SCOTTISH Labour’s deputy leader Alex Rowley yesterday applauded a motion passed at the STUC conference in Aviemore condemning cuts to local services.

The motion noted that councils have “borne the brunt of austerity”, causing the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.

It also stated that it is not good enough to “bemoan austerity at Westminster, but accelerate it in local communities”.

Rowley said: “The STUC is absolutely right that councils and local services have borne the brunt of continued austerity. The SNP has cut £1.5 billion from local services since 2011, with devastating consequences for families in Scotland.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, who was, campaigning in Inverclyde, revealed he had written to Communities, Social Security and Equalities Secretary Angela Constance about Greenock town centre.

The MSP called on the council to adopt his party’s Town Centre Action Plan which aims to deliver an improvement in the shopping areas.

“Town centres are the heart of local communities,” Rennie said. “Times have changed with the growth of online shopping and out of town retail parks.

“It is more and more important that local councils and the Scottish Government work together to reinvent town centres and help them compete.”

MP Mhairi Black, who will be out and about with SNP campaign co-convenor Susan Aitken in Paisley today, stressed the importance of 16 and 17-year-olds using their vote.

“The more council seats we have, the louder the message we send to the Tories that Scotland rejects their increasingly damaging right-wing policies,” Black said.

“That is why it is vital that 16 and 17 year olds seize the opportunity to vote next week. If the Tories take control then it’s our futures that will be at risk.”