IN THE RUNNING Lib Dems show their hand for May election
Party unveils list of candidates for council vote race
The Liberal Democrats have this week unveiled their list of candidates for the forthcoming local government elections.
All five of the sitting Scottish Liberal Democrat councillors for Perth and Kinross will be standing for re-election on May 4, while a mix of new faces and past candidates will ensure that there are candidates in each ward for the party.
Cllr Peter Barrett, Leader of the Lib Dem group, said: “We have a great chance of electing more Liberal Democrat councillors to our number in May.
“All of my colleagues have strong records of action and achievement in their wards.
“What makes them stand out is their well-earned reputations as community politicians, keeping in touch with residents working hard all year round, not just at election times.
“For the past five years, it has been the Liberal Democrats that have provided the real opposition on Perth and Kinross Council. The next council needs to be much more responsive. It needs to listen more closely to communities and respond faster than it has under the outgoing SNP administration.”
The Lib Dems have identified education as the party’s top priority for the campaign, with the wellreported shortage of teachers a matter members want to raise from local government to Holyrood level.
Health and social care, as well as people who are propping up the homecare service - many of them EU migrant workers – is also placed high on the Lib Dems’ agenda.
The full list of candidates are: May Matheson, Carse of Gowrie; Cllr Lewis Simpson, Strathmore; Gordon Ross Clark, Blairgowrie and Glens; Ken Spittal, Highland; Alex Linklater, Strathtay; Tina Mann, Strathearn; Cllr Ann Gaunt, Strathallan; Cllr Willie Robertson, Kinross-shire; Chris Rennie, Almond and Earn; Cllr Willie Wilson, Perth City South; Phil Brown, Perth City North and Cllr Peter Barrett, Perth City Centre.
May Matheson, Councillor Willie Wilson, Alex Linklater, Councillor Peter Barrett, Councillor Lewis Simpson, Councillor Willie Robertson and Councillor Ann Gaunt