A Conservative councillor has announced he will stand as an independent candidate in the May 2022 local elections.
The Strathmore candidate told the Perthshire Advertiser "party politics and local councils don’t mix".
The Conservative councillor said whips and bosses put "significant pressure on councillors to vote the ‘right way’ and against the interests of the communities they represent".
Colin Stewart was first elected as a Conservative councillor to represent Perth and Kinross Council's Strathmore ward in May 2017.
In August 2019 he and Kinross-shire councillor Callum Purves were suspended from the council's Conservative group following complaints over conduct. They were both then cleared of allegations of bullying and intimidation following a lengthy investigation by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life (ESC). The commissioner ruled neither councillor breached the councillors’ code of conduct.
Cllr Stewart believes standing as an independent will allow him "greater freedom to stand up for the interests of his constituents".
Cllr Stewart has often taken a different stance from the Conservative administration at Perth and Kinross Council - not least when he spoke out against the Cross Tay Link Road going through the middle of a new residential development. He called it "stupidity on stilts".
Cllr Stewart said: "In the past five years, I’ve learnt the hard way that party politics and local councils don’t mix. Party whips and bosses exert significant pressure on councillors to vote the ‘right way’ and against the interests of the communities they represent. I’ve always put my constituents first and held those in power in the council to account. That’s why I’m standing as an independent candidate in this election to continue putting the residents of Strathmore first.
"Working with local residents, I feel we have managed to achieve a lot together over these past five years including reduced speed limits and improved road safety measures in our rural towns and villages, the introduction of the very popular Community Investment Fund where community groups can get funding for vital local projects, and hundreds of thousand of pounds in funding to support small business in our rural areas.
"I would relish the opportunity to continue to represent the good people of Strathmore for a further five years and build on that good work."
