Labour are planning to punish pensioners for their economic mess said Glasgow MSP Bob Dories as he questioned Labour leader Iain Gray on his plans to push up council tax bills.

SNP MSP Bob Doris, Deputy Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government Committee today called on Labour to be honest with the public and say how much they want to raise council tax by.

Iain Gray yesterday signed Labour up to Council Tax rises next year – without saying how much he wants to increase it by.  While Labour councillors admitted their councils want to have "our cake and eat it” by claiming they should get any money that would be available from the SNP Government for a council tax freeze AND increasing council tax.

Glasgow MSP Bob Doris said: “At a time when the SNP is working to keep costs down for hard pressed families Labour are trying to push them up. It is clear Labour no longer care about the difficulties facing Scottish households.

“Now Iain Gray has finally admitted that he would put the council tax up he must tell the public how much more he expects them to pay for Labour’s economic mess.

“It says a lot about the Labour party that in economic difficulty their first instinct is to push up the unfair council tax and punish the Scottish people.

“Two thirds of the cuts facing Scotland this year were introduced by Labour  - a fact they must  accept.  So how much more will the Labour leader ask pensioners to pay for Brown’s broken economy.

“The council tax freeze has helped families across Scotland, and has been fully funded meaning councils have not lost a penny.  The next financial settlement will be difficult as we wait to see how the Labour and Tory cuts bite but from the SNP's point of view if it is possible to keep council tax down then it should be kept down.”