A warm welcome to new Highland councillors

A very warm congratulations go out to all the elected councillors for Badenoch and Strathspey. Of course, I am especially pleased that my party colleagues, Bill Lobban and Dave Fallows, have been elected.

However, I have also had the pleasure of working very closely over the years with Jaci Douglas, in helping disadvantaged young people, and would congratulate both her and Gregor Rimell on their re-election.

We are fortunate locally to have people who are willing to give handsomely of their time to help their local communities, and should be thankful they have collectively had a wide range of experience and expertise to offer.

The agreement between the SNP, Labour and Liberal to form an administration in Highland Council is also very much to be welcomed. I look forward to working with them, as I did with their predecessors.

My understanding is that a good rapport already exists between many members of the different parties, and it should be possible to work together for the good of the area.

Indeed, when I visit local authorities around the country, very often I have little idea of which party each councillor represents – so their willingness to join together and form a working coalition is very good indeed.

The initial reaction to the new formation of an alliance between SNP, Lib and Labour, from the leaders of the Independents, appeared to me to be overly negative.

Understandable perhaps in the light of what must have been the unexpected loss of office: but it remains to be seen what kind of opposition a group of Independents will make – as it is not clear that they have a clear rationale critique to which they can all subscribe.

An opposition without a clear and shared sense of purpose is not really an opposition at all. We shall see.

N A VERY sad note, I was sorry indeed to learn that the Inverness and Stornoway construction company, UBC, has gone into administration.

I have worked closely with the company for a number of years now in a number of ways, and they had a strong order book and were engaged in carrying out very important work.

Over the coming weeks, I will continue to be in close contact with the administrator to see what can be preserved by way of jobs. It is an ironic sign of the recessionary times that I have now already worked with the administrator in relation to a previous case – and in that one I am pleased to say that a purchaser of the business – Sangs in Macduff – was found thanks to the hard work of the staff, the administrator and in that case the bank, the Allied Irish Bank.

UBC has a number of interests – in housing, civil engineering and in the work on the grid – the Beauly Denny line.

Both as constituency MSP and as Enterprise Minister, I shall see that everything that can be done will be done to find jobs and preserve business.

This news follows the announcement affecting TSC in Aviemore, and here again there are considerable efforts afoot to find alternative work for the staff, who have so loyally and effectively served the customer, the HSBC.

The announcement came out of the blue, and there are some months in which to find alternative employment. Highlands and Islands Enterprise are doing all they can to identify other opportunities for those involved.

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