John Divers steps down as Leader of Moray Council's Labour Group
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COUNCILLOR John Divers has stood down as leader of Moray Council's Labour group.
After over 15 years leading his group, Cllr Divers has decided to stand down as leader with Councillor Sandy Keith taking his place.
Party members at their recent annual meeting unanimously agreed that Cllr Keith, who was elected in May this year, would take over the leadership of the group.
Cllr Divers said: “I’ve led the Labour Group on the Council for over fifteen years and, until earlier this year, I was the sole Labour member of the Moray Council.
"On the whole it’s a role I have enjoyed, but fifteen years is enough for anyone.
"I intimated to the local party over a year ago that if we were successful in returning a new, larger group to the Council I would be keen to pass on the leadership role to someone else."
The Labour group, under Cllr Diver's leadership, has returned to having three members elected to the Council.
He said the future looked bright for the group going forwards.
He said: “I was obviously delighted to be re-elected in May along with a hugely experienced colleague in Sandy Keith, as well as our new young councillor Ben Williams.
"I agreed to stay on in the leadership role during the period of administration formation, and now that things have settled-down a bit it seems like the right time to pass on the baton.
“If anyone thinks this is me winding down, though, they should think again – I’m not going anywhere.
"My constituents in Elgin South can expect me to continue to work hard on their behalf for many years to come.”
Commenting on his election to the group leadership, Cllr Keith said: “John is the finest public representative Moray has ever had.
"We’re incredibly lucky to have had him flying the Labour banner here in Moray for so long.
“It’s clear that there are serious challenges facing the Moray Council.
"The financial situation is woeful, and the Scottish Government doesn’t seem willing to stump up the cash needed to maintain even basic levels of service.
"My approach to these challenges will be quite straightforward: work constructively, but scrutinise robustly.”
Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar said: “John has led the Labour group on the Moray Council for over 15 years, through thick and thin. Labour is now, well and truly, back on the map in Moray, but if it wasn’t for John, things could have been very different.
"The Labour Party owes John Divers a huge debt of gratitude.
“I’ve known Sandy Keith for a long time.
"In May, Sandy gained the biggest swing to Labour in Scotland – which tells you everything about how he’s viewed in his community.
"I know he’ll be a tireless voice for Labour values on the Moray Council.”
