FAMILIES will be hurt by Labour agreeing a “backroom deal” with the Tories on a local authority, the party has been told.
SNP representatives for South Lanarkshire have written a scathing open letter to Labour councillors in the area to condemn their arrangement with the Tories.
Signed by the party’s MP and MSPs in South Lanarkshire, the letter tells the Labour group their deal with the Tories “can mean nothing other than further hurt and damage to families across the local authority, and that we have a duty to our constituents to raise our concerns”.
While the SNP were returned as the largest group with 27 seats – three more than Labour – Anas Sarwar’s party has agreed a deal with the seven Tory councillors and the three LibDems.
It ends five years of an SNP administration in the local authority headquarters in Hamilton.
The letter added: “During the campaign, Scottish Labour put tackling the Tory cost of living…at the heart of your campaign – an aim that we’ve no doubt you could find common ground with the SNP on.
“You can perhaps appreciate our confusion now, as to how your backroom deal with the Tories will help to achieve any of the cost of living policies your leader campaigned on – rejecting a progressive alliance with the SNP where we shared many similar commitments in our manifestos around helping our communities and mitigating the impact of Tory-made cost-of-living crisis.
“We would be extremely grateful if you could shed some light on this and how you intend to hold Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to account while relying on Tory votes to uphold your leadership of South Lanarkshire Council.
“Your answer will no doubt be of interest to those who voted Labour based on your well-publicised plan to tackle the Tory-made cost-of-living crisis and all the people across South Lanarkshire who rejected the Tories two weeks ago.”
The letter was signed by MSPs Christina McKelvie (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse), Clare Haughey (Rutherglen), Collette Stevenson (East Kilbride) and MP Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East).
South Lanarkshire Labour deny their administration relies on the support of the Tories.
A spokesperson said: "This is just the latest Trumpian outburst by an SNP government that is out of ideas and trying to hide its multiple failings behind faux outrage.
"Never forget that this is coming from the same SNP who were propped up in Government by the Tories for five years.
"Whilst the SNP try to spread disinformation, Labour will focus on delivering for the people of Scotland."
