FABIANI CONDEMNS MCCANN DECEPTION ON BRIDGE TOLLS

Central Scotland MSP, Linda Fabiani, has condemned Cllr Michael McCann, Deputy Leader of South Lanarkshire Council, for deceiving the people of East Kilbride over the abolition of tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges and the impact of this decision on East Kilbride’s housing crisis.

Writing in the East Kilbride News, Cllr Mc Cann said that the decision to end tolls on the Forth Road Bridge cost the Scottish Government £250 million a year in lost revenue.

He said that this money could have been used to fund a £2.5 billion housing investment programme in areas such as East Kilbride.

According to the Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament, the annual income from tolls on both the Forth and Tay Bridges was only £15.5 million, from which unspecified costs of collection had to be deducted.

Ms Fabiani said:

“Cllr McCann’s statement is a sign of the desperate state of Labour’s campaign against the SNP government.

“In responding to a genuine concern about the long-term decline in rented housing in East Kilbride, Cllr McCann descended to the realms of fantasy economics.

“The decision of the SNP government to abolish bridge tolls was the correct one, supported by both Labour and SNP Councils. It will result in savings for businesses far exceeding the income generated.

“It also cost nothing like the fantasy figures presented by Michael McCann.

“The voters of East Kilbride deserve an apology from Cllr McCann and a statement on whether he knew these figures to be untrue, or simply didn’t check because the facts might have got in the way of an attack on the SNP.”