Key roles for Ross representatives as Highland Council gets all shook up
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HIGHLAND Council has installed its new leader and senior office bearers - amongst them a number of Ross-shire representatives.
The Independents, the largest group on the council, last week replaced the SNP-Labour-Lib Dem administration.
The move came after the Lib Dems quit the administration saying they felt constrained by the SNP’s “obligation to toe the government line”.
At a special meeting in the council chamber in Inverness today, Aird and Loch Ness councillor Margaret Davidson was officially named as council leader.
She said: “Without being bound by party politics, we intend to take a fresh look at community planning with a renewed emphasis on empowerment. We want to work in partnership with our communities and provide them with real local decision making powers.
“We will take time to review the Programme and consider where we want to focus our efforts and resources. This is a particularly challenging time for local authority budgets and we will take a fresh look at where we can best deliver value for money.
"However, I would like to emphasise that we will continue to maintain the council’s commitment to avoiding any compulsory redundancies, wherever possible.”
This is contrary to a comment by Wick Councillor Bill Fernie, who said earlier this week that the policy of no compulsory redundancies would have to be re-examined.
SNP group leader Maxine Smith was today named leader of the opposition.
Drew Millar, the Skye councillor who resigned last year after the Lib Dems accused him of sharing extremist material on Facebook, is now chairman of the education, children and adult services committee.
At the time, Lib Dem leader David Alston said “even on the most generous interpretation of what has happened, this shows lack of judgement on important issues relating to equalities”.
Councillor Millar insisted it was a mistake without malice. Apologising, he told the committee: “I shared this without researching what was at the bottom of it, probably because I’m not clever enough. I was probably rather naïve.”
He added: “I would say emphatically that I am certainly no racist.“
He did not attend the special meeting today.
Black Isle councillor Isobel McCallum is the new convener, replacing labour leader Jimmy Gray.
Councillor Fernie is the new chairman of the resources committee, taking the place of Councillor Maxine Smith, Cromarty Firth councillor.
Audrey Sinclair, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh councillor, will replace Inverness South councillor Thomas Prag as chair of the planning, development and infrastructure committee and planning review body.
Caol and Mallaig councillor Allan Henderson replaces Dingwall and Seaforth councillor Graham MacKenzie as chairman of the community services committee.
Richard Laird, SNP councillor for Inverness Central, is taking over from Councillor Davidson as chairman of the audit and scrutiny committee.
Hamish Fraser, councillor for Skye, is now chairman of the community safety, public engagement and equalities committee, replacing Lib Dem councillor for Dingwall and Seaforth Angela MacLean.
And Ian Cockburn, SNP councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, was named chairman of Highland licensing committee, replacing Councillor Maxine Smith.
Other member appointments will be made at the council meeting on June 25.
