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Moray Council convenor no confidence vote delayed


By Hazel Lawson Local Democracy Reporter

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A motion of no confidence in Moray Council's convener Marc Macrae has been delayed until August 10.

Marc Macrae, the convenor of Moray Council.
Marc Macrae, the convenor of Moray Council.

A vote was expected to be held at today's meeting of the local authority, but has been pushed back until after the summer recess.

Ten councillors – eight SNP and two independents – are calling for a vote on the suitability of cllr Macrae to be the civic head of the local authority.

The move partly concerns an incident three years ago when cllr Macrae (Fochabers/Lhanbryde, Conservative) used swear words when complaining about a council employee to his line manager.

The convenor subsequently apologised following the incident.

Cllr Macrae was appointed to the post of convenor in the wake of the local elections in May.

Earlier this month, 13 elected members signed an open letter calling for him to either refer himself to the Standards Commission or face a vote of no confidence.

Three Labour councillors have since withdrawn their names from the letter.

This follows advice that a time bar for an investigation by the commission had passed.

Meanwhile, Neil McLennan (Buckie, Conservative), who is the council's co-leader, has replied to the letter's signatories by asking them to either provide the commission with new information about alleged misconduct or to "let the matter lie".

The council is made up of 26 elected members.

A total of 11 Tories form a minority administration.

The are also eight SNP, three Labour, two Independents, one Green and one Liberal Democrat.


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