Melrose and Leaderdale candidates have their say before May 5

Read on to meet your candidates and see what they want to achieve if they get your vote on May 5.

Three will be elected.

• Please note, Chris Stefanek is also standing for election in the Leaderdale and Melrose ward. He will be representing the Vanguard Party. The Border Telegraph asked for a candidate profile, but has not received one.

Simon Johnson

Liberal Democrat

I have lived in Leaderdale and Melrose for over 30 years. My children attended Earlston Primary and Earlston High Schools and I have worked as an instrumental music teacher in both schools amongst others across the Scottish Borders. I have always been passionate about education and want the best for our young people. I am a keen cyclist, rugby supporter and gardener and I care deeply about the environment.

If I am fortunate enough to be elected I will fight for education, fight to reverse the damaging cuts of recent years and support hard working teachers as they struggle to recover from two years of unprecedented disruption. I want to see the best possible education for our children and young people by ensuring the introduction of 1140 hours of nursery education, more teachers and assistants, a better assessment process through primary and secondary schools and new school buildings. I will fight to protect social care which should be properly funded and locally managed in order to protect the NHS. We should be caring for all in need with better resources for children and families’ services. Good transport links are vital in any rural community and we need better connections for the Borders with restored rail, upgraded roads and better broadband, all of which are important for job prospects. Finally, I love living in the Borders and I will fight to protect our beautiful countryside from inappropriate developments.

Scottish Liberal Democrats want powerful and well-run local councils with a “can do, will do” attitude, committed to the delivery of excellent local services. Local authorities have suffered serious and disproportionate cuts to their budgets at the hands of SNP-Green budget deals, reducing their capacity for innovation and dynamism and damaging their ability to support local communities. Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to giving local communities a bigger say and now is the time for a strong Liberal Democrat voice in Scottish Borders Council. If elected I would be a full-time councillor working for you in the community.

Jenny Linehan

Conservative

Spending your money wisely becomes ever more important during a cost of living crisis that continues to empty your pockets; getting to work is now even more expensive especially if you drive. That’s why I am determined to improve the local integrated transport network by investing in more buses and more schemes that allow folk to share journeys, save money and save our planet at the same time. Not filling up with expensive fuel could be the difference between that treat you were promising yourself or someone close to you: every bit counts.

As a proud Borderer I am fortunate enough to also be a proud homeowner and I want other residents to be able to buy locally too. But it’s not easy, especially when house prices continue to rise at alarming rates. So, we need more affordable housing, without which the Borders will wilt away. We also need more outward investment from the private sector. Both issues (housing and investment) will be at the very top of my priorities as your Conservative councillor. The road map for future generations to enjoy the Borders is simple: more outward investment means more jobs; more jobs means a reason for the younger generation to remain in the region; and a decent job means a foot on the housing ladder.

The pandemic continues to present us with challenges: of telephone and zoom calls with our local GPs and an increasing number of residents unable to cope with their mental health issues, who need immediate face-to-face help. More in-person GP appointments are therefore needed, along with more money towards mental health provision.

Finally, as a mother of three during lockdown, I know how difficult it is to educate children from home. I also know that our children have missed out on learning crucial to their development and that there is an educational deficit to bridge. The pandemic, as a legacy of hope for the way in which we all pulled together as neighbours, cannot be a legacy of despair for our children’s learning, and I am passionate about ensuring that no Border child is left behind.

Stay strong everyone. Wishing you the very best, Jenny Linehan.

Michael Needham

Green

Michael age 47, lives in Galashiels and has lived most of his life in the Scottish Borders. He was a senior trade union shop steward for about six years, specialising in anti-discrimination and supporting disabled employees. He has spoken in front of thousands at GMB trade union congress about environmental and social justice issues. He was involved in a high-profile campaign on making “fire and re-hire” an illegal practice. He is also an author.

The Scottish Greens campaign slogan “Think Global, Act Local” is so true and relevant. We have been through a brutal two years and many people are starting to recognise the collective responsibility to work together towards net zero. However, affordable solutions need to be there, together with the local council leading by example. People can see the connection with the Scottish Green party.

Michael feels that this election is a critical one, and the importance of Scottish Borders having a Green voice is crucial in lots of ways: especially the climate emergency and the local council’s unambitious timeline of being net zero by 2045. Without local green councillors these issues will not be prioritised highly enough.

Michael is concerned about the high cost of living crisis, together with the Borders having one of the lowest average wages in Scotland. He would push local employers to offer the living wage.

Within Leaderdale and Melrose ward, only Tweedbank residents have easy access to the rail network. Due to COVID, the current bus network is limited and unreliable, with many services cancelled at short notice. If we had better and easier access to reliable public transport, fewer people would need to rely on their own cars.

Local farmers need listened to and supported, and we will work with them to ensure future food security.

It’s been a really tough few years, and that trend is likely to continue. Building a real community ethos is so important, ensuring there are things to do in the local area and opportunities for locals to meet up in a safe and comfortable environment.

David Parker

Independent

I have been honoured to be the councillor for Leaderdale and Melrose for the last 15 years and have looked after the community of Tweedbank for 27 years.

For the last five years I have been council convener, but before that I served as council leader for 14 years. If re-elected on May 5, amongst other things, I will:-

• Ensure that the new Galashiels Academy Community Campus has significantly enhanced school and community facilities.
• Work to ensure that the Lidl store and Borders Gateway development at Tweedbank are delivered without delay.
• Lead the consultation and delivery of the new Earlston destination play park and fully involve the community in the development of the new Earlston primary school, GP Practice and Eildon Housing development from the start of their construction this year until their completion in 2024.
• Secure access to deliver the remaining phases of the Lauder to Oxton pedestrian and cycle path with a view to concluding the scheme by the end of the Council term.
• Work with NHS Borders to secure a finalised plan for the upgrading/replacement of the Melrose Medical Practice in consultation with the local community.
• Secure the funding to deliver a footpath from Station Road, Oxton to the Bird Garden; and
• Continue to work with Transport Scotland and Network Rail to secure the decarbonisation of the Borders Railway in the quickest time possible, securing environmentally friendly trains which are more comfortable, reduce journey times and are punctual.

I live in Tweedbank with my wife Ruth, our teenage son Angus and my Guide Dog Clive. As well as my council duties, I was previously employed by Heriot-Watt University as a special needs technology advisor. I enjoy walking, cooking, watching rugby (especially Melrose) and spending time with my family.

If re-elected on May 5, I promise to work hard on your behalf and to ensure that the views and aspirations of the electors of Leaderdale and Melrose are heard in the council chamber and, above all else, listened to and acted upon.

On May 5, please make it Parker 1.

John Paton Day

SNP

I am proud to have been selected as the SNP candidate for Leaderdale and Melrose, I have lived in the ward for over 30 years, and am married with two children both born and educated here in the Scottish Borders.

Along with my wife have run two successful businesses. I was a Scottish Borders councillor from 2007 to 2012 so I know how the system works and am excited about returning to the role where I as part of a strong SNP team can effect real change for the communities in this ward.

I currently sit on the board of the Scottish Borders Housing Association as well as a number of local groups so have a grasp of what matters to our communities.

I know that the cost of living is crippling for many and if there is anything that can be done by the council to help then it should be done.

I love the Scottish Borders and feel that over the past five years the council has been slow to tackle many local problems: we need more well designed and affordable social homes as well as affordable homes to buy, we need to encourage and enable new businesses to open in the Borders, along with enabling our existing businesses to grow, and have to become far more active in the fight against climate change.

As part of a strong SNP group at SBC we can work towards achieving real improvements across the board.

I will commit my time to being a full-time councillor and work to make Leaderdale and Melrose an even better place to live in.

Michael Scott

Labour

I am a retired civil servant living in Lauder and am standing for Scottish Labour at this election because I want local government to work better for people, especially as prices are rising as quickly as they have at any point in my lifetime.

This cost of living crises will lead to much misery for lots of folk and no one in the Borders will be immune from this. However, this problem does not appear to feature in the SBC plan for 2022/2023! This is not acceptable and must be the first item on the agenda for the new authority after May 5. I want to see more local participation before any council decisions affecting local people – not merely a “consultation” conducted online and usually in language hardly conducive to common understanding. Listening is always preferable to ‘consulting’.

I’d prefer to see councillors and officials getting on the ground and explaining proposals in person with much more regularity and realising that they do not hold a monopoly on wisdom. As a councillor I would also be hugely supportive of the many groups and individuals in our ward who are at the sharp end of helping people address social problems and work to ensure resources are made available to help continue their work. A council-led and part-funded co-operative approach supporting local efforts to problems, tailored to local needs should be developed.

Our ward is largely a rural one with 34 per cent of us over 65. I’d like to support a revolution in the provision of public transport. More electrically powered smaller buses, made more accessible through flexible timetabling. And many more publicly available charging points for electric vehicles.

Of course, local affairs are influenced – sometimes dictated by – national governments at Holyrood and Westminster and too often these directions don’t achieve results but are excused by their local representatives. As a Labour councillor I won’t be taking my lines from No 10 or Bute House but from the people I would be serving. If you want someone with independence of mind at Newtown St Boswells please vote Scottish Labour on May 5.