Council should be proud of achievements
Today we go to the polls to elect 43 councillors across Renfrewshire.
A total of 81 candidates in 12 wards are seeking your vote to represent you in the council chamber and potentially form the council administration over the next five years.
We have a lot to be proud of here in Renfrewshire of the record our council administration has delivered over the last five years.
Work on the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District continues – a huge investment that, when complete, will secure up to 6,000 jobs in the industries and workplaces of the future.
The Glasgow Metro proposals represent the biggest shift in public transport in the west of Scotland for generations, and will mean the airport and Renfrew having fixed links in place, transforming public transport in our area.
And investment in roads and transport across Renfrewshire is at its highest level ever, beginning to make up for the years of neglect and underinvestment.
The pandemic showed how vital council services are.
With only days’ notice, entire services were reconfigured and rejigged to support shielding households, provide help to those who needed it most, and redeploy finite resources into the fight against covid, all while trying keep basic functions going in the midst of the biggest public health crisis in over a century.
It’s to everyone in the council’s credit that they were able to do all this and more and keep our communities safe during our most trying times.
There are big challenges on the horizon for any administration – building a better Renfrewshire for everyone at a time when we are all still recovering from the pandemic and its economic impact.
A total of £466million will be spent by Renfrewshire Council this coming year, a huge sum that pays for education, roads, lighting, parks, cleansing, social services, planning, regeneration, cultural heritage and so much more.
These elections are about what priorities you and the people you elect want to see at the top of the council’s agenda.
Whether that’s opening a raft of brand new, state-of-the-art early learning and childcare centres, the refurbishment of community landmarks, like Paisley Town Hall, or the improvements in our town centres to support local businesses, what’s clear is that the council leadership has got the job done, at a time when our public services have been at their most stretched and at their most vital.
No council is perfect, but the difference between the near civil war the Labour party locally has been mired in and the competence and professionalism of the SNP administration couldn’t be clearer.
While Labour was busy knifing its longstanding councillors in the back – and in the front, in some cases – the SNP has been quietly getting on with the job in hand, investing in our communities for the future and fixing the problems and legacy of the past.
Meanwhile, the Tories have tried to erase Boris Johnson from their party, such is his electoral toxicity after less than three years in office. You won’t find a trace of the Prime Minister on a Tory leaflet.
I’ve seen first-hand the progress and vision that’s been at core of the SNP administration’s last five years in office
Just this week, Renfrewshire was found to be in the top third of councils through independent analysis by The Times newspaper.
Of course, there’s always more to do, but the progress over recent years is clear.
On your ballot papers is a diverse team of current councillors and new candidates who are ready to serve the communities they represent and do the job they’re elected to do.
That job will continue over the next five years, whatever administration you elect, but I know the current team will be the best to meet those challenges head on.
Finally, over 140,000 people in Renfrewshire are eligible to vote in today’s elections. However you plan to vote today, make sure you do. Too often, turnouts to vote in elections are low.
If you don’t vote, you can bet others will, giving them a say while you abstain.
Decisions are made by those who show up – so make sure you show up and help Renfrewshire decide its future.