Turf war breaks out between crofters over unelected chief
Motion of no confidence against government appointee expected
THE woman who chairs the body that oversees Scotland’s 12,000 crofters faces a revolt among her fellow commissioners over her style of leadership.
At least five commissioners on the statutory group have requisitioned a special meeting of the Crofting Commission in order to move a motion of no confidence in their convener, who was nominated by the Scottish Government.
The majority’s demand to appoint their own chair now threatens a serious split.
Susan Walker is married to a Skye crofter and was one of the three commissioners appointed by Scottish ministers to the body which came into existence in April 2012. The remaining six were all directly elected by crofters covering six different geographical areas across the Highlands and Islands.
The commission was established by Holyrood’s crofting act of 2010 and took over from the old Crofters Commission which since 1955 had been run by commissioners all appointed by government.
Scotland’s 12,000 or so crofters took the election to the new body seriously. In March 2012 a total of 10,877 votes were cast for 28 candidates, divided into six regions, by way of the alternative vote system.
Initially, there was an acting chair who was one of the three appointed by ministers, and most assumed he would make way for one of the six with true democratic credentials. This is deemed important because the commissioners have powers to ensure crofts are occupied and worked or, if not, make them available to those who want to croft properly.
But it was not to be and some Highland eyebrows were raised when in September of that year Mrs Walker was unveiled as the first convener of the Crofting Commission. She was well qualified, from a crofting background and the co-author of The State of Crofting in Camuscross, an academic report on Skye crofting in her local township.
She was also a director of the Camuscross and Duisdale Initiative, an ambitious community trust working in partnership with crofters and grazings shareholders on local food and community project.
But she was not directly elected and some, who had praised ministers for putting their faith in the crofters themselves, feared she had been chosen by civil servants as someone they could trust. It is understood there is growing concern among her fellow commissioners over her style of leadership. In particular she has assumed an executive chair role, rather than being first among equals. There is also a feeling she is closer to officials in Edinburgh and Inverness than her commissioner colleagues.
The Crofting Commission referred inquiries to the Scottish Government, where a spokes- woman said: “Ministers are aware that a special meeting has been requested, and we are in close cont act with the Crofting Commission.”
She said the 2010 legislation required Scottish Ministers to either select a member to be the convener or delegate that task to the commission.
Dr Michael Foxley, the former leader of the Highland Council who is a crofter himself and stood unsuccessfully for election to the commission, said a split would not surprise him. He said: “Having taken the bold step to allow Scotland’s crofters to elect two-thirds of the commissioners, ministers should have ensured that one of those elected became convener to enshrine the democratic legitimacy of the body.”
‘‘ Ministers should have ensured one of those elected became convener to enshrine democratic legitimacy