Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross has been accused of “blatant hypocrisy” over past support for a workplace parking tax he now opposes.
Ross has been left red-faced after he once proposed raising £58,000 a year by charging council staff to park their cars at work.
Opposition to the workplace parking levy agreed in 2019, which would allow councils to tax spaces provided by employers, is central to Ross’ Tory council election campaign.
Ross, an MSP and MP, has boasted that no Conservative -run local authority will introduce the charge and he challenged Nicola Sturgeon at Holyrood.
However, when he was a councillor in Moray Ross proposed charging over 200 local authority workers for parking.
He said in 2013: “At a cost of £1 per day that could realise £1,210 per week and £58,080 per year, based on 48 weeks.”
He first raised his council worker tax plan in 2010 in response to charges being introduced in public car parks, the latter of which he opposed.
“We are going to start charging other workers in Elgin soon, we should treat ourselves and council staff in the same way,” he said.
Ross also submitted a written question demanding progress on the introduction of “car parking charges in the staff and members car parks at Moray Council headquarters”.
A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said: “Douglas never supported a workplace parking charge, but if one was to be introduced, he thought it should at least be fair. His proposal was aimed at including councillors who enjoyed free parking while imposing charges on others.”
Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said it was the latest u-turn from Ross, who is facing questions about his future as leader.
He said: “Douglas Ross was against same sex marriage, now he says he has changed his mind.
“Douglas Ross thought the Prime Minister should resign, now he doesn’t.
“Now it emerges that as a councillor, he used to champion the same parking levy that he now rages against.
“If you don’t like his principles, don’t worry, he has others.”
SNP MSP Paul McLennan said: “This isn’t the first time that Douglas Ross has been completely undermined by Douglas Ross – you only have to look at his flip-flopping on whether law-breaking Boris Johnson is fit to be PM to realise that the Tories are interested in nothing more than opposition for opposition’s sake.
“This blatant hypocrisy simply shines a light on the reality that the Tory party has nothing positive to offer the people of Scotland.
Scottish Labour MSP Colin Smyth said: “Douglas Ross has been a vocal critic of the SNP-Green Commuter Tax, but it turns out he’s just angry that they stole his idea.
“This is a humiliating revelation, but it isn’t that much of a surprise – this Tory party have made it clear that they will raid workers’ pay packets at every opportunity.
“Douglas Ross must explain his rank hypocrisy on this important issue, or his promises on this will ring continue to hollow.”
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