Comment posted Post-election: what now? by neil macintyre.
I would hope Sally Loudon would be the first to depart Kilmory once the dust has settled.A lot of local painters and decoraters are struggling for work so let them take over her job.Better results and would also save money.
Recent comments by neil macintyre
- Walsh to lead all but Lib Dems, Conservatives and George Freeman
Well I would be very surprised if there is not a little sting in the tail to come .
Everything is just starting two warm up and with the charectors we have in Oban especially the fun will continue sadly.How Dick Walsh operates now with a free rein should be interesting especially when the money posts are filled..
Some of the proposals being brought forward by the senior management are built on fresh air so with a change in control of Area committees will they be challenged?. We will watch with great interest.
Cheers Neil. - SNP meeting on Monday may be testing time for mega-coalition proposal
Do we call him Fletcher or Mackenzie? - James Robb, as the cordite clears
Come on folks lets rejoice if indeed Fletcher is Mike MacKenzie surely we all should be happy the SNP have found something for him to do and his close relationship with Dick Walsh will be of great benefit to the SNP councillors when they line up behind him in the new Administration.
You never know Dick might be a closet nationalist now that would need a fair bit of spin to keep the ground troops happy but I am sure the SNP will help him see the light. I think big Sally has plenty in her executive suite in Kilmory.
When will anything start to happen in Argyll apart from this farce.
Cheers Neil. - Walsh to lead all but Lib Dems, Conservatives and George Freeman
Very interesting newsroom so the SNP are now big buddies with Dick Walsh. What will poor Fletcher make of it?
Surely there will be another revolt within the party ranks at this alliance with the enemy or was it all the fault of the Tories and Liberals the last time.
The Schools debate when it raises its ugly head again will bring us back to square one so where does that leave the SNP.
If the numbers stack up like you say what,s the point of the opposition why not just pitch in together and use the experience of councillor Freeman and the rest without them having to join a certain group which seems to be a stumbling block. After the shambles of the last few months we can ill afford to sideline the input of experienced councillors who are not just there for the money.
The Argyll people who voted these councillors into office deserve to have them representing them properly especially after what we got from the SNP.
Cheers Neil. - Council latest: meaning well is not enough
I take it Ian by modernisers you mean Breslin and Hall as the other councillors have been around for a while.
So what will they bring to the table that we can look forward to.
Cheers Neil.
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An excellent analysis. It is intersting to note that the “administration” chooses the chair of the Area Committees regardless of the political make-up of these.
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An interesting premise. With the SNP as a minority adminstration forming policy but with actual decisions having to find consensus amongst at least a majority of councillors this would indeed produce benefits for the citizens of Argyll.
First the SNP: they have the benefits of party discipline, the ear of Government and because they work for the party rather than themselves will be better at pushing forward plans suitable for the whole of Argyll rather than just their own wards. With the backing of the SNP’s national “machine” they will be much better at keeping the non-elected officials to account as they are not mutually dependent on each other.
You have mentioned their other advantage: Cllr McCuish. I think Roddy is exactly the man for the job of bringing the disparate political sections in Argyll together around common cause. I like his self-deprecating manner, sense of humour and easy way with people. That bodes well.
The tight SNP group can run the actual posts and ensure we never have the sort of situation where an elected spokesperson is excluded from the plans of the non-elected officials.
I would, however, also like to see the SNP administration bring in another couple of councillors from without the group, partly to keep a sense of perspective. Cllr Freeman would make, I would suggest, an excellent deputy leader of the Council.
Demolition of the Executive meetings to be replaced by full council meetings where all councillors get their say would ensure that the decisions of the Council are properly democratic.
Of course, minority administrations are vulnerable to coups so I think there would need to be agreement from some of the other groups to support them for the length of the life of the Council (as the Greens did for the SNP) while not being actually part of the ruling administration. That is a tricky sell for Cllr McCuish but I believe it is possible.
Interesting times then but what we really do not want is the Alliance forming the administration again. Their rejection was not as absolute as I would have liked but the results are pretty clear as to what the electorate in Argyll have chosen as the way forward.
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All good ideas, and I wonder if it would be too much to hope for government legislation so that never again could a relatively small cabal freeze out so many of our elected representatives from participating in our council’s business. The primary schools destruction scandal should be a warning to everyone – that old quote in defence of Mussolini, that he made the Italian trains run on time, is worth remembering. Any idea that efficient management with the minimum of discussion is preferable to democratic decision-making has proved very misguided.
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I think many people, myself included, aren’t too worried about what arrangements the politicians come up with as long as what Argyll & Bute really needs from its Council is delivered. So, whether a minority or coalition administration, it should be judged on how it delivers on the key areas.
For me the Council should be:
Open in approach to all its business – This would include the streaming (as far as possible) of all council meetings and the accurate minuting of all meetings. It should include an acceptance that as many decisions as possible should be taken, after reasonable discussion, by the full council and that all meeting papers should, as far as possible, be publicly available. It should also foster a spirit of openness amongst its staff in their approach to the public they serve.
Efficient in its use of the (relatively) scarce resources – In the modern economic climate true efficiency includes cutting down on needless travel and a careful assessment of recruitment to ensure that the Council can provide adequate staffing for those roles directly involving serving the public, especially those services directed to those in most need.
Have clear targets which would measure success for each part of the Council – Everybody, at every level of the council, should know what these targets are and have ownership of them and the Council should welcome and reward positive suggestions for how any service could be delivered in a more truly efficient manner, whether these suggestions come from staff or service users. These targets should, ideally, grow from staff and service users’ experiences, rather than being imposed in a top down manner.
Promote true accountability – It is essential that those paid for giving advice to the council, whether as senior staff or consultants, should realise that the accuracy and quality of their advice will be assessed and if it is found wanting will have an impact on any monies/benefits paid to them. The numerous errors in advice to the Council and accompanying huge wastes of money have to stop.
Those would do for starters!
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Clearly , the main divide in politics in Argyll and Bute is between a nationalist group intent on breaking up the United Kingdom representing one third of council seats and a non nationalist pro Union alternative representing two thirds of council seats .
Any Unionist aligning themselves with the SNP will find themselves suckered into a dead end and certain defeat at the next round of elections .
For the sake of our futures and that of our children the 23 non nationalist councillors must work together and control the levers of power .
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Islay for now,
So wrong, wrong, wrong, on all counts !
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Wonder if Islay for ever has anything to do with Islay. Doesn’t sound like an Ileach’s opinion.
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I would hope Sally Loudon would be the first to depart Kilmory once the dust has settled.A lot of local painters and decoraters are struggling for work so let them take over her job.Better results and would also save money.
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It has obviously escaped Islay for ever’s notice that at the latest Scottish Election the nationalist candidate took over half the vote and I know at least two of the independent councillors who support independence. There are very probably more.
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The balance of power in Mid Lothian Council is held by an Independent councillor who has previously financially supported the Scottish Tories to a substantial degree but was forbidden permission to stand as a Conservative -but not a Unionist – candidate. Peter de Vink stood as an Independent and won and now appears likely to work with the SNP group to control Mid Lothian.
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