Councillors must lead too

Dear Editor

In my experience, elected councillors are completely useless at the job they were chosen to do, but have a special skill set.

They are excellent at creating barriers, skilled at avoiding the issues, structured in brushing you off, masterful in apparently not actually doing much. And all with the assumed confidence there is nothing a constituent can do about it.

I have written to the commissioner for ethics in public life regarding two councillors whom I believe have broken the code of conduct.

I am waiting to hear whether the commission will investigate.

Leadership requires taking responsibility and investigating to identify the truth.

Starting with the decision and then supporting it with detail is not an investigation. That only amounts to an incompetence.

Another apparent skill to add to an elected councillor’s repertoire.

James Aitken, Richmond Drive, Rutherglen SNP are missing the point of leaf let The SNP’s Alan McLennan has rather misunderstood the issue (letters 08/11/17) in his comments about the candidates in the current council by-election.

It matters not where candidates are born or where they lived in their past life. However, council candidates seek to represent their local communities. It is a very distinct advantage if they live here, work here, have their families here, know how the local community works. They are accountable to their neighbours in a way which an outside candidate is not.

Our local Liberal Democrat candidate Ellen Bryson is rooted in the local community, as indeed was Liberal Democrat Councillor Gretel Ross to whose high standing Alan McLennan generously pays tribute. The SNP candidate is not - his local community is Stonehouse, not Rutherglen.

The voters in Rutherglen Central and North will make their own minds up about all this. However, I am not surprised the SNP are a little sensitive on this issue - it is not a strong suit for them.

Councillor Robert Brown, Rutherglen South I’m sorry that Alan McClennan feels so “genuinely appalled” by a small part of one recent Liberal Democrat leaflet, particularly since he really has grabbed the wrong end of the stick.

Councillors Robert Brown and Gretel Ross may not have been born in Rutherglen (that is not the issue), but they have both spent large chunks of their working life in Rutherglen - and do both still live in the area.

As does Ellen Bryson, the Liberal Democrat candidate. The SNP candidate does not – he lives 18 miles away.

The letter from Anne McLaughlin is thankfully much more impartial.

It nevertheless also fails to distinguish between those who represent a much larger area in the Scottish or UK parliaments, with a greater focus on national issues, and a local councillor who represents Rutherglen on South Lanarkshire Council, and who should be largely focused on local issues.

Imogen Beattie Election agent for Ellen Bryson Douglas Drive Cambuslang Liberals ‘plumbed new depths’ to win votes Is there no depths the local Liberal party not plumb in their desperate efforts to gain a few votes for their candidate in the Rutherglen Central and North by-election.

In their latest leaflet, the Liberals infer the local Rutherglen Branch of the SNP dumped me as their candidate when nothing could be further from the truth.

The facts are that I was originally selected with 70 per cent of the members vote to be the SNP candidate, but then I decided to withdraw due to an unexpected change in personal circumstances.

The main change in my circumstances was a downturn in my elderly father’s health.

I wished to be available at all times should I be required and felt that this would not be possible were I to contest the by-election.

Sadly, my worst fears were realised and my father passed away on November 2.

Now I find myself having to defend my party from this inaccurate and despicable attack by the Liberals during my time in mourning.

Even worse, the Liberals based their attack upon the fact that the SNP candidate David Innes does not stay in Rutherglen. What hypocrisy, neither does the Liberal Candidate. She resides in Cambuslang.

And let me be clear: I fully endorse David Innes as the SNP candidate and truly believe he will be an energetic, hard-working councillor for all the residents of Rutherglen Central and North Ward.

But whomever the voters choose on November 23, please do not let it be Liberal, you can not trust a word they say.

Gordon Clark Princes Gate Rutherglen Council must listen to community on parking With regard to parking in Cambuslang town centre, I cannot comment on the actions of the previous SLC administration as I was not an elected member at the time.

My position in relation to the surveys that have been carried out by the community council is they should be considered seriously as required by community empowerment legislation and, as such, the community council is a full participant in the parking review.

The request to expand the review to include a wider area than just the park and ride facilities should be granted.

The views of businesses in Cambuslang and the wider community are abundantly clear in this matter as outlined in the surveys. There is no necessity to carry out a further survey.

I have been advocating expanding the review with SLC, including with the leader of the SNP administration, since my election in May 2017 and will continue to do so.

I fully support Cambuslang Community Council in calling for SLC to move quickly to agree a parking review for the whole town centre.

It is council policy to support and regenerate town centres; to widen the parking review is a positive step in this direction. It is now inconceivable in the light of the results of the surveys that SLC do not accede to this request. Councillor Margaret Walker Cambuslang West