Petitions Committee is ‘another SNP flop’

South Lanarkshire Council's Petitions Committee has been branded a flop by the Labour Opposition.

The Committee was part of a local SNP commitment to renew democracy in South Lanarkshire. Prior to the last council elections, the SNP promised to create a Petitions Committee that would bring issues of concern quickly to the attention of the Council. However, as of August 2021, the Committee has only met twice.

Councillor Graham Scott said: “The creation of a Petitions Committee was a flagship manifesto promise of this SNP Administration but with nine months to go until the end of the Council term, the Committee has only been convened twice. It has been another SNP flop. It’s more spin than substance.

“The way to build stronger, more empowered communities is not through empty gestures and gimmicks but with real investment in local people and local services. Unlike the SNP, Labour in South Lanarkshire will oppose Scottish Government cuts to council budgets. We do not believe that the same party imposing painful cuts on our communities can credibly claim to be empowering them at all.”