Falkirk West By-election 2000

'These increases, which have added £800 to the average household bills for the people of Falkirk, are the equivalent of a 9p rise in the basic rate of income tax.' Michael Russell MSP on Labour's tax increases, 7 th December 2000.

Heat is turned up in Falkirk

By Murray Ritchie in the Herald, 8 th December 2000

Angus MacKay, finance minister, rejected nationalist suggestions that the 8.8% increase was a bribe ahead of the by-election in Falkirk West, on December 21, to choose a successor to Dennis Canavan at Westminster.

As other parties remained quiet on the election trail, the SNP and Labour traded insults about taxation and the economy.

Michael Russell, shadow education minister, claimed "back door" price hikes by Gordon Brown, the chancellor, had caused massive increases in water bills, rents and council tax in Falkirk, where, he said, Labour's tax burdens hurt the poorest most.

He said: "These increases, which have added £800 to the average household bills for the people of Falkirk, are the equivalent of a 9p rise in the basic rate of income tax."

David Kerr, the SNP candidate, and the only contestant to call a news conference yesterday, said: "It's disgraceful that people are being hammered on tax by London Labour in this way." Power and water bills had tripled under Labour, he said.

David Alexander, leader of the SNP group on Falkirk's Labour-led council, said even Labour councillors had agreed to the nationalists' scheme for linking benefits to council tax relief in the town - where half of council tenants received benefit of some kind.

"But it can't be done because of British legislation backed by Labour," he said.

Mocking Mr Kerr's arithmetic as "back-of-the-envelope sums", however, Eric Joyce, the Labour candidate, said: "It is a joke for the nationalists to be talking about tax when everyone knows the nationalists will raise taxes.

"Labour will take no lessons from the nationalists on tax. This is the party who only last week announced they would raise tax bills to fund the costs of divorce from the UK," adding that Labour had set aside £24m to lower water charges for those on lower incomes.

- Dec 8