JACKSON Carlaw was accused of hypocrisy yesterday after he clashed with John Swinney on the so-called car park tax.
The Scottish Tory said “tens of thousands of Scottish workers” would “be fleeced for hundreds of pounds a year” if the controversial measure is introduced.
But Swinney said Carlaw was missing the point. The policy, introduced as part of a Budget deal between the Greens and the SNP, gives local councils more powers.
“It is important that Parliament is clear about what is proposed here,” he said. “This is an agreement to bring forward an amendment to the Transport Bill that will enable local authorities to exercise a judgement as to whether they wish to apply a workplace parking levy.
“The decision will be up to local authorities to take.”
WATCH: Swinney hits out at Carlaw's 'hypocrisy' over parking levy
The two deputy leaders were filling in for their respective bosses during yesterday’s First Minister’s Question. Ruth Davidson is on maternity leave, while Nicola Sturgeon is in North America.
Carlaw urged the Scottish Government to “simply drop this unwanted and unworkable plan”.
He said: “If you don’t, won’t it be clear to everyone, despite trying to spin it today, that tens of thousands of Scottish workers are to be fleeced for hundreds of pounds a year just because Derek Mackay, John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon cannae say no to six dismal Green MSPs.”
The Tory said research by his party showed that an annual charge of £400 a year for drivers would be the equivalent of hiking the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 30p for those earning the real living wage.
Swinney pointed out that senior Scottish Tories, including leader Ruth Davidson and Carlaw, had all previously called for councils to gain additional powers, but now that the Scottish Government were set to deliver those powers, they had changed their minds.
“The Conservatives have fought the 2016 and 2017 elections on a commitment to empower local authorities,” the Deputy First Minister said.
He added: “Jackson Carlaw has been found out today, he goes around the country arguing for more powers for local government and when we deliver them, he comes here in an act of rank hypocrisy and criticises them.
“The people of Scotland can see through the hypocrisy of the Tories, they can see what the Tories are about, their spots have never changed, they want to cut public spending and they will take the hypocritical way of doing it.”
Green MSP Andy Wightman later said Labour and the LibDems were also guilty of hypocrisy in opposing the tax.
WATCH: Green MSP nails Labour and LibDem hypocrisy on car parking charge
“The powers to enable workplace parking levies exist in England; they were introduced by a Labour government, and the Nottingham scheme was implemented by a Labour council. Moreover, the Liberal Democrats supported such powers during the passage of the Transport (Scotland) Bill in 2000.”
He said the two parties were “more interested in partisan political point scoring than in working together to tackle pollution, reduce congestion and empower local government”.
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