Caithness councillor Raymond Bremner says county will remain a priority as he is tipped for council leader role
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Caithness councillor Raymond Bremner says that the county will remain “foremost in my mind” despite being tipped for the top job at Highland Council.
Yesterday, it was confirmed the SNP group he leads had concluded an agreement with the Independents to form the political administration at the local authority.
The formal ratification of the deal will come at a meeting of the full council a week tomorrow and will see the SNP enter power at the local authority for the first time since 2015.
The full list of positions as committee and political heads of service is yet to be confirmed and is expected to come in the next few days and likewise confirmed at the meeting.
That means Cllr Bremner is in pole position to become the council leader – the most powerful political position at the local authority – but he underlined his commitment to his ward.
He said: “I want to let folks know that first and foremost I was elected as a Wick and East Caithness councillor and I will not ever forget that. The people of East Caithness will remain at the top of my agenda.
“Over the past five years, even though I was leader of the opposition, I still had the second lowest expenses of all the Caithness councillors, because I used teams and video conferencing nearly all the time.
“My track record shows that I can be based in Caithness but there would be a responsibility as a leader of the administration to be in Inverness at times, though that is a decision for council to make next week.
“But certainly Caithness is foremost in my mind and I would be looking to bring a broader perspective from beyond the Great Glen to the administration, which I would like to think would will be valued by people in the north and elsewhere in the Highlands.”
However, fellow Caithness councillor and co-leader of the Conservative group, Struan Mackie, hit out at the deal between the SNP and Independents, saying: “This announcement will be a shock to the thousands of voters who gave their support to Independent councillors across the Highland region in the hope of addressing local priorities like our crumbling roads and pavements.”
