The Scottish Parliament has voted to send a clear signal to Westminster that Council Tax benefit should continue to be available to councils when the discredited Council Tax is replaced by a Local Income Tax.

Speaking after the vote, Liberal Democrat Finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis said:

“I am pleased that the Scottish Parliament has sent a clear signal to Westminster that council tax benefit should continue to be available to local government when the discredited Council Tax is replaced by a Local Income Tax.

“Labour’s failure to back the amendment removes the last vestiges of credibility on this issue from a party yo-yoing from inconsistency to contradiction. During their leadership election Cathy Jamieson seemed to speak for all the candidates when she said that any solution had to “protect” the Council Tax rebate. How quickly they return to putting London Labour before Scottish communities.

“By voting against our amendment, the Tories have undermined their own Shadow Secretary’s commitment to a ‘dialogue’ and ‘constructive engagement’ on this issue. They had an opportunity today to stand up for Scottish interests but true to form they failed.

“Scrapping the unfair Council Tax and replacing it with a Local Income Tax is important to the Liberal Democrats. When some pensioners pay six times as much of their income in Council Tax as the richest people, you know that something has gone very wrong with fairness in Scotland.”