Shona makes council history as SNP take power

FROM novice councillor to history-maker is a not a story many get to tell, but for Fochabers-Lhanbryde SNP Councillor Shona Morrison the dream became reality at last week’s full council meeting.
The meeting saw the nine-strong SNP group form a minority administration after two weeks of uncertainty ushered in by the collapse of the previous Conservative-Independent ruling group.
It was to mark an new era in Moray Council history when Councillor Morrison was unveiled as the local authority’s first female convener. She will serve alongside council leader Councillor Graham Leadbitter in the first SNP administration to lead Moray for two decades.
A year can bring quite a difference, Councillor Morrison reflected.
“It’s an incredible feeling, I’m so proud – the last year has been a phenomenal experience,” she told the Advertiser.
“A lot of us in the group were entering the council for the first time last year and we’ve all put in a lot of hard work since then and thrown ourselves into our portfolios. I think we did a really good opposition budget in February.
“We may be a minority administration but we’ve a very strong group and are feeling very positive. The council staff are e happy now that there’s a bit of stability after all the uncertainty and the SNP group are ready to take up the challenge of administration.”
After a fortnight of wrangling and accusations which has at times appeared to descend into farce – sparked by the Tories walking out of the administration over a disagreement regarding the advertising of two senior officer posts – it was time to focus on the positive, said Councillor Morrison.
She continued: 2Moray has been in the headlines over the last two weeks for all the wrong reasons and it’s time we focused on the positives, all the good things which are happening here in Moray.
“We need to get it out there that Moray is a wonderful place to live and work.
“One of my first priorities is to bring stability and let things settle down. We need to let the council officers get back to doing their jobs and not be distracted by uncertainty surrounding who is going to be the administration group.”
Councillor Morrison is well aware that the hand of history rested on her appointment in a local authority which has, in the most part, been dominated by men. Indeed, across Scotland only 27 per cent of councillors are female, a figure the new Moray convener stated “wasn’t good enough”.
“I feel incredibly privileged to be the first female convener of Moray Council, especially in this year when we celebrate the centenary of women winning the right to vote,” she said.
“It resonates with me as a feminist. Part of my role is to reach out into the community and encourage women, to say to them ‘Look, it’s absolutely possible as a mum to do this job. OK, it won’t be easy but the establishment has to be flexible’.
“Their voices are out future and one of things i love about our SNP group is the bright, fresh, real-life experience we have brought to the council.
“I have two girls aged 10 and 13 an i want them to know that anything is possible that they can achieve what they want. They are very much part of my life, my work and my party.”
The Moray SNP group have certainly made their own contribution to righting the gender balance – of the nine councillors, six are women.