BUCKIE BY-ELECTION: Five to contest vacant Buckie ward seat
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VOTERS in Buckie and Findochty are set to go to the polls next Thursday to decide who will fill the vacant seat in the town's Moray Council ward.
At the May poll no vote was held in the Buckie ward due to the fact there were only three candidates for the three seats available, meaning that Councillors Neil NcLennan, Christopher Price and Sonya Warren were returned unopposed.
However, in August Mr Price tendered his resignation citing the pressures of his job while fulfilling his role as a councillor.
However, this time around voters will be able to choose from a field of five candidates: Tim Eagle (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party); Keighly Goudie (Scottish Labour Party); Neil Houlden; John Stuart (Scottish National Party); Les Tarr (Scottish Liberal Democrats).
Voting will be conducted using the Single Transferable Vote system which, unlike the first past the post method use for Holyrood and Westminster elections, asks the voter to rank each candidate in order of preference, with the number one denoting the most preferred candidate. Voters do not have to rank all the candidates presented on the ballot paper.
We asked the candidates to submit a short piece outlining why they believe people should cast their vote for them, as well as discussing some of the many issues faced by Buckie and the surrounding area.
Tim Eagle (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party):
For five years I had the privilege of working for the people and communities of Buckie, meeting the astounding array of groups in our town.
I championed in the council the takeover of the Fishermen’s and Findochty halls, fought to get new bins to reduce litter, arranged meetings to discuss the importance of transport links, highlighted the need for new industrial units, helped approved the planned upgrades to Buckie and Findochty harbour, answered thousands of letters and e-mails and so much more.
Being a councillor is a truly wonderful position. Yet it comes with its down side in a world where online comments can create difficulties in the real world. I was saddened there was no election in May this year and upset to see a by-election at a time when Buckie councillors should be united and stronger than ever.
I see this as a pivotal moment for the Buckie ward, where key projects that for so long have been promised must now see real action. Buckie High School and leisure centre was next in line, now questions hang over that. There were significant plans for town centre improvements and the Buckie harbour re-development, yet little final detail has been released.
Key questions remain over much-needed support for schools, how the future will be ensured for Buckie community hospital and minor injuries and how the rise of anti-social behaviour will be addressed, and not least, as costs continue to spiral, how Moray Council will lead the way in supporting all of us.
If elected I will work harder than ever for the community, fighting for the above but never forgetting the basics like road maintenance, bins emptying, libraries and housing.
At this moment experience is vital, I have that experience and I am ready to serve.
Keighly Goudie (Scottish Labour Party):
I am standing for the first time in the by-election for the Buckie ward on the Moray Council. I never expected that I might stand for elected office. I’m not a career politician; I’m an NHS nurse working in the Buckie area to ensure that our community is well looked after.
I believe that Buckie deserves better representation than it has had of late. This by-election is a result of one Buckie councillor quitting after just three months; while another has quit his own party. Buckie deserves better councillors. If I am elected, you can be assured that I will be a hard-working local representative for Buckie.
We need do far more to support young families here in Buckie, with many parents having to bring their children out of area for childcare. I will fight for better childcare provision here in Buckie.
I believe that urgent action is needed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, and only Labour has a costed plan to do so. Labour has led the way in fighting for freezes to energy bills and rents. If we elect more Labour councillors, more of Labour's policies will be implemented in Moray too. Here in Moray, Labour has been fighting to scrap brown bin charges. Recognising the need to do all we can to fight the cost-of-living crisis, I will fight to freeze all council charges and rents until 2024.
Labour were the biggest gainers here in Moray earlier this year, more than doubling our vote share, and tripling our representation on the Moray Council. Labour held a seat in Buckie from 1999 – 2007. With Labour surging in the polls in every part of the UK, and with the Tory vote collapsing, Labour can win in Buckie again.
Neil Houlden:
I have lived in Buckie for nearly four years, and it would be a privilege to be an ambassador for Buckie.
Not being able to vote in the last elections really disappointed me. Party politics is out of touch and not delivering for the people it represents. I believe that it is important to be a neutral candidate and that has the benefit of no party mandates to follow. Only to provide the best effort for the residents and businesses of the community.
My main concern is that Buckie is not getting the right representation when the decisions are being made. All candidates in this election have identified the same issues we face in Buckie, and I agree with them because they actually affect my family and friends. The quality of our schools including the provision of before and after school care, road safety in the town, and the future of our community sports centre are all priorities to me.
In order to realistically achieve this, my mission would be to bring a calm and professional personality to ensure we work together to increase awareness of the importance of our town within Moray Council decision-making. I believe what’s needed is an open-minded approach, the ability to question the information, and effective listening skills. I have experienced living with other councils and know that it can be better.
Buckie is a fantastic place to live. Our coastline and countryside are some of the most beautiful in the world and need to be protected and enjoyed. Buckie industries span generations of families and should be respected and promoted.
The people and businesses of Buckie need to be connected and supported. As a prospective councillor my values are to act with integrity, ensure equality and seize opportunity.
John Stuart (Scottish National Party):
It’s an absolute honour to be your SNP candidate for the Buckie by-election on Thursday, November 3. Over the last few weeks, I’ve enjoyed getting out speaking to voters in Buckie, Buckpool, Findochty, Portessie, Rathven and Arradoul.
With no election taking place in Buckie in May due to a lack of candidates, I hope that people turn out to vote on Thursday and make their voice heard.
You don’t need me to tell you how tough things are for people and businesses in our community right now. Soaring energy prices and the spiralling cost of living is putting huge pressure on households in the Buckie area.
At such a challenging time, it’s vital we have a team of councillors working flat out to support our community through the weeks and months ahead.
The SNP team on the Moray Council have been pushing hard to force the Tory administration to take action to help households and businesses struggling with the cost of living. It was SNP councillors who scrapped school meal debt – something the Tories voted against.
But just like the Tories in Westminster, Moray Council’s Conservative administration has spent the last six months in chaos, distracted by in-fighting and getting nothing done.
As your SNP councillor, I’ll use my experience as Chair of the Buckie Community Council and founder of the Buckie Kindness Group to deliver for our communities.
Whether it is supporting people through the cost-of-living crisis, campaigning for a new Buckie High School, or pressing for more investment in our harbours and town centres, you can be sure of one thing: I will always be on your side.
These are challenging times, but I know with our incredible community spirit, we will help each other through.
To elect a local champion on November 3, vote SNP.
Les Tarr (Scottish Liberal Democrats):
I spent a lot of my professional career working in local government and the public sector. I come from a lucky generation, where a working-class background was not a barrier to education, the state provided me with an education I made the best use of.
I’m at that stage in life where my professional career is coming to an end, and I am looking for the next challenge, for me that’s paying back the benefits I’ve enjoyed by seeking to be a councillor. If elected that will be my full-time focus.
I’ve spent years being an advocate for people through my trade union activities. In recent years that role has taken on a different dimension dealing as much with issues of mental-health wellbeing than employment disputes.
For the Scottish Liberal Democrats, the agenda is about recovery, getting back to some form of normality, which will never be the same, but must be made the best it can be.
Recovery is at the heart of our manifesto for Buckie.
For Buckie Community High School, its recovery from years of neglect and underfunding to provide the best facility possible for the pupils, teachers, support staff and the wider community.
For wrap-around children’s services and wider council services it’s making sure that the council delivers on its statutory responsibilities, whilst supporting working parents to provide for their families.
For mental health wellbeing, it’s about ensuring that those residents most effected by the pandemic and the stresses and anxieties cause by the cost-of-living crisis, get the help they need.
If elected, I would be one voice in the council chamber, I’m not promising the earth. My voice will be coming from a party that believes in social justice and people, and it will speak for residents, regardless of how they voted.
