The Conservatives have announced their candidates who will represent the Highland and Strathtay wards, in the upcoming local council elections. Perth and Kinross council will hold an election on the 5th of May to bring in the councillors for the next five years.
In the Highland Ward, Cllr John Duff has been selected to run again, along with Rhona Metcalfe, while in the Strathtay Ward Cllr’s Anne Jarvis and Ian James will both stand again.
Cllr John Duff who was elected in the 2018 by-election said: “It has been a great honour to have served as the elected member for the Highland Ward during these last four years and I will be seeking re-election in May. My time as a Councillor has been extremely busy, especially during the pandemic, where I have been trying to help residents who are struggling to make ends meet, looking after the elderly and vulnerable, and supporting local businesses.
During my term in office, I have worked hard across Highland Perthshire and enjoyed helping and representing local people and organisations and dealing with a great many and varied local issues. In particular, I am pleased to have been directly involved in the creation of the Highland Perthshire Learning Partnership, a beneficial collaboration between Breadalbane Academy and Pitlochry High School, and that the Conservative Administration agreed to finance the Visitor Ranger Service, which has been such a success in managing visitors to our rural areas. If re-elected, I pledge to work equally hard for the Highland Ward and to build on the work of my first term.”
While Rhona commented: “I want to be part of the local decision making for my area and I want the people in Highland ward and across Perthshire to have a voice and be listened to. Councillors are the connection between local people and government, and I want to support my local ward to achieve the best results for everyone in it.
“It is my belief that every business deserves an opportunity to develop and prosper; every family deserves excellent schools providing an outstanding education for their children and that everyone has access to well-run local services. I want to contribute to the already excellent work achieved by Perth and Kinross Council in the last 5 years, and I’m looking forward to meeting as many people as possible across the ward to hear their views on what’s important to our local area.”
Cllr Anne Jarvis commented on her re-selection saying: “Local democracy is being lost at an accelerating rate as Holyrood interferes in our providing what residents say they want. Our budgets are squeezed every year and we are denied the ability to spend money as Strathtay residents wish us to. My Conservative promise will be to make every penny count and keep Council Tax affordable.”
With Cllr Ian James commenting: “I have had the privilege to have served as one of your Scottish Conservative and Unionist ward Councillors for the last 5 years. In that time, I have served on the Planning Committee, Local Review Body and been Vice Convenor of both the licensing committee and the Licensing Board. I have lobbied for improvements to roads and infrastructure particularly within Strathtay. This has resulted in a planned upgrade to the Stewart Towers road – preparatory work already underway – and a clearway around Loch Clunie which along with the support for the new Ranger service, has alleviated the problems created by “Dirty campers” and inconsiderate and dangerous parking in our beautiful countryside. The Cross Tay Link road has also been approved. This will extend road links between the A9 with the A93 and A94 around Perth and across the river Tay. I have also witnessed the building of a brand-new high school and the creation of a thriving new community at Bertha Park. I would be honoured to spend another 5 years representing Strathtay and look forward to the forthcoming campaign.”
Anyone aged 16 and over can register to vote in the upcoming elections, the deadline to register is at 11:59pm on the 18th of April. And can be done by visiting, https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
You can also register for a postal vote which can be done at, https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/postal-voting, and the deadline to register is 5pm on the 19th of April.