UNIONIST MSPs were heckled by members of the public as they posed in front of a pile of rubbish in Edinburgh during the bin strikes.
Politicians from Scottish Labour, the Tories and LibDems invited the press to a photocall in the Grassmarket after writing a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanding more funding for councils to resolve the dispute.
But the stunt misfired and numerous members of the public heckled the politicians as they posed with placards which read: “The SNP and Greens are throwing Edinburgh’s reputation in the bin.”
Although the MSPs apparently didn’t see the irony of the photo-op being held in a council area controlled by Labour (and supported by LibDem and Tory votes) - the public certainly did.
One furious resident was heard shouting “scum”, while a young woman passing bellowed “pay the working class”.
Donna Wright, 54, from Fife, was so infuriated by the stunt that she asked the MSPs why they were in Edinburgh considering it was run by Labour - but she was ignored as they posed for photographs.
She said the photo op “really annoyed” her.
Wright added: “They’ve got a brass neck.
“They think it gives them an advantage but it doesn’t because people are aware of what's happened and folks see through that.
“They can see through it because you're voting for an SNP council and you're getting the opposite of that and that's not good.”
Fife was another council area where despite the SNP being returning the most councillors, Labour formed a minority administration with the help of the Tories and LibDems.
And despite what Unionists say this has cut through - but Labour and the LibDems still put the blame on the Scottish Government. The Scottish Tories conveniently left the press call before The Jouker could ask them for their views.
We asked Foysol Choudhury, Scottish Labour MSP for Lothian, for his response to the heckling, and without a hint of irony, he put the blame on the previous council administration.
For those unaware, that was a SNP-Labour council, until Anas Sarwar ruled out cooperation deals with the SNP.
Choudhury said of the public reaction: “They should know. They should know who is in the government. They should know who was in administration before, they should know where the funding comes from, who decides the funding and where the cuts come from.”
Daniel Johnson (Labour) Miles Briggs (Tory) and Sue Webber (Tory) were also at the photo call.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the LibDem leader, said he agreed with the hecklers demanding more pay but then went on to rant about the SNP.
He said: “Well, we agree with them, and actually, I think that the striking workers are asking for pretty reasonable pay demands, but the blame for this lies squarely at the feet of the SNP and the Green government.”
