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New analysis has revealed the SNP Government has cut close to £50 million from East Lothian Council’s coffers over the last 12 years.

Local authorities across Scotland are currently being forced to make difficult choices to keep services afloat.

The Scottish Labour analysis has shown that the SNP government cut a cumulative total of £7.8 billion from core Council budgets across Scotland between 2013-14 and 2025-26.

This includes an eyewatering £49.7 million in East Lothian Council alone.

Scottish Labour has said these cuts have pushed councils to breaking point and left Scots paying the price for SNP failure.

Commenting, Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“Services in East Lothian are under immense pressure because of the austerity the SNP has inflicted on Councils.

“The SNP government has short-changed Councils year after year, raiding an eye-watering £49.7 million from East Lothian Council coffers in total.

“These brutal cuts have pushed Councils across Scotland to breaking point and forced them to make impossible choices to protect lifeline services.

“The Labour UK government decisively ended the era of Tory austerity, but Scots are still being forced to pay the price for SNP failure.

“A Scottish Labour government will put an end to SNP mismanagement and cuts and deliver fair funding for East Lothian so working people don’t have to plug the gaps of government cuts.”

Cllr Norman Hampshire, Labour leader of East Lothian Council, said:

“This analysis confirms what we have been saying for years – the SNP Government has cut council funding to the bone, putting vital local services at risk.

“Year on year cuts to our core funding and under-funded council tax freezes have left councils across Scotland facing a perilous financial situation.
 
“At the same time the SNP Government has asked East Lothian to deliver unprecedented growth without the resources to sustain the services our communities need.

“In East Lothian we have always sought to protect services, support communities and help boost the economy, but the scale of the cuts has made this harder every year.

“We need a serious and sustained injection of fair funding from the Scottish Government to ensure that councils can keep delivering services and meeting the needs of local people and communities.”

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