Evening NewsFox brands stock transfer 'blackmail'
SCOTTISH Socialist leader Colin Fox today accused the city council of "blackmail" over the proposed stock transfer of 23,000 council houses.
Tenants will receive ballot papers within the next two weeks, asking them to vote on the plan to hand over their homes to the new City of Edinburgh Housing Association.
But Mr Fox urged people to reject the proposal despite the promised investment which would follow a Yes vote. The Lothians MSP said: "Tenants with their wits about them will ask when was the last time that Edinburgh council offered them £2 billion and promised there were no strings attached? The fact is there are more strings here than you'd find in a fiddle orchestra.
"First the council say that there is £2bn available but only if you vote their way.
"If you vote No, they claim, then you will not get the kitchens and bathrooms you were promised, nor will they be able to build new houses. Sounds awfully like blackmail to me.
"What they don't tell you is that Midlothian Council has just unveiled plans to build 1000 new homes over the next five years and they aren't touching stock transfer with a barge pole."
Mr Fox said tenants in housing associations had nowhere near the same protection from their landlords as council tenants.
icScotland - Sheridan in council tax bill row: "Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan has clashed publicly with deputy finance minister George Lyon over plans to scrap council tax and replace it with an income-based charge.
He criticised Mr Lyon, a Lib Dem MSP, for saying the Executive opposed the plans, although his party also wants to scrap council tax.
The clash came as the Scottish Parliament's Local Government and Transport Committee scrutinised the Council Tax Abolition and Service Tax Introduction Bill, brought by Mr Sheridan."
