insideMORAY welcomes formation of new Council Administration

[responsivevoice_button voice=”UK English Male” buttontext=”Listen to Post”]

Convener of Moray Council Cllr Shona Morrison

Moray Council’s new administration has this morning been agreed by councillors.

The local authority is now led by a minority SNP administration of nine members, with Cllr Shona Morrison appointed as Convener and Cllr Graham Leadbitter as Leader.

insideMORAY remains non-partisan, and keen to celebrate Moray and its people. We recognise the key role the Council plays in the life of Moray. We are therefore keen to thank the previous administration for its services to Moray, and pleased that a new administration has been formed to provide the leadership needed to guide us through these challenging but interesting times.

We are keen to see greater participation in the public life of Moray, and we are therefore particularly pleased to note the appointment of a woman as Convener. This is a first for Moray, and we hope it will provide additional inspiration for women of all ages.

We would encourage all councillors to work together constructively for the common good, supporting and challenging the new administration as needed.

And we would encourage the new administration to tap into the energy, skills and goodwill of all our people.

The role of councils is changing, and we’d like to see Moray Council move from the current model to a more participative one. Currently, councils tend to design, decide on, and deliver services to people. We would like to see councils move more firmly in the direction of a model where they work with people, engaging, enabling and empowering communities to take more control.

We believe the people of Moray are ready to take more control over what happens in their communities, as shown by the enthusiastic response to recent challenges and opportunities in relation to town and community halls. And insideMORAY remains ready to help.

Cllr Morrison first words as Convener, after paying tribute to her predecessor, Cllr James Allan, were: “I am honoured to be elected as Convener of Moray Council, and I am especially proud to be the first woman in Moray to hold this post. I look forward to representing Moray.”

The new Leader of Moray Council, Cllr Leadbitter, added: “It is an honour and a privilege to be elected as a councillor to serve my community and it is a further honour and privilege to be this council’s leader.

“We are an administration in a region that has an enormous amount to shout about and we will do that shouting. This is an exceptional place to live and work and we will be positive about Moray, positive about our council and positive about the future that it is our job to shape.”

Chairs of committees confirmed so far include (all SNP unless indicated otherwise):

Policy & Resources Cllr Aaron McLean

Audit & Scrutiny Cllr Marc Macrae (Conservative)

Children & Young People’s Services Cllr Sonya Warren

Communities Cllr Louise Laing

Economic Development & Infrastructure Services Cllr Graham Leadbitter

Planning & Regulatory Services Cllr David Bremner

Police & Fire and Rescue Services Cllr Paula Coy

Licensing Committee Cllr Amy Patience

Local Review Body Cllr Amy Patience

We will post further details of committee memberships as they become available. We understand that appointments to outside bodies will be considered at a future meeting of the Council.