What councillors really want from the Scottish Parliament

Scotland’s three spheres of government – local, Scottish and UK – work in partnership to deliver the services we all rely on.

But levels of responsibility vary, as do the levers available to decision-makers. Throughout the last political year, Holyrood has been asking councillors across Scottish local authorities about the one thing MSPs can do to make a difference in their area.

The elected members were drawn from across Scotland’s political parties, and included independents. Their answers reveal clear themes on big ticket issues affecting local communities across Scotland’s local council areas – and reveal an attitude that looks beyond party politics.

And they show a desire for a flexible, responsive politics which recognises that one size does not fit all.

When asked ‘what’s the one thing Holyrood politicians could do that would be of greatest benefit’ to her Buckie ward in Moray, SNP councillor Sonya Warren said: “Improve connectivity. Dual the A96 properly and make sure there’s proper 4G connectivity for everyone. There should be equity of provision. When you hear of people having to go to Edinburgh for chemotherapy you want the roads to be the best they can be because that’s a very long round trip and once you start your therapy you have to go all the time. We’re not that far from Aberdeen, but the roads aren’t great; we’re not that far from Inverness, but the roads aren’t great.”

Aberdeenshire Council leader Gillian Owen, a Conservative who represents the Ellon and District ward, also named moves to “dual that road, at least to the Toll of Birness” as her number one ask, and Lib Dem Claire McLaren, who represents the Strathtay Ward on Perth & Kinross Council, called for pragmatism about the A9, suggesting Holyrood politicians should “be more realistic about what’s achievable with road safety on the A9 – put some realistic politics in there”.

Councillor Claire McLaren with Alex Cole-Hamilton

Green councillor Alex Armitage, of Shetland Islands Council, said transport is a “huge issue” for his Shetland South ward: “The NorthLink ferry doesn’t fulfil the needs our population has. It’s a night boat and it needs more spaces for people to sleep. It has cabins, which are very nice, but they are expensive and there aren’t enough of them.”

His Labour council-mate Tom Morton, who represents the Shetland North ward, agreed, saying decision-makers in Edinburgh must “recognise that Shetland is not just some outlying oil-rich lump of rock in the middle of the North Sea, but part of Scotland” and has “real problems with things like transport”. Morton said: “The ferry connection to the mainland is not too bad at the moment, but within Shetland itself we have a real crisis as regards inter-island ferries. A lot of the ferries are 30 or 40 years old and need replaced. The Scottish Government needs to have a look at this because it is its responsibility.”

Aberdeen Labour council Nurul Hoque Ali wanted more focus on “how we’re going to manage the just transition” due to its prominence in his local economy, Glasgow Conservative councillor John Daly said the “complex” Scottish tax system was affecting “aspiring young families” in his ward, and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar member Susan Thomson, of the SNP, said “childcare needs to get looked at” to support parents in the Uibhist a Deas, Eirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla ward. Meanwhile, in the Stirling Council area, Conservative Paul Henke wanted education, particularly the delivery of language lessons, to be given a “higher priority”.

And funding and respect for local government emerged as major issues for those interviewed.

East Ayrshire councillor Sally Cogley, of the Rubbish Party, named “proper” funding as her biggest request, while Angus Council independent Lois Speed said her authority “seems to trail behind in terms of the money that’s distributed”. West Lothian councillor Sally Pattle, a Lib Dem, said extra funding  was needed to help meet her area’s £53m RAAC remediation bill. “We have had absolutely no help or support from the Scottish Government, despite repeated requests over a number of years,” she said. And Paul di Mascio, depute leader of the Progress North Lanarkshire group on North Lanarkshire Council, said change would allow councils to “focus on delivering quality services and on improvements that can be made to people’s lives”. He said: “That needs appropriate levels of funding for improving our infrastructure, health and social care, education, business support, housing, initiatives to tackle poverty, inequality and youth projects, investment in our green spaces and the regeneration of our communities.”

“For our city funding has always been an issue, but money isn’t always the solution,” said independent Marie Boulton, who sits on Aberdeen City Council, who called for greater respect for local democracy: “There’s still too much interference at the wrong time by the Scottish Government, then they don’t support you when you need them to.”

Councillor Heather Anderson

Dundee councillor Heather Anderson, of the SNP, said “listening and working directly with councils” would bring improvements: “I’m looking at whether we can kickstart the horticultural sector by investing in glasshouse production in Dundee. When you have ideas like that it’s about making sure you can go and talk and say ‘look, can you help us get this started?’”

For Labour’s Altany Craik, a member of Fife Council, policy-making needs a viewpoint that is “a wee bitty wider than the cities approach”. “Geography has a big bearing on how policies are delivered on the ground,” he said. “I’m trying to make sure it’s not so top-down and we have some more manoeuvrability. Fife has everything from rural to urban geography and if a policy works here, it’ll probably work all over but we need to we need flexibility in how we try to implement things.”

That’s a perspective shared by Green councillor Kristopher Leask, who represents Orjney’s Kirkwall West and Orphir ward: “We’ve got quite different challenges and contexts here and that requires different decisions. A lot more autonomy and scope in how we implement government decisions would be a win-win for everyone.”

Independent councillor Alastair Redman, who represents the Kintyre and the Islands ward on Argyll & Bute Council, gave a similar answer: “Properly fund local authorities, recognise the huge challenges we have with the quantity of distilleries on the islands, and recognise that they themselves are distant.

“The UK Government knows it is distant and acts accordingly but the Scottish Government sees Scotland as one entity and that’s a mistake. Holyrood talks a great deal about getting more power from the UK Government, but I’d like them to talk more about devolving the powers they do have at a Scottish Government level to local authorities. The council tax freeze debacle was a sign of the Scottish Government having too much power.”

Renfrewshire councillors Lisa-Marie Hughes and Michelle Campbell

“For any politician, your job is to be present, to understand the challenges and the opportunities in an area and to just really drive forward change and progress,” Renfrewshire Council’s Lisa-Marie Hughes reflected. The SNP member, who heads the local culture and leisure body OneRen, said: “I think the link between local and national government – both Scottish and UK governments – is really important, as is harnessing the unique perspective that councillors have.

“We really know our areas, we know our stuff.”