At the end of July, Cllr Derek Howie who was elected as an SNP councillor resigned from his party group.
He cited the council’s approach to disability as the issue, saying that the council must adopt a policy of recognising those with a disability. Cllr Howie is almost totally blind and uses a guide dog to help him get around.
While he will continue to be an independent councillor he has announced his intentions of aligning himself with the Green group on the council. He has also meantime joined the Green Party.
Cllr Howie said: “I’m looking forward to working more closely with my new Scottish Green colleagues on areas of common interest such as inclusion, high quality public services and use of public space. I recognise that being originally elected from another political party means that my relationship with those new colleagues will be different. But nevertheless I can see a lot of overlap in our areas of interest.
Co-convenor of the Green councillor group Cllr Alex Staniforth added: “In our constructive discussions with Derek we have identified ways in which we can work together, whether at meetings of all councillors or at neighbourhood level. More generally, today’s development is part of a trend where a growing number of people see the Greens as the best way forward for a radically different, greener and fairer Scotland. I look forward to that continuing.”
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