From Neil Benny, leader of the Scottish Conservatives on Stirling Council.

We have submitted a motion of no confidence in the current leadership of Stirling Council. Council will vote next Thursday on whether to change leadership.

In 2017 the SNP and Labour worked together to take control of Stirling Council. Since then, they have threatened the closure of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery, underinvested in roads, introduced a £35 charge for garden waste collection, planned changes to waste collection which will see grey bins picked up every 4 weeks instead of every 2 and pushed the building of the unnecessary and expensive Viewforth Link Road.

They have shown contempt for the people of Stirling who are deeply dissatisfied with their leadership. They don't listen and have not done anything of major benefit to Stirling. This has been the pattern. For 20 years Stirling has been led by a succession of Labour and SNP administrations that have never really shown the ambition needed to make Stirling the amazing place it can be. We have played our part in some of those administrations, but always the lack of ambition and inward focus if Labour and the SNP has stood in the way of progress.

Stirling deserves so much more than this. It needs a council focused not on itself, but on the district it is here to serve. That is the biggest change we offer. Stirling Council should be here to serve and deliver objectives for Stirling. Making the council better does not interest me, making Stirling better does.

Our vision is to focus on objectives for Stirling. Regenerating the high Street. Get some proper money into rural roads. Improve parks and open spaces. Get real help for people to access jobs. Build more houses that are affordable for local people.

So I hope that we get support next week and we can bring this new approach to Stirling. Leading Stirling Council should not be seen as a political privilege, but as a serious responsibility that puts Stirling first. It is about listening and bringing people together whether they agree with your political party or not. When someone is homeless and needs somewhere to live, when someone has neighbours who are making their lives a misery, when a community is cut off because lack of maintenance has shut a road, when a park needs fixed or when kids leave school with no chance of a good job, it doesn't matter which political party you come from, you need to help them.

I am a son of the rock, married to someone who has chosen to make Stirling their home. I love my Town and I love this district, my family is here and I want much better for it than we have today. If I gain the confidence of the council in the coming weeks, I would hope to gain the confidence of everyone in Stirling by making Stirling better.

Sincerely

Neil Benny

Leader of the Scottish Conservative & Unionists on Stirling Council