Last week in the Evening News I quoted an independent report by Scottish Government civil servants.  This detailed how that in the 5 years since 2013-14 funding for day-to-day council spending from the SNP Government has decreased by 7.1% but the UK Government only cut the Scottish Government’s revenue budget by 1.8%. On average across Scotland, the SNP have cut Council spending by £148 per person, but in Edinburgh the cut has been even greater – £226 per person.

I urged people in Edinburgh to oppose these politically motivated cuts to funding for local services.

Fraser Grant responded by suggesting none of this was correct (Letters, 08/10/18), but oddly failed to provide any alternative analysis. Indeed, where education is concerned he thinks we have never had it so good – claiming that the Scottish Government had handed £120m to head teachers.

Perhaps Mr Grant has missed recent editions of the Evening News and the fantastic work it is doing to highlight the crisis our capital’s schools face. In recent weeks we’ve heard that crumbling schools in deprived areas can’t be replaced (06/10/18), teachers are using their own money to buy pencils (01/10/18), and that Edinburgh’s SNP led Council plans to cut classroom assistants and increase class sizes (20/09/18).

Mr Grant’s obfuscation, does not hide the fact that the SNP council leader and his Education Spokesperson have been silent on these cuts. I won’t be because they are a disgrace.

Rather than acting as the SNP’s apologist, Mr Grant should join progressive people in Edinburgh and  demand that our capital is treated fairly.

I applaud veteran SNP Councillor Norrie Work, on Friday he used social media to demand of the SNP Government: “Can Queensferry get some attention please? That’s a popular tourist site as well and needs some investment”.  Green Councillor Mary Campbell has also spoken out about her party’s habit of enabling SNP cuts, she took to social media to talk about the “impossibility of creating a balanced budget with the cuts facing councils if the Scottish Government continue on the current Local Government funding model” which her has party supported.

It’s time Edinburgh’s hardcore nationalists joined the progressives that are standing up for our capital.