Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Tories not elected to sit on the fence
Dear Editor Given the media coverage seen after the result of the council meeting, it is time to give the Conservative stance on this situation.
In the first place, it is wrong for the SNP to state that they had the right to form the administration.
With one independent supporting Labour and the other abstaining, it was a 33-33 tie.
Had the Conservatives sat on their hands, as an SNP individual suggested we do, then the administration of the fourth-largest local authority in Scotland would have been decided by cutting cards.
This is no way to run a business with £1 billion turnover, looking after thousands of constituents.
The Conservatives were not elected to sit on the fence.
We were elected to make a positive contribution to the working of the council, which we will do.
There is no way that this Conservative Group will support the formation of an SNP administration. Given that the SNP Government has neglected its day job to concentrate on independence at any cost, if the same thing happened locally it would prove detrimental to the wellbeing of everyone in the area.
We have continued grievance politics from the SNP but they must have realised that the possibility of getting Conservative support for their administration was highly unlikely.
In any case, they have 33 out of 77 councillors, so they have no mandate for an automatic takeover.
There are many areas in which the Conservatives and Labour strongly disagree, and that will not change.
We will, however, support the Labour administration in all areas we agree with – and they will hear from us in areas where we disagree. We will treat everyone with respect in all our discussions.
The Conservatives on North Lanarkshire Council are not the austerity cutters that our opponents like to depict us as.
We are against needless waste of scarce resources. We are against providing support from council funds where there is already ample provision, but we are very much in favour of bringing material help to those who need it within the ability of the council to provide it.
Politics aside, we have a high regard for Jim Logue as council leader and Paul Kelly as his deputy and believe that they, and not a dysfunctional SNP group, provide the leadership and wisdom, for the council to achieve its full potential.
Councillor Meghan Gallacher, leader, North Lanarkshire Conservative group