Abernyte should see Tories out
Last week I tuned into a virtual meeting of Perth and Kinross Council where the appalling handling of the council’s failed attempt to close Abernyte Primary School was discussed.
What I expected was contrition. A fulsome apology offered to the community and parents of Abernyte, fully extended to the people of Perth and Kinross for the appalling waste of almost £110, 000 of council taxpayer’s money.
I even expected that someone might even take responsibility and maybe even offer a resignation.
Instead, all I heard was defiant arrogance.
Make no mistake, this is perhaps the single biggest example of incompetence that I have seen in a local authority in my 20 years as an MP.
Their case to close Abernyte broke guidelines put in place to preserve Scotland’s rural schools and was rightly called in by the Scottish Government.
Even though it must have known there was little chance of success, the council took the Scottish Government to court in an exercise of total petulance.
In court, not only did they lose but they were utterly eviscerated in a judgement by Lady Wise.
Not content with that, a School Closure Review Panel also found the council was at fault in yet another damning report.
At that stage you would expect them to put their hands up, just admit they got it wrong and say sorry to all involved.
But not this Tory-run council. Apparently, their wasteful incompetence was all the fault of the Scottish Government, the previous council administration and even the judge herself who was apparently‘the wrong sort of judge’.
The fact remains that both the Conservative leader of the council and the chair of the lifelong learning committee were content for this court case to be raised and for taxpayer’s money to be spent - all for the sake of closing a small rural school.
But if the council thinks it can get away with this breath-taking incompetence, it can think again.
The entire decisionmaking process will now come before the scrutiny committee and councillors will have a further chance to demand answers and apologies.
I expect there will also be freedom of information requests to secure what was actually said about their chances of success in this always doomed court case.
The one good thing to come out of this is that the school remains open, a fate not enjoyed by some of the other Perthshire schools caught up in the Tory closure plans.
This was down to pressure from cross-party opposition councillors and the local community.
There is now an opportunity to see the school community in Abernyte grow.
The threat of closure has finally been removed but we cannot let those who wasted this money get away scot free.
Someone must take responsibility and resignations may still be required.
The main lesson in all of this is to ensure that the Scottish Conservatives never again secure even a whiff of power in Perthshire.
I hate to say it, but I told you so ....