WEST Dunbartonshire Council froze council tax for the coming year in a surprise pre-election budget move.

The Labour administration used extra money from the Scottish Government’s deal with the Green Party, “management adjustments” and more of their reserves to keep tax levels as they are, except for the higher bands, which Holyrood has changed, affecting 6,852 homes locally.

The meeting featured more than an hour of Labour councillors celebrating their administration’s successes in the past five years, including the tax freeze, which they previously criticised the Scottish Government for imposing.

As well as the freeze, they opened up spending for other projects, some expanded and some new as part of the £212 million budget.

Councillors agreed in December to block cuts proposed by council staff but still presumed a three per cent tax hike to balance the books.

The SNP group assumed that would still be necessary and their own partial budget pitched the tax rise along with new spending on roads, dog fouling and other consistent issues faced by residents. The group then wanted a week of consultation with the public before an emergency meeting to set the budget.

The Community Party pitched an ethos change and refinancing debts, but not a budget.

Speaking before the meeting, deputy leader Patrick McGlinchey, who will stand down in May, said Labour has always wanted the council tax abolished and praised the work of the administration.

Not knowing what Labour was to propose as their budget an hour later, Jim Halfpenny, from the EIS union which had protested with others outside the Garshake headquarters, told the council chamber: “In reality we don’t regard this as a no-cuts budget if there are management adjustments and an increase in council tax, an attack on ordinary families.”

During the budget debate, Cllr Michelle McGinty challenged Cllr Jonathan McColl on what he would do if the public said they wanted a tax freeze and his extra spending.

Cllr McColl conceded: “People can’t have their cake and eat it. It has to add up. We want to ask the public what they think – we should take the opportunity to listen. Labour have criticised the council tax freeze for many years and now they have suddenly decided to freeze it. The council tax was regressive, was hated. It’s better than it has ever been – it’s much more progressive.”

Cllr Jim Bollan described the budget as an annual “our cuts are better than yours” and wanted a united front instead fighting against austerity from Westminster and Holyrood.

Council leader Martin Rooney blasted the SNP, saying: “Seriously? This is the best you can do? I said this lot are hopeless.”

And Cllr McColl later asserted: “More than half of the Labour group have conceded the election in May. That’s why they’re quite happy to borrow to the hilt. Absolute hypocrisy about council tax – you will not use the money to invest in services. How dare you take any credit for the increase in attainment. The teachers in West Dunbartonshire, with the pain and suffering you have caused them, it’s a miracle they have got [pupils] through exams. You have cut hundreds of thousands from education.

“A vote for Labour is a vote for more borrowing. It’s not real vision. There’s nothing wrong with going to members of the public and asking what they want to do. They will see through the smoke and mirrors – ‘look at the shiny shiny’.”

Cllr McGlinchey, summing up on Labour’s budget, pointed out that not one SNP councillor stood to support Cllr McColl’s motion.

He said: “The first act of the SNP [administration] was to change the flags. The first act of Labour was to save social housing. That’s the difference between nationalism and democratic socialism. You’re relying on your popularity nationally.”

The Labour budget was approved by all 11 and Labour councillors and Provost Douglas McAllister.