Not a moniker to aspire to

NEWLY elected SNP MSP John Finnie says he has yet to decide whether to continue in his role as an Inverness councillor. The party’s Highland Council group will meet over the next few days to discuss his position and that of fellow MSP/councillor Jean Urquhart.

That is fair enough, but the outcome should not be in doubt. It is not in the interests of constituents to try and combine the two roles.

Working in Edinburgh for at least four days a week does not allow time to attend council meetings and scrutinise policy, never mind deal with matters in the ward. Spend more time in Inverness and the MSP role suffers.

Then there is the question of drawing two salaries at a time of local and national government cutbacks and redundancies. Two Jobs John is not a moniker Mr Finnie should aspire to.

We hope he will be an active and able MSP. But that must mean leaving the council chamber behind.