Today's Aberdeen Press and Journal carries news that the Conservative PPC for Moray, Douglas Ross, has stepped down from the coalition of Independents and Conservatives running Moray Council because he felt unable publicly to support all that it was doing.
Douglas - who will be standing against the SNP's Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, at the general election - remains a councillor, but his departure leaves the administration in a minority.
However, he insists that he was left with no option but to sit as a backbench councillor so that he could take issue with aspects of what the administration is doing:
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly, but over recent months I have found myself disagreeing with some of the decisions taken by the administration.
“A recent decision concerned flooding at Garmouth and Kingston. I have been raising this issue in the flood alleviation sub-committee and with officers and I am clear that short term measures need to be put in place now to protect these communities from flooding and the misery it brings. Despite my arguments the administration group felt that it could not allow a budget for these communities to be included in the report at Policy and Resources committee last week due to the financial pressures placed on the council.
"I appreciate the need for financial stringency in these difficult times - and, after all, the financial mess the country is in is hardly the fault of Moray Council. But I feel I have to put the needs of my constituents first and to have the freedom to speak out to propose alternative solutions."
Jonathan Isaby
