SNP take control of Clackmannanshire Council

Kevin McRoberts • Published 6 Jan 2012 11:00 18 Comments

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SNP Councillor Gary Womersley is the new leader of Clackmannanshire Council.

The SNP Group has ousted the Labour administration to take control of Clackmannanshire Council.

Councillor Gary Womersley is now the new leader of the council, replacing Labour's Councillor Sam Ovens, following a special meeting of the council this morning (Friday).

Councillor Mark English replaces Councillor Bobby McGill as depute leader.

The new Provost of Clackmannanshire is Councillor Tina Murphy, who becomes the county's first female provost. She replaces Councillor Derek Stewart.

A full report and reaction will be included in the next issue of the Alloa Advertiser.

This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 06 Jan 12

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James1967
Unregistered User
Jan 6, 17:53
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Good on em! Hopefully now we'll some proper administration of the county's affairs. The complacency displayed by the outgoing administration merely served to illustrate their lack of any coherent policy, they've shafter their staff, rode rough-shod over the electorate and cosied-up too much to their 'friends' in business. Hopefully the new lot won't make the same mistakes!

Well Done to Eddie Carrick too, it must have been an extremely difficult decision to vote with the SNiPs, but at least his former colleagues will now know what it's like to be shafted!

Recommend? Yes 10 No 6
Puddock
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Jan 6, 19:27
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I bet Labour have left a huge black hole in the County's finances....that's what usually happens with Labour. Is too Macheovellian to think they may have engineered this now the May elections are on hand. Now we will get 4 months of spin....I think the SNP Admin should publish the balance sheet as of today....bet there is not enough in the kitty.

Recommend? Yes 9 No 5
sappie
Unregistered User
Jan 6, 22:09
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Does one smell a dead rat here.

The recent appointment of a new chief executive to the council, one highly approved by the new leader of labour in Scotland, may or may not have a bearing on the change of control in the council. Could labours strategy in the area be to land the new administration with all the ramifications of their maladministration in time to scupper the SNPs chances at the next election?

The new administration must get all the facts out in the open without loss of time and overule the C.E. in any attempt to delay this process.

Recommend? Yes 4 No 3
AlloaYankee
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Jan 6, 23:28
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I remember when George Reid SNP became MP for Clackmannan and East Stirling. He served from 1974 - 1979. He was the best MP we ever had. He actually represented his community the way an MP should and got results.

At that time I voted Labour so I am not being a (I voted SNP so I know it all) smartypants.

I have since grown up and vote intelligently.

I hope the present SNP can live up to his example.

Labour (we'll get voted in no matter what) need a good kick up the backside. They are so used to continually being voted in that they have forgotten what their actual job is.

They work for the public. It is your taxes that pay them. They close buildings without proper consultation with the constituents. They ignore objections until they are forced, by parliament, to take notice.

Recommend? Yes 6 No 3
Hearts Upwards
Unregistered User
Jan 7, 02:08
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The new council leaders will need to show what they're made of. They have the confidence of an Independent and a Labour councillor.

Until such times as when the Act Of Union is extinguished and a fresher, more stable Scotland emerges, I will put up with SNP controlling everything that they need to, to arrange Scotlands transition. Luckily there are new pro-scottish parties waiting to be prominent opppsition once independence is achieved.

It will then be the SNP not needing to monopolise all they survey. The direct influence by Westminster will be broken.

Recommend? Yes 2 No 2
Granny23
4 posts
Jan 7, 02:20
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Congratulations to the SNP group and their independent supporters for bravely stepping up to the mark and taking conrol of this rudderless Council, which has been adrift in stormy seas. I am sure they will be well aware that they have some mess to sort out and I agree with the commentators above that they should publish the real current financial state of the Council ASAP, before Labour claim that everything was hunky-dory until the SNP took over.

Recommend? Yes 7 No 4
eyerite
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Jan 7, 11:11
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One hopes that as of now, the new administration will begin 'administering' the affairs of the county as opposed to the faceless bureaucrats who -until now- have been allowed to determine policy on the hoof. For the past 8 or so years, it is not the councillors who have ran Clackmannanshire but the officers. The previous administration employed a dead-duck of a Chief Executive who did absolutely NOTHING for the people of Clackmannanshire but instead presided over some serious failings i.e. Childcare, she promoted her 'favoured' few into positions they clearly are incapable of managing. I for one hope that Gary Womersley, Mark English and the few other capable councillors will call an immediate halt to any further restructurings, re-organisations, jointly managed services ect, ect and focus on what WE the Clacks electorate truly want, need & deserve!

Recommend? Yes 12 No 3
******
Jan 7, 11:19
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Hillfoots jimmy
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Jan 7, 14:28
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Well i hope the SNP council treat their staff better than the labour council when the single status was introduced they were many council employees losing thousands of pounds a year. At the time the labour leader of the council turned round and she said " The council would bring in money experts to help staff who were dropping money" thats what they thought of their workforce many who were already low paid. I hope the SNP do a through investigation and may uncover some dodgey irregularities that many people always thought were going on!

Recommend? Yes 7 No 1
East Lothian
Unregistered User
Jan 8, 11:38
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Thanks all we now have the one trick pony here, with her tried and tested way of working, can;t wait for the re-structure here at ELC because up until now what a poor judge of character she is, only has one way of working, we have had two pathetic messages from her becuase shes all about performance...but clearly not if what happened at Clacks under her Leadership is true!!!

Heaven help East Lothian, only consolation would be that she was behind it all.....

She has absolutely no attention to detail.

Recommend? Yes 7 No 0
I Anderson
Unregistered User
Jan 8, 21:33
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Congratulations to the SNP Group on taking control of Clackmannanshire Council! This is excellent news for the people of Clackmannanshire who are indeed fed up with Labour's mismanagement and incompetence.

Recommend? Yes 4 No 2
Socialist
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Jan 8, 22:28
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I find this story quite amusing, does the SNP Group not speak to their colleagues in East Lothian,surely this matter has not appeared over night.

Recommend? Yes 4 No 0
Nicky1990
Unregistered User
Jan 9, 14:35
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I am not surprised at Eddie Carrick putting the knife in to his Labour colleagues. The way he was talking in previous editions of your newspaper, demonstrates that he thought it was his God Given right to serve. Clearly he doesn't believe in an democrat society.

If this is how he treats people he has meant to be friends and colleagues with, it is amazing that they didn't kick him out years ago. He must be aware he is finished in Clackmannanshire now. No one wants a bitter and twisted councillor representing them. If he truly believed that he is representing people of Clackmannanshire, he should have resigned and ran as an independent and let the electorate decide if they wanted him or not.

Recommend? Yes 6 No 1
Angus
Unregistered User
Jan 10, 07:29
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" .... he should have resigned and ran as an independent and let the electorate decide if they wanted him or not ..."

That's precisely what he has done!!!!!!!

Recommend? Yes 4 No 4
Warren Peace
Unregistered User
Jan 10, 08:18
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Just hope we now see some councillors bring back moral that has been missing from the electorate of the area. The schemes cleaned up of litter ot just what can be seen from the main roads. Give us county we pay for not a county that looks good to the passing motorist,

Recommend? Yes 4 No 0
Angry Bystander
Unregistered User
Jan 10, 09:29
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Absolutely with Nicky1990 here. Whatever criticisms people may have of the previous administration and however readers may be voting come May, Carrick explicitly stated the assumption that sitting councillors had a right to be selected so long as they wished to stand. This is clearly against a modern democratic society and is closer to a Soviet/North Korean attitude in which those in power have a right to remain there so long as they choose. In case he hadn't noticed, we moved into the 21st century a number of years ago.

And with regard to him standing for re-election, clearly I must have missed the resignation to which Angus refers, as I'm not aware of any by-election arising from such a resignation!

Recommend? Yes 5 No 4
w_macallum
Unregistered User
Jan 11, 17:46
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Democracy Angry Bystander? What democracy when a cabal of 6 people choose two councillors? Eddie Carrick dedicated 36 years to the labour party and was well & truly shafted by his so-called 'brothers/sisters'. Good on him for jumping ship, the half-wits he left behind are now presumably pondering where they went wrong! It'll probably take them 4 or 5 years to understand why Mr Carrick did what he did & voted FOR a socialist party instead of the right-wing party he represented these past 10 or so years!

Recommend? Yes 2 No 0
Alloa resident
Unregistered User
Jan 12, 13:09
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I think this shows that all politicians tend to be in it for themselves and not because the believe in anything! Mr Carrick backed Labour until he does not get what he wants and then he does a 180 degree turn to back the opposition, honourable behaviour? I think not.

Also how long now before the new SNP administration strip every penny out of Alloa to fund their Hillfoots fiefdoms? Much as they did the last time they were in power, if you live in Alloa perhaps you should be concerned. Watch this space for Alloa cuts and a Hillfoots spending boom.

Recommend? Yes 2 No 2
bobwells
Unregistered User
Jan 18, 18:18
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Oh thank God. The council has been so badly run for so long...The SNP will have a lot of work to sort that out. Their service over the last few years have been nothing sort of disgraceful. FOUR TIMES i have been 'warned' that I am getting a new kitchen installed, and FOUR TIMES nothing has happened! Same with my new gas boiler (the current one is dangerous), my windows (which are heavily condensated on the inside), etc etc etc. My kitchen looks like a prison because I have been waiting about SIX YEARS on the council putting in a new one! Everytime i say "I'll just do it myself", im warned that they will RIP OUT the old one when they fit in the new one (which never happens!) I have been waiting for house also for many years and it pains me to see houses and flats which are council owned and empty which lay empty for YEARS. DISGRACEFUL. What the hell have you been doing labour you useless bunch?

Recommend? Yes 1 No 0
******
Feb 14, 19:14
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