A group of Perthshire Tories have slated the local authority’s SNP administration by stating the revamp of council chambers at a cost of £1 million will create a “palace for politicians”.
The Scottish Conservatives also claim that the recent Almond and Earn by-election win by Kathleen Baird shows “how out of touch” the SNP council has become, and also state residents in Perth and Kinross are “unhappy” with the way they are running matters.
Yesterday, Councillor Alexander Stewart, one of the Perth City South representatives, told The Courier he feels the election of Ms Baird “reinforces” how the local public currently feel about the council administration.
“The by-election win highlights the unpopularity of the creation of a new chamber at 2 High Street, Perth, as an example of how out of touch the SNP council has become locally.
“The unpopularity of the SNP spending nearly £1m on creating a new chamber during the refurbishment at 2 High Street is a prime example of this. We voted against this as we believe it is a waste of taxpayers’ money creating a palace for politicians.”
Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative candidate for Perthshire North, said: “It is clear from the result of the Almond and Earn by-election that local people are increasingly disenchanted with the SNP leadership of Perth and Kinross Council.
“The council seem clueless when it comes to supporting local business, but are happy to spend nearly £1m on relocating the council chambers within 2 High Street, Perth, including splashing a staggering £150,000 on new desks and chairs for 41 councillors.”
Meanwhile, Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative candidate for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, claimed the by-election victory demonstrated that it is the Scottish Conservatives who are best placed to beat the SNP locally and to hold them to account in Holyrood.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said they did not wish to respond, as it is a “political matter.”
But councillor Alan Grant, the depute leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said: “This is just electioneering. The whole of 2 High Street is being refurbished to make savings of £840,000 in rent.
“We will get the £1m back in one-and-a-half years.
“The building was originally open plan back in the General Accident days and we are going back to that.
“Regarding the by-election, this was a Tory seat previously held by the late Alan Jack, so there wasn’t much happening there in terms of a shift.”