COUNCILLORS and staff protested outside the Scottish Parliament over cuts to council budgets.

Leaders from North and South Lanarkshire councils and union representatives called on Finance Secretary John Swinney to give local authorities a fairer funding deal.

More than 100 gathered outside Holyrood and were met by Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale and other Labour MSPs calling for an end to cuts from Both Westminster and Holyrood.

Jim McCabe North Lanarkshire Council leader said his council had a shortfall of more than £250m in the last five years forcing cuts to staff and service provision.

He said: “Once again we find ourselves in the invidious position of having to set a budget with massive reductions.

“This is as a direct consequence of two governments that are happy to pass financial hardship onto local councils.”

He said the cuts were coming from the Tories at Westminster who he said were “prioritising the wishes of their rich friends, to the detriment of the most vulnerable in society, and from the SNP at Holyrood who were “underfunding councils, despite having massive budget underspends.”

Mr McCabe said the gap between what North Lanarkshire needed and received was £260m over the last five years.

Members from Unison, GMB and Unite gathered to air their views outside the parliament building immediately after First Ministers Questions.

Jackie Burns Deputy leader of South Lanarkshire Council laid the blame at the Scottish Government.

He said: “The source of the cuts is the parliament that cuts our budget and freezes the council; tax.”

Maureen Devlin, South Lanarkshire Labour councillor, said vital services had been cut.

She said: “We have had to reduce our level of services as a result of SNP Government’s attack on local government.

“Social work, education and housing have experienced huge cuts and we have been working with our Trade Union colleagues to try and protect services.”