Pressure was too much for leader
And patience was wearing a bit thin
I got a text this weekend from a source in local politics – if this guy worked for MI5 he’d be classed as “deep cover.”
This infiltrator is infrequently in touch with me, but when he is . . . he is infrequently wrong.
If his initials flash up on my phone – I take it so seriously, I’ve been known to put my pint down!
In true espionage style, his curt message could have been scribbled inside a 1970s Washington Post and left in a basement trash can at the Watergate Building.
It read . . . “DC to resign”.
Well, I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but I think I’ve got a reasonable defence for initially getting this tip- off badly wrong!
Come on folks - in a week when the word “resign” was on every front page, and pokey Barnard Castle was more famous than regal Edinburgh - who would you think “DC” stood for?
But before I checked the bookies for a price on Dominic Cummings quitting, I thought I’d better reply. “You 100%?” I asked.
“Quits as leader – stays as councillor” flashed back on my screen.
Ooooft!
And a dozen hours later, my infrequently wrong mole was right again.
Douglas Campbell announced he was quitting as leader of South Ayrshire Council... but would continue to represent his Ayr North constituents!
My understanding is that he is stepping down due to pressure of “family commitments.”
And in these stressful, unforgiving times – his decision is more than understandable.
“Family first” are two words noone should ever be ashamed of.
I suppose it’s no great secret that this column and Mr Campbell rarely saw eye to eye.
In fact, I’m sure there were some weeks when he’d have preferred our relationship was more . . . er . . . ‘ toe to toe’!
But in my defence, I don’t think I’m in a minority here.
On the political front, the list of people who didn’t see “eye to eye” with Douglas Campbell wasn’t exactly shrinking.
There has been talk of internal bust- ups and even a leadership coup.
Well into the second- half of the SNP’s new ‘ golden era’ for South Ayrshire – the lustre of great manifesto promises was starting to wear a bit thin.
And so, I’m told, was the patience of many of his SNP cohorts.
Would he have led to the Nats into the next local election in 2022?
Through his resignation statement, Douglas Campbell has now moved the answer from “we don’t know” to “we’ll never know.” So be it.
What we DO know is the Douglas Campbell leaves a gap that needs to filled .
And pretty quickly too. By Monday morning, the councillor to councillor chatter would have been off the scale – in ALL the parties.
One thing I think we can assume is that the council leader won’t be replaced by the depute council leader.
Just for starters, Brian McGinley is the wrong party and – in the middle of a bust- up with chief exec Eileen Howat – in the wrong place.
The Nats will seek a new leader from their own ranks, and second in command at party level – William Grant – will have already tossed his hat all the way from Maybole lockdown into the leadership ring. Other contenders . . .
Laura Brennan- Whitfield? Maybe still deemed too young?
Siobhian Brown? Too busy being a working mum?
Ian Cochrane? - Certainly an experienced pair of Prestwick hands?
Chris Cullen? - Still seen as the new kid on the block?
Julie Dettbarn? - Mmm . . few blots on her copy book already?
Peter Henderson - Yes – ticks a lot of the boxes?
Craig Mackay - Probably a future Nat leader, doing good work in licensing, but has his time come?
No matter who gets the job - what we can all hope for is South Ayrshire Council’s controlling party changing tack.
And winning back some public confidence should be a primary goal.
Getting back to consensus politics and the much promised “transparency” wouldn’t go amiss either.
Douglas Campbell is still a serving councillor – so it’s not the right time for valedictions.
But from a personal point of view – I wish DC and his family well.
And I don’t mean Dominic Cummings!
The list of people who didn’t see “eye to eye” with Douglas Campbell was not shrinking