The most important thing, I want to do, if elected as a councillor, is to work constructively with local communities, Scottish Government and other public service agencies to provide good quality services in our local communities.
I believe that the Western Isles needs the clear sense of direction and long term stability to be able to prosper in the difficult years ahead. A SNP group which makes it clear before the election what it is going to do and how it is going to do it is needed to take the Comhairle forward, by making positive changes to the way the Comhairle does things.
Let us end the hostility the current Comhairle has towards the Scottish Government and other public service agencies and get the Comhairle working together again for all the people in the Western Isles
The majority of the existing old guard are so consumed with erecting barriers against the SNP that the need for change has escaped them. The campaign for election to Comhairle nan Eilean Sair is embroiled in negativity and the posturing of a vested interest group. The people of the Western Isles deserve better and I am sure that the need for change has not escaped them.
The reason I am happy to support the SNPs manifesto is because it is the catalyst for the type of changes we need in the Comhairle. A positive vision for the future which protects important Comhairle services, giving priority to our schools, roads and our elderly, is needed so that we can all work together with a plan for the full five year term of the council.
I have 35 years’ experience working in local government in different areas of Scotland and I came to the islands in 1998 to take up the post of Deputy Director of Education and Leisure Services.
I previously stood as a SNP parliamentary candidate for Stirling 1983 and in Falkirk in 1992. I took a step back for politics following the birth of my first son in 1992 but I have been tempted back into the political fray because I believe that the SNP group of councillors is needed to do much better job of running the Comhairle.
The most important thing the Comhairle can do is deliver good quality services that will encourage growth in the islands. I have a personal interest in ensuring that we maintain opportunities for adults to continue to learn basic skills, and maintain training opportunities for the young people who are the future of our islands. I want my children to have the opportunity to remain in Lochs should they wish to do so. That means I want to help develop a better Comhairle; that’s what motivates me and inspires me to return to politics.
Bill Houston, SNP
Sgir' Uige Agus Ceann a Tuath Nan Loch / Uig & North Lochs