30 September 2010
Council must listen to public on saving services
With the revelation in today's Evening News (
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Big-backing-for-higher-council.6558389.jp)
that 7 out of 10 of Edinburgh residents would rather
pay more in tax than lose services, UNISON has called
on the Council to listen to the public properly and
abandon the 'fixed' consultation.
"The Council's leading questions are designed
to lure people into saying which cuts should happen
(the ones the Council wants) rather than being allowed
to say they don't want any cuts in essential services
and the systems that back up those services",
said John Stevenson, Edinburgh UNISON vice-president.
"Leading economists - more importantly, the
ones who actually predicted the recession - have
been arguing for ages that the way to get the country
working is to invest in services, invest in jobs
and that will bring investment in the private sector.
All that will bring us out of the recession and
give us the means to tackle the debt.
"Cut after cut will just create more problems,
more unemplyment, less tax, bringing another recession
and even more cuts", he warned.