A team of Conservative Councillors is taking Moray Council’s call for extra funding to Holyrood later this week.
Led by Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Tim Eagle (Buckie ward), the group plan to lobby senior Conservative MSPs in order to get their message across to the SNP Scottish Government. Moray MP Douglas Ross will join the group at Holyrood to underline the gravity of the situation facing the Council.
Tim said: “Most will be aware that we receive 80% of our funding from Holyrood and over the last 10 years the poor financial settlement we have received has meant that severe cuts to services have been made. This simply cannot continue and many councils and other bodies are calling for the SNP to give a fair funding deal to local councils. I am trying to make sure that everyone is aware of the issues facing Moray and put as much pressure on the SNP as possible to give us a fair deal."
Douglas said: “It is very important that all Moray’s elected representatives come together and make it quite clear to Nicola Sturgeon that enough is enough. The services that the Council provide – such as schooling, social care and the maintenance of our roads – are under intense financial pressure. We need a fairer deal for Moray.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston will host the group and has organised meetings on Thursday 29th November with the acting Scottish Conservative Party Leader, Jackson Carlaw MSP, and local government spokesman Alexander Stewart MSP.
Jamie said: “It is great that Tim and the Conservative group have taken this initiative and I am delighted to host them. We need to keep up the pressure on the Scottish Government and he can be assured that the Conservative opposition at Holyrood will be fighting for Moray and the other authorities in the North of Scotland. The SNP are a centralising party and seem only interested in the Central Belt. We need to keep reminding them that the people we represent deserve consideration as well.”
Cllr Eagle is recently returned from Westminster where he joined Douglas Ross to lobby cabinet ministers Michael Gove and David Mundell on the importance of the fishing and agricultural sectors to Moray and to brief them on the progress of the Moray Growth Deal.
Pic: L to R Jamie Halcro Johnston MSP, Cllr Tim Eagle, Douglas Ross MP at Cooper Park, Elgin
