Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Two weeks of limbo, then Moray Council’s new administration is decided in just three minutes

Moray Council's new convener, Shona Morrison, and leader, Graham Leadbitter.
Moray Council's new convener, Shona Morrison, and leader, Graham Leadbitter.

Moray Council’s new administration has vowed to “shout” to make the region’s voice heard across the country.

After two weeks of limbo following a Conservative walkout, it took just three minutes yesterday to ratify the SNP taking control of the cash-strapped council.

While in opposition, nationalists repeatedly tabled proposals to streamline the authority’s management structures and implement initiatives to generate more income.

Now Graham Leadbitter, who was installed as council leader during yesterday’s talks, has insisted the group will follow-through on the manifesto pledges.

And the Elgin City South councillor has pledged to put the region’s best attributes at the centre of the approach in an attempt to ease recruitment crises across various sectors – including in teaching and the NHS.

He said: “There’s clearly a job of work ahead. We will be having discussions with the council’s management team immediately and will be expecting to see progress quickly.

“We will have to take a pragmatic approach but also a positive one. The financial position is well publicised. It’s clearly critical we balance the budget in February and we will be speaking with council officers immediately about the challenges.”

Mr Leadbitter added: “We are also in a region that has an enormous amount to shout about and we will do that shouting.

“This an exceptional place to live and work and we will be positive about Moray, positive about our council and positive about the future that it is our job to shape.”

Chief executive Roddy Burns chaired yesterday’s meeting of the full council to decide the leadership of the authority.

The SNP’s proposals were waved through unopposed in the chambers with councillors in unanimous agreement of the change.

It means the group is now in control of the council for the first time since 1999’s elections, when an independent administration rose to power.

The new SNP minority administration is comprised from only nine of the 26 members within the chambers.

However, yesterday, outgoing leader George Alexander pledged to support the group on areas where they can work together.

The independent Forres councillor said: “I’m amazed I lasted as long as I did. I thought I would be gone by Christmas. I only stepped in because the two main parties wouldn’t talk to each other.

“I wish the SNP well. I have no interest of simply getting in the way to make life difficult for them.”

Labour councillor John Divers, leader of the Moray Alliance Group, which is also made up of three independent councillors, said: “There’s a lot of common ground between myself and the SNP, particularly with our social policies.

“I believe they will try to retain as much of the council’s workforce as possible, which was a concern I had with the previous administration. They seemed to be driven by a cuts agenda with little concern about the consequences.”

Mr Leadbitter added: “In the last couple of weeks we’ve had good conversations with Labour and independent councillors. We believe this is a good foundation.”