A LONG-SERVING councillor will retire after over four decades of service.
Willie Scobie has announced he will step down from his role as Stranraer and the Rhins councillor in September.
The veteran elected member said: “The legacy I want to leave is that my replacement will stand up for the underdog and disadvantaged.
“She or he must listen to the needs and concerns of the people who put them there and represent their interests without judgement.
“I have made it clear in all the years I have been a councillor with socialist values, I would not want someone replacing me that supports the savaging of public services that we have seen for nearly two decades from Tory austerity. This is what has led to massive public service cuts and huge job losses.
“I spent over 40 valuable years of my life with friends and comrades in the Labour Party, 23 of those years as a Labour councillor. In that time, we managed to return four Labour councillors and turned Stranraer ‘red’ when we elected a Labour MP to Westminster.
“I will shortly be reaching the grand age of 75 and always said this was when I would retire from public office.
“I will not miss running up and down to Dumfries attending committee meetings, but what I will miss is the engagement I have with the people. I got great satisfaction out of solving whatever difficulties the people presented to me.”
