Latest news with #Macgregor
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
SNP take over Dumfries and Galloway Council from Tories
It comes after Conservative Gail Macgregor quit as council leader moments before a vote of no confidence on her this afternoon. In a note to council officials, Cllr Macgregor said she had decided to quit with 'the heaviest of hearts.' Seven councillors left the Conservative group to form two separate groups; Novantae and Dumfries and Galloway Independent Group. There are currently 11 SNP councillors with the Conservatives dropping to 9 representatives, just in front of Labour with 8. This could result in the fourth council administration in Dumfries & Galloway in the past three years. Announcing her resignation, councillor MacGregor said: 'It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of Dumfries and Galloway as Leader of the Council for the past 26 months. 'During this time I have always tried to lead with a collaborative approach, and I will always do so for the good of the people we serve and the services we provide.' An emergency meeting will take place this afternoon in which members are expected to choose a new administration. The Conservative group has led the administration in Dumfries and Galloway over the past two years. It followed the collapse of the rainbow coalition.
STV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- STV News
Dumfries and Galloway leader quits ahead of 'no confidence' vote
The leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council quit less than an hour ahead of a 'no confidence' vote on Monday. In a note to council officials, Tory council leader Gail Macgregor said she had decided to resign as leader with 'the heaviest of hearts'. 'It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of Dumfries and Galloway as leader of the council for the past 26 months,' she said. 'During this time I have always tried to lead with a collaborative approach, and I will always do so for the good of the people we serve and the services we provide.' A special meeting will take place on Monday afternoon in which members are expected to choose a new administration. The Tory group, with Macgregor at the helm, has led the administration in Dumfries and Galloway over the past two years since the collapse of a Labour/SNP coalition in 2023. However, that is now likely to come to an end on Monday. More than half of the members of the local authority signed a call for a special meeting to 'call for the removal of [Macgregor and deputy leader Malcolm Johnstone] with a motion of no confidence'. It has signatures from 22 local councillors, and it comes two weeks after seven Tory councillors left the Conservative group to form two separate groups of their own. It has left the Conservatives with just nine remaining councillors – down from a previous group of 16 – and it prompted other parties to request the meeting. However, before councillors got the chance to consider the motion to remove Councillor MacGregor from her post, she resigned from the role voluntarily. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
ITV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Dumfries and Galloway Council leader steps down ahead of no confidence vote
The leader of Dumfries and Galloway council has stepped down less than an hour before she was due to face a no confidence vote. Conservative councillor Gail Macgregor has led the council since 2023. In a note to council officials, Cllr Macgregor said she had decided to quit with 'the heaviest of hearts.' She said: 'It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of Dumfries and Galloway as Leader of the Council for the past 26 months. 'During this time I have always tried to lead with a collaborative approach, and I will always do so for the good of the people we serve and the services we provide.' A special meeting will take place this afternoon in which members are expected to choose a new administration.
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Work to begin 'soon' on multi-million projects to improve green transport in Dumfries and Galloway
The UK Government's Department for Transport has confirmed that £13.8 million worth of Levelling Up funding will be coming to Dumfries and Galloway. Work will begin 'soon' on three multi-million projects aimed at improving Dumfries and Galloway's green transport links. The UK Government's Department for Transport has confirmed that £13.8 million worth of Levelling Up funding announced two years ago will be coming to the region. That means the council can push on with plans to introduce electric vehicle travel hubs and more electric buses, as well as improve cycle routes. Dumfries and Galloway Council leader, Gail Macgregor, said: 'I'm delighted to learn that we will soon be able to start work on a range of exciting transport projects across the region. The Transport Levelling Up Fund will build on the success of funding received from earlier rounds of the Levelling Up Fund in 2023, which enabled the council to deliver several projects including Dalbeattie Rocks and Wheels at a former primary school; the Stranraer watersports hub; redevelopment of the former George Hotel and improvements at Annan Harbour. 'As well as providing a significant economic boost to the region, this funding will make a real difference to residents, helping to join up journeys and offering more opportunities for people to walk, wheel or cycle as part of those journeys, especially in rural areas.' The funding will be provided in the current financial year to help three transport projects which aim to make greener transport more accessible to residents and visitors. One project will see the creation of 'multi-modal transport hubs'. These will be povided across the region, to link in with bus and rail services and also offer e-bikes and electric car club vehicles to hire. Public charging points will also be provided. The council also plans to introduce new electric buses and charging points and upgrade bus stops so that real time information can be improved. And the cash will also be used to improve cycle routes, with plans to upgrade the Kirkpatrick Coast to Coast routes among the proposed upgrades. Councillorr Macgregor added: 'Encouraging residents and visitors alike to use sustainable forms of transport, especially sustainable public transport and active travel, will have several benefits, including better personal health and wellbeing, reduced air pollution and congestion and an improved local economy. It will also contribute to our aim of becoming a net zero carbon emission region.'
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘No artist' will want to represent Australia at Venice Biennale after Sabsabi dumped, former museum head says
The Australian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale is likely to remain dark next year for the first time, the former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art says. Elizabeth Ann Macgregor on Tuesday weighed into the fracas over Creative Australia's decision to rescind its Venice Biennale contract to Lebanese-born Australia artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, just six days after announcing the pair would be Australia's representatives at the 2026 prestigious international art event. 'Did Creative Australia honestly think they could just ring up the next artist on the shortlist? Well, they've all already made it very clear that none of them will be accepting the offer,' Macgregor told Guardian Australia on Tuesday. 'No artists worth their soul will touch that pavilion now. They can't. It's totally tainted. And it's so tragic.'Creative Australia's executive director, Adrian Collette, told staff at an angry meeting on Monday that the public outcry would have been greater than the one he now finds himself embroiled in, if the Sabsabi exhibition had gone ahead. The fallout occurred after earlier works by the artist came to light that drew controversy from some politicians and media outlets for containing depictions of deceased Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. One of those works, You, a 2007 video installation that includes images of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was given to the MCA by Sabsabi in 2009, during Macgregor's tenure, and remains in the museum's collection today. Related: Guardian Essential poll: Labor's policies appear unknown to voters as major parties neck and neck Macgregor said questions now needed to be asked about the future tenure of Collette as head of the Australian government's arts funding, development and advisory body, and the position of advertising executive Robert Morgan as the organisation's chair. Macgregor said arts minister Tony Burke had questions to answer. Burke confirmed on Monday he contacted Collette immediately after question time on Thursday, when Sabsabi's choice for the 2026 biennale was called into question by Liberal senator Claire Chandler. 'Normally I don't get involved in the decisions, but when something's due to be announced, I get sent up a brief with … what different issues that might be considered controversial,' Burke said. 'I rang Adrian to find out what had happened. At that point, he had already determined that they were going to have a board meeting that night. 'I was very clear. I made clear to Adrian Collette, who I have known for more than a decade, I said to him whatever you decide, I will support you and I will support Creative Australia.' Other than issuing a written statement last Friday, the artist and the curator have not spoken out since. Macgregor told the Guardian Australia's reputation on the international art scene had been damaged. 'I've had messages from around the world, people asking what on earth is going on in Australia?' she said. 'This not only reflects badly on arts leadership in this country, it reflects badly on our political system, with two major parties point scoring on the basis of an article sitting behind a firewall,' she said, referring to last week's The Australian column which accused Sabsabi of 'seemingly laud[ing] a terrorist leader in his past work'. She said the MCA work in question, You, had been the subject of many 'incredibly interesting conversations' the museum had had with the public and school groups during her time as head of the institution, which in 2019 was named the most visited museum of contemporary art in the world. 'In no way was that work a glorification [of Nasrallah]. Art is complex, you have to read it within context. Many people have given different interpretations of it. And surely we have to allow space for that, even in this day of instant social media.' Macgregor said You, and another Sabsabi work also singled out for criticism, called Thank You Very Much, featuring images of the 9/11 attacks and a clip of US president George Bush saying 'thank you very much', were created almost two decades ago, and in a very different context. 'Khaled is not an angry young man doing provocative work that's going to get everybody angry in the Venice pavilion, far from it,' she said. 'He's an experienced senior artist working with a very experienced curator who has managed many, many difficult projects. These are not people who are deliberately trying to provoke some sort of horrible backlash. That's just not what the proposal is about. On Creative Australia's own website it says the work will be about creating empathy from different positions, bringing people together, community engagement through art.' Macgregor said she was disappointed in the 'lack of arts leadership' at an organisational level and at the 'deafening silence' from large arts institutions over the past week. 'Have they been silenced because their boards are worried about their funding and are telling them to remain silent?' she asked. The horrific conflict in Gaza and the rise in antisemitic acts in Australia has created a tense community environment as the country heads into a federal election, Macgregor acknowledged. But that should not be a reason to disallow artists to engage with those events through their work. 'Should Creative Australia now issue an edict saying no one dealing with any subject of war can create work that is funded by the taxpayer? And are they going to go back through the social media accounts of any artist who gets a commission, to see what they've been doing or saying 15 or 20 years ago? 'This whole issue has set an extremely dangerous precedent.'
