I was happy to join my fellow Conservative councillor and Depute Policy Lead for Economic Development Bobby Good at the latest elected member budget seminar in Kilmory.

Cllr Good and I discussed the challenges facing both our council wards.

The SNP's continued funding cuts to local councils across Scotland under their budget plans will hit rural councils like Argyll and Bute the hardest.

Potential cuts to street lightning funding, proposed service point closures in isolated parts of Argyll and changes to so many other services are deeply worrying.

The blame for this does not lie in the hands of hard pressed local authorities that are forced to make these cuts. The blame lies with the SNP government that continues to slash local council budgets despite having an increased budget in cash terms of their own.

Even the Scottish Greens the SNP's long standing separatist enablers have stated that "A crisis in local services can be avoided, but it will require a fundamental change of position from the Scottish Government."

I will continue to work with terrific Argyll and Bute Conservative councillors like Bobby Good to make sure that rural Scotland's voice is not ignored by the central belt obsessed SNP government.

Cllr Alastair Redman