An independent councillor has launched a scathing attack on “faceless bureaucrats” for pressing ahead with a bid to reduce the number of councillors representing Kinross-shire.
Mike Barnacle is calling on people to make their feelings known by writing to the Boundary Commission.
The proposal is to cut the number of councillors from four to three and to move the ward boundary.
“At full council on May 13 it was unanimously decided to support all the Kinross-shire members in opposing the commission’s proposals and write to maintain the council’s position that there should be no reduction in councillors, and Kinross-shire’s ward boundary to the north, along the ridge of the Ochil Hills, should be preserved, along with the incorporation of the parish of Arngask,” said Councillor Barnacle.
“The faceless bureaucrats that run Britain, of which the commission are clearly a part, have effectively ignored Perth and Kinross Council’s representatives in their latest proposal, subject to a public consultation that runs until October 22.
“It is still proposed to reduce our councillors from four to three and the northern boundary of the ward has been moved slightly north of the A91 to reflect the Milnathort polling district.
“This is a blatant, but not unsurprising, disregard of the elected view of Perth and Kinross Council, and I call upon the people of Kinross-shire to oppose the commission’s proposals vigorously and support your elected members.
“When one considers Kinross-shire was a county in its own right until the 1970s, why should there be a reduction in our representation up at Perth when our population has not only grown since then but is forecast to grow significantly in the future?”
Mr Barnacle said his colleague Councillor Dave Cuthbert was working on a detailed analysis of the “flawed methodology the commission have employed in reaching this extraordinary and illogical boundary proposal”.
He said that unless the Boundary Commission took notice, there would be a local backlash.
“I very much hope that our voice will be heard and that the commission reconsider their rejection of the council’s position,” he added.
“I suspect, if not, that this could lead to Scotland’s ‘Rutland’ moment.
“The smallest county in England, which has a landscape dominated by the large expanse of Rutland Water, had been incorporated with Leicestershire, but effectively won its county back after a hard-fought campaign.
“Kinross-shire’s landscape, dominated by Loch Leven, has a ‘claim of right’ that may be heard again.”