Minority council presents opportunities

I think it would be fair to say last week’s local election threw up some interesting results in Rutherglen and Cambuslang.

Unlike general and Scottish elections, it is very difficult to gauge who has won a seat until the candidates are on stage, which makes for a greater sense of drama.

And so it proved again on Friday with some surprise results thrown up in the local area and across the region.

The end result is likely to be a minority SNP administration, something that presents a real opportunity for local communities to have their say.

With the biggest party relying on the support of others, the scope for crossparty agreement is large and that could be hugely beneficial to the people who actually matter - the voters.

Well done to all the candidates who were elected. Let us hope they can leave their party rosettes at the door and remember they are there to represent the people of Rutherglen and Cambuslang.

You can read our full report from the count on pages 10 and 11.

On page seven we lead with the news that over 1,000 children in Rutherglen and Cambuslang had to rely on the local food bank in the past financial year.

What an absolutely disgusting statistic. The work the volunteers at the food bank do is incredible and they deserve our utmost thanks, but I am sure we would all rather they were not required.

Elsewhere this week, our Out and About feature took us to one of Rutherglen Town Hall’s regular tea dances. You can find out how we got on by turning to pages 24 and 25.

Finally, Roadwatch on page 23 features a number of new closures and works, so make sure you plan ahead. Douglas Dickie