A hard fecht!

Let`s face it - standing in any election in Scotland as a Conservative is a bit of a challenge. Going round the doors the government of Margaret Thatcher is still thrown in your face . . .  and that`s going back decades! Scots have long memories - particularkly of the dreaded polltax.

However on a local level as councillors we have a good record; in the past five years we`ve turned South Ayrshire Council around from running at a loss to having healthy reserves and we
have a good message to put out - so why does the national government (Westminster)seem hellbent on making life difficult for us?

First there was the `granny bashing` in the budget - and dare I say it a lot of our supporters qualify for the bus pass -  rapidly followed by the kitchen suppers at Dowing Street, hints of buying influence, then we had the wonderful Francis Maude.


We are panicked in buying up petrol because of a strike that hasn`t taken place,with queues at filling stations and some running dry.  Then it is suggested a we should hoard petrol in containers, against all the advice of the Fire Rescue Services.  And I am not even going to get into the fiasco of the VAT on hot pasties!  What will happen to all those queues at Greggs waiting for sausage rolls?

The government looks hapless and is widely portrayed in the press as being out of touch with the electorate.

Fortunately the same cannot be said about your local Conservatives who are all about working with the local communities, giving people more responsibility for their own lives.

A message I will be trying to put out as the campaigning for the local elections steps up a gear.

Perception`s the thing

One of the first things I learned when I became a councillor almost five years ago was how important perception is.  The late Gibson Macdonald was the first to ram the message home to a very green councillor, but how important it is has become clear over the past years.

It`s not so much what you do . . .  it`s what the public think you are doing.

What do I mean?  Well being on the planning committee (regulatory panel) it is vital to remain impartial, so if a planning application is coming up you can`t discuss it with anyone connected to the project. And you can`t even be seen in the company of anyone connected with the project.

You might be talking to the managing director of a building company about the price of bread . . .  but what anyone witnessing the conversation thinks can come back to bite you. So you keep your distance. Common sense really for a politician.

Seems a bit drastic?  Maybe but that`s how it is and it is what our parliamentary representatives seem to forget when they get to Westminster - or Holyrood for that matter.  Witness this week`s hoohah about kitchen suppers at Downing Street.  They may well have been perfectly innocent but that`s not the perception.

They could do well taking up the South Ayrshire motto `Ne`er forget the people`- because they`re watching you!

Was interested to see the first local newspaper tack on last week`s Conservative Party Conference in Troon.  Apparently the town was brought to a standstill by the arrival of the Prime Minister on Friday. Not true but don`t let the facts spoil a good story. It is true there was a strong police presence (understandably) but when I arrived Troon seemed to be moving as usual.

However the event did provide a good conversation stopper.  Speaking to my daughter on Friday evening.... `And what did you do today? .... I met the Prime Minister!

Torchlight express

It seemed like such a great idea . . .  the Olympic torch being carried round the UK by a series of local runners.  Exciting for those taking part, their families and friends.  Something to remember all their lives.

When the idea was announced, names were sought of worthy people to carry the torch. And with it coming up through most of South Ayrshire a number of runners would be needed - 29 in fact - who  would each run around 300 metres before handing on the torch to the next person.

And 29 we have - but only nine of these are local and none are running in the area they come from. And to add to the confusion the remaining runners don`t just come from the rest of Scotland, there are a few runners from abroad! It goes without saying the choices were made south of the border!

However I`ll try not to be a spoilsport - like the local papers.  Let`s look on the positive side.  Plans are underway to make sure all  South Ayshire`s schoolchildren get a  chance to see the torch on its way up the A77 on June 8. And it is the children who are most likely to be excited about the whole idea.  A South Ayrshire song has been written to celebrate the occasion and will be sung by various groups as the runners pass through.

And there is an added bonus.  With worldwide press coverage SAC won`t want to see a runner falling into a pothole! So look out for some essential road repairing over the next few months

Curtain up at last?

Things are moving at last on the GaietyTheatre. . . .   how many times have we thought that over the past four years?

However this time it looks as if we might see - note I still use the cautionary `might` -  the curtain rise at the Ayr theatre before the end of the year and probably more importantly before the local operatic societies go out of business.  They have really missed the theatre - the Town Hall and Citadel are just not suitable for theatrical productions.

But I digress

The specail council meeting last week saw members approve £150,000 a year for the next five years to help get the theatre up and running - on top of cash from the Scottish Government provided specifically to get the curtain up before Christmas.  (Again I am being cautious - everybody else is talking about the autumn, But I`ve been here before! I will be delighted to be proved wrong)

And credit where it`s due, if the government minister Alex Neil hadn`t stepped foward in a blaze of publicity, (naturally just before the local elections!)  providing the cash and thus the momentum, we would still be talking round in circles with ifs, buts, maybes.

But now it looks as if the theatre will open; the cafe/bar is ready, just waiting for the right operator and two high profile companies seem to be interested; there`s cash for  the rehearsal rooms/ studios which can take small productions and the government money will go to the main auditorium. A `manager` has been appointed, so it looks set to go.

As I said at the council meeting it has been a long haul and we are `stuck with` (I used the phrase advisedly) the Gaiety Partnership who have been trying to get the project off the ground for more than three years.  They were the preferred bidders and although the make-up of the partnership has changed over that time they at  last have a business plan - one that has been approved by the government, thus the cash - and things should start moving and soon

The public - you out there - have loudly supported the campaign to have the theatre re-open.
Once it is, your job isn`t over . . .  you have to fill the seats.  That will be the real test.