Thurso councillor Struan Mackie ditches Conservative party
Far north councillor Struan Mackie has resigned from the Conservative party as well as departing the Conservative group at Highland Council.
The Thurso and Northwest Caithness member, who is also Provost of Thurso, is understood to have left the party due to growing disenchantment in recent years.
His resignation came as Russel Findlay was elected leader of Scottish Conservatives – but it is not thought that this played any part in his decision.
Cllr Mackie will now sit as a non-aligned member for at least the time being and his departure means the Tories at Highland Council have been reduced to just six.
The resignation is embarrassing for the Conservatives because Cllr Mackie was of good standing in the party, having been both a Holyrood and Westminster candidate.
Had MSP Douglas Ross succeeded in his bid to return to Westminster at the general election, Cllr Mackie was poised to have replaced him in Holyrood.
But he lost after David Duguid was booted off the ticket, sparking bitter recriminations within the party and effectively leading to Ross announcing his resignation as leader.
It happened at the worst possible time – in the middle of the general election – so the party was effectively campaigning with a departing leader.
It is believed that this, more than anything, played a role in Cllr Mackie’s decision to resign but he has not commented publicly as yet.
Cllr Mackie is not alone in leaving the Conservatives. Since the last local government elections, the former group leader at Highland Council, Andrew Jarvie, also quit the party and the group.
He was followed by Cllr Andrew Sinclair, formerly a Caithness member but now representing Inverness South following a swap deal with Cllr Jarvie to represent Wick and East Caithness.
And Patrick Logue, who represents Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, also defected to the Liberal Democrats earlier this year.
