Councillors have voted to send a 12 page A-4 magazine out with next year’s council tax bills on the “legacy” of the local authority since 2012.

The plan, which has not yet been costed, would be paid for from current budgets, or failing that reserve funds.

But the motion promoted a furious reaction in the chamber from the opposition who accused the administration of using tax payers cash on “propaganda”.

The Labour-lead administration was heavily criticised for sending out pro-union letters with council tax bills in the run up to the independence referendum in 2014, leading to many of the Labour group being taken to the standards commission.

They were all cleared.

SNP group leader Stephen Flynn said: “Instead of sending out a 12-page magazine why not just send one piece of paper saying “I’m sorry”.

“The sheer hypocrisy from the administration to constantly talk about being the lowest funded council, and then spend who knows how much taxpayer money on what is essentially propaganda, is just unbelievable.”

Liberal Democrat Jennifer Stewart added: “This just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.”

But council finance convener Willie Young said: “If the SNP are so confident about winning in May then what are they afraid of us sending this out?

“This is not about any political party, it’s about our achievements as a council.

“I find it astonishing that SNP members should object when their party spent £1.25million on sending out the White Paper on independence, millions on a referendum nobody wanted and £450,000 on promoting the Scottish Government on Facebook.”

Infrastructure convener Neil Cooney added: “I strongly believed people should be as informed as possible.”

The motion was passed by 20 votes to 18.