Rory Colville appears to have discreetly left the Liberal Democrat party and with no public announcement to that effect.
His election literature for the South Kintyre council ward has been distributed and carries no mention at all of his former party.
Setting that aside as a personal distress, Mr Colville’s election leaflet has brightened the entire election campaign.
How many in Argyll had any idea that we had, as one of our 36 elected councillors, a man who has chosen to regenerate Argyll and Bute single-handlely, when he could be saving Scotland, the UK or even the eurozone?
Believe it or not – and you’d better believe it because he says that this is: ‘Rory’s record of achievement’, here is the list of what, all by himself, Rory Colville has achieved in Argyll and Bute Council since his formal membership of the current ruling administration began so recently in December 2010.
The costed items alone add up to £42,780,000 and these do not include the value of all of the improvements to Kintyre’s roads Mr Colville has achieved but modestly leaves unpriced – nor the value of a range of other benefits he has managed, by his solo efforts, to bring to bear for the benefit of his community.
Are you sitting down? Prepare to be astonished – and eternally grateful. And vote.
‘Rory’s record of achievement’ includes the following:
Schools
- Around £15 million for a new Grammar School for Campbeltown.
- ‘£90k‘ for rewiring and new doors for Drumlemble Primary school. (‘£90k’ is a lot of rewiring and fabulous doors,. How big is Drumlemble school?)
- ‘£175k‘ for a new heating system for Dalintober Primary school. (‘£175k’ would heat a castle. How big is Dalintober School?)
- ‘£65k’ for new heating for Castlehill Primary School. (Is this what Argyll and Bute Council pays for public sector contracts? A clear case of OPM – Other People’s Money.)
Potholes and roads
The chosen order of these two items is revealingly apt – there are certainly more of the former than of the latter in Argyll. But let us not digress from ‘Rory’s record of achievement’:
- 50% improvement in Council commitment to improved roads over the next three years. Rory will work to ensure that South Kintyre gets its fair share of this. (Well, since he claims to have arranged this all by himself anyway, he deserves to be in a position to say who gets what.)
Major road works already approved – by Rory – for the coming year, include:
- A83 Kennacraig to Clachan, Achnafad to Ballochroy, Kilmaho to Craigs, widening south of Muasdale
- Southend roads: North Carrine to junction of C18, C18 junction to Lephenstrath
- Solution to rebuilding Dunglass Bridge (Is there no end to Rory’s amazing abilities?)
- Early solution to Conieglen Southend Landslip on the B842. (Argyll obviously needs Rory to produce an early solution to the landslip at Rest and Be Thankful.)
Housing
Who ever imagined a single director has so much power? Rory is clearly some operator.
‘As a Director of ACHA (Argyll Community Housing Association) Rory alone has ‘secured £15 million of investment for ACHA housing:
- 54 new homes New Parliament plus allotments
- 32 new homes Kinloch Road (Park Terrace)
- Refurbishment of Milknowe Terrace
- Refurbishment of Dalaruan Terrace
Other major successes
It doesn’t stop there.’Rory’s record of achievement’ also includes:
- Secured £800k for the Campbeltown All Weather Pitch
- Secured £68k for improvements for Campbeltown Museum
- £1.2 million for improvements to Old Quay
- Secured 3 year contract for Mull of Kintyre Music Festival
- Secured new lighting columns for Dell Strett – oh – ‘and elsewhere’
- Got funding for the Sanda Renewable Energy Tidal Unit
- But Rory was also man enough to get out the Marigolds – he claims to have maintained the summer toilet facilities at Westport for the last five years – which, at that rate, he must have started cleaning as soon as he became a councillor back in 2007. So grounded.
Economic development
No one should imagine that Rory is at all parochial. He has not stopped his one-man epic world changing activities at the Kintyre or even the Scottish Border.
- He ‘Supported the European Team to secure £3.95 million of European Regional Development Funding.
- Then he ‘Successfully fought for the council contribution of £4.5 million worth of improvements to the New Quay.
- And even found time to make: ‘ the case for the new road through Park Square and other route improvements to facilitate transport of wind towers’ – he costs this at a very modest £1 million.
- And he is anxious that no one forgets that he also achieved ‘Kinloch Road regeneration and £1 MILLION of town centre improvements.’
What have the other 35 elected members been doing – and why do we bother with them? All we need is Rory.
And promises for the future?
Suffice it to say that, if elected, Rory will do everything.
What is there to say?
God love him.
Astonishing. I’m surprised he didn’t also mention his pivotal role in eradicating smallpox, bringing down the Berlin Wall, female emancipation and ending slavery.
At least he has had the sense to leave the decaying shell that is the Lib Dem party (allegedly). Bit of a toxic brand anywhere in the UK these days.
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I have already seen a comment from a reliable and well informed Kintyre source who was amazed that so much has been acheived single handedly by this remarkable councillor.
The LibDems must be devastated to have mislaid him.
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He may have left the LibDems But he continues to act like one. Claiming individual credit for others people’s effort is known as the Alan Reid method off politics.
I always remember in the Cowal area an SNP councillor started a process of getting a 40mph limit at a stretch of the main road fronting a new housing development. He was succeeded by another SNP councillor who continued the process. A change in speed limits is effected after planning consultation and investigations and takes around 18months to 2 years or more
Come the run up to the local election the a LibDem hopeful got information that the 40 mph limit had passed and was soon to be announced. His initial leaflet was built round a demand for a 40mph limit and his eve of poll contained a self congratulatory boast that he had achieved this 40mph limit. That’s how they do it.
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It might just be that he has a loyal local following regardless of party affiliations or even what he claims to have achieved.
He wouldn’t be the only councillor to have gained ‘most favoured’ status in their constituency almost regardless of their performance (in the sense of achievements, rather than acting ability).
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It would appear that this is just the LibDem Janus trick working again-remember the Roman deity that could face both ways at the same time ?
Mr Colville was apparently officially nominated on the LibDem ticket.
Perhaps he was just so busy that he forgot to give them any credit for his huge list of single-handed acheivements.
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I rather suspect this chaps litany of achievement neatly summaries why voters have come to despise career politicians.
Having read the piece and scrolled up to check it wasn’t an April 1st placing, perhaps FA would be kind enough to trawl the varied pamphlets in the run up to May. We need to know what other hidden genius’s lurk amongst us.
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We’ve already been sent some gems (and we’ll welcome more)- so this is likely to become a series.
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Ah! that’s why Mr Colville never answers his emails…..
far too busy.
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When I first saw this i nearly burst a blood vessel, I could easily justify cutting and pasting much of the above list but could never in a million years, claim them as MY achievements in the way Rory has.
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Rats… sinking ship…
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John, The one thing Rory missed out was his final achievement which was to joint the independent group in its quest to close rural schools. I know quite a few people in the area who remember it vividly and are well aware that Rory stepped in to take the spokespersons’ allowance you’d given up.
Rory is quite clearly on the candidates list as a Liberal Democrat – http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Statement_of_Persons_Nominated.pdf – wonder what’s going on there?
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The lib dems must be honest and admit to themselves and the electorate locally and nationally that they have got too many things so wrong in a short space of time. Many former voters for them, like myself, are wondering why the better times with the likes of the late Rae Michie and the ever popular Charles Kennedy seem a distant memory.
Time to hold the hands up, have straight talking self analysis and from that ‘get real’ and move on and re-engage.
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Lib-Dems and “honest” – 2 words I cannot put in the same sentence anymore.
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Hahaha………that is all I have to say! Although I did notice Bruce Marshall is saying in our local paper that our council is “a caring and listening” one and education is high on his list of priorities.
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Is this the same Bruce Marshall who voted to close 2 schools in his own ward and then tried to be the hero of his own invention and claim to parents that he had saved them. Beware of councillor who speaks with forked tongue.
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The same Bruce Marshall who blatantly lied to a member of the public at a council meeting about a conversation he claimed to have had with the Council’s Director of Legal. A conversation the same Director later said he had no recollection of having but then back pedalled by saying he had a lot of conversations that day and he couldn’t say for sure if it did or didn’t happen.
As I said in the post about the recent press release – it is the ‘self-preservation society’
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It seems to have gone all quiet here!
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It’s not quiet in Campbeltown however. Rory’s leaflet is a big hit down here and the source of much mirth. If there was a prize locally for a work of fiction Rory’s leaflet would win hands down. Someone asked if his middle name was Jesus:-)
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Anne, does Mr Colville roll stones too?
There is just no end to the man’s talents!
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Gosh he’s nearly been as busy as Robin Currie! Fixing roads, building houses, creating jobs – these guys are Supermen!
No mention of turning coats from either of them though…..
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