THE Scottish Liberal Democrats claimed yesterday it was the only party
that could offer Scots a fresh start in local government.
Mr Jim Wallace, the party's leader, said in Edinburgh that the
election on April 6 for the new unitary councils provided an opportunity
for voters to reject the Conservatives and Labour -- ''the two parties
of vested interest which have placed a dead hand on Scottish local
government for too long''.
Mr Wallace said a vote for the Liberal Democrats would be a vote for
the party that believed in open local government and a revitalised local
democracy. The Tories, he said, had shown a contempt for local democracy
during their 16 years in power.
The Local Government Act had removed 150 powers from local government
and handed them over to central government amd unaccountable quangos.
Tory-imposed spending cuts were squeezing the life blood out of local
government and stifling local initiative.
Mr Wallace said Labour was equally guilty of complacency and
''municipal quangoism''. The attitude of Labour councillors was that,
once they had passed the local selection process, the voters would
rubber-stamp the decision.
Mr Wallace again accused Labour of taking up most places in committees
in councils they controlled and appointing their own members to public
bodies, a matter he has already taken up with the Convention of Scottish
Local Authorities.
Mr Wallace said, however, that Liberal Democrat councillors were free
to make what deals they thought appropriate with Labour or SNP
councillors. He estimated the Liberal Democrats could field 500
candidates and have more than 100 councillors in the new authorities.
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