Since the heady days of the IndyRef and all that public participation there's been
much talk about the democratic deficit. Fifty six SNP MPs, willing and eager wentsouth and what can they really achieve against the Westminster odds? And there's all those apparently wasted votes of the List voters in the recent Holyrood
election. Unless, that is you're prepared to accept that that's just the balancing effect of the D'Hondt system.
A lot closer to home there's an even more glaring democratic deficit with that of
the people's representatives on Highland Council, specifically ward 19. In the not too distant past, the community lost its distinctive big slide due, it was claimed to 'health and safety issues' and the accompanying hill, great as a summer afternoon wind break was mysteriously bulldozed. Not us said the people's representatives.
More recently we have seen the anaemic response by Highland Council to the ship to ship oil transfer by people across the firth who would have no responsibility whatsoever for cleaning-up Nairn's fabulous beaches if things were
to go wrong. Not us said the people's representatives, officials did it between
Council meetings.
The continuing saga of Nairn South, the granting of consent to dig up the High Street for an inordinate length of time and now the disastrous EU 'brown flag' for
our bathing water quality. What bigger knife could be pierced into the Community's fragile economy than to render those glorious beaches worthless
even without the risk of oil spill. Not us said the people's representatives, officials told the sign contractor to put the signs up.
Why, oh why does Nairn constantly have to suffer the inanities and indignity of
Highland Council officers leading and the elected Councillors following and
always too late?
It's in May next year that there'll be a scramble to make sure that the people cast
their votes for the people representatives, sometimes known as Councillors and
not Council Officials.
It would be funny wouldn't it if the ultimate democratic deficit was for the people
to say, Not us... get your officials to vote for you.
Iain Bruce
Surely this will now see the end of Nairn South for a very long time, or at least until the whole sewage system is revamped by Scottish Water at a huge cost no doubt. The Lochloy development is now out of control and well beyond the boundaries of what I thought was allowed. Strain on doctors/dentists/sewage as they all cant cope with the demand, is incredible while our councillors sit back and watch now for the last few years. Time for action now and get a stop to all of this before the holidaymakers desert us totally, and go elsewhere.
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