An Aberdeen politician’s call for a chewing gum tax to help clean up the city’s streets has been rejected by the government.
Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart wrote to treasury bosses urging them to impose a new levy on manufacturers- with the sums raised then given to local councils to remove the white blobs from pavements.
However, in a letter back to Mr Stewart, Jessie Norman MP informed him that while the government considered chewing gum to be a “very real problem”, they were not “persuaded” that a levy would drive down discards.
Last night Mr Stewart said: “I’m disappointed the UK Government has not taken this innovative idea on-board.
“Chewing gum is both a blight on our streets and a drain on public finances.”
