Council Strikes and the SNP
Anyone heard of a SNP councillor speaking up in support of the striking council workers?
Me neither.
The likely explanation is that they all too scared to rock the boat - even though Scotland's councillors have all received an 'across the board' 5.2% pay increase which has been fully funded by the Scottish Government.
Another reason why SNP councillors don't speak out is that lots of them are compromised - by having second jobs with influential SNP MSPs and MPs.
Take Glasgow's Ruari Kelly who receives a £37,000 salary as the city council's Convener of Neighbourhood Services which includes refuse collection and street cleaning.
Yet despite the fact that this £37,000 a year Convener role is regarded as a full-time job, Cllr Kelly has another job as Communications Officer for Anne McLaughlin, the SNP MP for Glasgow North East.
https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/interests.asp?id=2422&name=Ruairi+Kelly
Now Cllr Kelly may be a nice, hardworking chap but I can't see how anyone can perform these two jobs effectively, at the same time, and provide 'value for money' for the public purse.
So is Cllr Kelly likely to speak out and demand justice for striking council workers while the SNP is 'gaming the system' for councillors who already have well paid, full-time council jobs?
I suspect not, but I would be delighted to be proved wrong.