to vote for the Tories at the last election?  I, for one, wait to see." 

 He believed politics was about policy and it was healthy to have different policy perspectives represented on SBC - that reflected a reality in society. 

 But Mr Bell  added: “A sentiment that I do not share is that political differences can be just “put aside” as that could imply that genuine differences on policy might be articulated just to get elected and then dropped at will.  Because democracy must not only work it must be seen to work. So in a healthy democracy genuine differences are debated - respectfully debated - in public, and not just compromised in private."