COUNCILLORS in Argyll and Bute have become the first to defy the SNP-Green Scottish government’s council tax freeze.

The rural council, led by a coalition of Liberal Democrat, Tory and independent councillors, chose on Thursday night to increase council tax by 10 per cent rather than accept its share of the £147 million that the Scottish government has offered councils in compensation.

The last national council tax freeze lasted over a decade, during which 20,000 local authority jobs were lost as the Scottish government faced repeated criticism from town halls that the policy was underfunded.

When, at last year’s SNP conference, First Minister Humza Yousaf announced that it would return, so did criticism from councillors across the political spectrum, amid fears that the freeze would not be fully funded despite a promise to the contrary.

Tension rose further when the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), which warned last year that some councils could face effective bankruptcy, declared last week that it was officially “in dispute” with the Scottish government over the council tax freeze and the issue of funding.

Cosla resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann called for councils to be allowed to increase the tax by 5 per cent with “no penalty or reduction in funding.”

Those calls, however, have so far gone unanswered by the Scottish government as councils across the country finalise their budgets for the coming year.

The impact has already been felt in Glasgow. The SNP-Green council’s plans to slash £107m from its budget over the next three years were approved last week and, just seven days, later the authority began a consultation with teaching unions over the axing of a staggering 172 posts.

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “What is playing out now is the impact of year-on-year cuts to local authority spending, caused by Tory austerity and worsened by SNP government decisions. 

“The council tax freeze decision was a disaster, and we anticipate cuts in almost every local authority, projected to last for three years and impacting core services. 

“There are alternatives — taxes on wealth and the replacement of the council tax.

“However, no political party seems prepared to bite the bullet.

“We expect to see significant resistance from communities and local trade unions. 

“The STUC stands ready to give them our full support.”

Responding to Argyll and Bute’s decision, Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary Shona Robison said it was for the council to “explain why they are increasing the tax by 10 per cent in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.”