They say a week is a long time in politics. This couldn’t be more true for what we are currently seeing unfolding in the West Dunbartonshire political sphere. During the last full council meeting, we seen the snap decision by the Labour group to relinquish the administration and the senior leadership roles that they held.

Despite still having the majority of councillors in every single committee and at full council they have claimed that they are no longer in a position to set a budget and as such felt they could not continue in these roles. Given that the budget was not an item of the agenda at that meeting it does beg the question of what the real reason behind this decision actually is.

This has caused a great deal of concern for West Dunbartonshire residents and it is now a time of real uncertainty for everyone. It it a true display of arrogance from these councillors who are once again ignoring the views of the local community and letting down local residents who decided to put their trust in them during the last election.

Parkhall Library is the only physical library that exists within the Clydebank Central ward. However, during the March 2023 budget, the then Labour administration passed an item that would see it either closed or re-located. We are now further down the line and the news of the library’s re-location to Clydebank High School at the end of October has been released.

This is my local library and is somewhere I frequented often during my childhood. More recently, the times I find myself here is for my advice surgery which I do in this venue once a month. During this time I see a wide range of society accessing the different services that this library provides - whether it be for computer access, for the books or for a peaceful place for them to study.

Libraries are one of the last true community venues we have left were residents that residents can use free of charge. This move will see the reduction of access, with the opening days and hours being limited, and the level of services that are provide being scaled back. This is yet another example of Labour putting cuts ahead of the needs of the local communities in West Dunbartonshire.

I would like to provide some reassurance to the people of Clydebank that despite the current turmoil that West Dunbartonshire on a wider political scale is facing, my focus is and will continue to stand up for my constituents and make their voices heard in the council chamber.