A LABOUR councillor has been slammed for a now-deleted “patronising” post where she dubbed residents “Joes and Karens” for discussing the incoming bin strikes.
Kerbside collections in South Lanarkshire are set to be suspended for three days this week – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – as waste workers take industrial action.
The local administration is currently a Labour minority (24 seats) with support from seven Tory councillors and three LibDems after the parties ousted the SNP from power in May.
And now, a row has broken out on Twitter after one Labour South Lanarkshire councillor deleted a tweet over the strikes.
Referencing a South Lanarkshire council post on Facebook alerting residents to a pause in collections, Councillor Lynsey Hamilton wrote: “God Twitter really is just a big bubble.
“Over on Facebook all Joe and Karen Blogs care about is getting their bins emptied.”
Hamilton, councillor for Clydesdale West and education chair in the council’s cabinet, ended the post with a thumbs-up emoji, but later deleted it.
A now deleted tweet from a Labour cabinet member in SLC earlier today 🤨 The 800+ detailed and varied comments and opinions on the SLC Facebook post on the strike are all from "Joes" and "Karens"?! Shameful, patronising nonsense from @ScottishLabour pic.twitter.com/UZ2pHslEkh
— Cllr Katy Loudon (@KatyLoudonSNP) August 23, 2022
SNP councillor Katy Loudon, Cambuslang East, shared a screenshot of the tweet, adding: “A now-deleted tweet from a Labour cabinet member in SLC earlier today.
“The 800+ detailed and varied comments and opinions on the SLC Facebook post on the strike are all from ‘Joes’ and ‘Karens’?! “Shameful, patronising nonsense from @ScottishLabour.”
Andrea Cowan, SNP councillor for Rutherglen Central and North, added: “Sometimes the mask slips. Disgraceful comment from a Labour cabinet member of @SouthLanCouncil.”
The Rutherglen and Cambuslang SNP group also criticised the comments, adding: “Here's what our new Unionist administration in South Lanarkshire really think about constituents.
“Labour cabinet member joking about public concerns regarding bin collections during industrial action.”
Hamilton defended her tweet underneath Loudon’s, responding: “I meant that normal people don't really care about all the grandstanding all they care about is getting their bins emptied.
“What did you think I meant? I also meant it about every political party.”
I meant that normal people don't really care about all the grandstanding all they care about is getting their bins emptied. What did you think I meant? I also meant it about every political party 🤷🏼♀️
— Cllr Lynsey Hamilton (@L_Hamilton89) August 23, 2022
Loudon responded: “All I'm left wondering is why you deleted it, Lynsey, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.”
Although a revised 5% pay offer has been put on the table by Cosla and a meeting taking place on Tuesday between the council groups and trade unions, planned strike action is still set to go ahead this week.
South Lanarkshire is not the only local authority set to see industrial action over the pay dispute, with 14 authorities in total set to see bin collections paused.
In Edinburgh, where waste workers have been on strike for six days, bins in the capital’s city centre are already overflowing, with some being taped up or blocked off in a bid to stop tourists from adding more rubbish to the existing piles.
We told how a row has erupted between the SNP and Labour groups in Edinburgh, with former council leader Adam McVey accusing the current administration of being “asleep at the wheel”, and Edinburgh central MSP Angus Robertson also criticising Labour for the state of the streets.
Meanwhile, Labour council leader Cammy Day has put the blame at the door of the Scottish Government, claiming they need to allow “more flexibility and fairer funding”.
