I WOULD like to start this column by welcoming and congratulating all 22 councillors who have been elected to serve the people of Inverclyde and offer my commiserations to the 24 who were unsuccessful at the ballot box last Thursday.

Having both won and lost elections, I can remember both the joy of winning and the deflation of losing.

I spent last most of last Friday at the Waterfront with the 46 council candidates observing the count taking place.

Although the voters in Inverclyde gave the SNP the highest amount of first preference votes, this somehow equated to winning one less seat that the Labour party.

As a result, the SNP came in second place, but I still look forward optimistically to working constructively with all those elected. While the council elections have dominated politics in Scotland for the last few months, I have still been busy carrying out my duties as local MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde. 

I recently met with the chief executive of VisitScotland to discuss how we drive our local tourism sector forward.

The meeting lasted almost two hours and could have went on longer.

I am passionate about growing Inverclyde’s tourism sector and this is why I started a Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament in 2009 on the topic of recreational boating and marine tourism to showcase and highlight what the waters of Inverclyde have to offer.

I recently published a discussion document on tourism in Inverclyde to begin a debate about how we grow the sector.

Please contact my office or visit my website to get a copy. 

Taking this further, I will be hosting a tourism event next month and inviting key stakeholders from across the community. Our area has massive potential that we need to exploit.

Earlier this week I met with representatives from ScotRail to discuss the ongoing issue with anti-social behaviour on the Wemyss Bay line to access Inverkip beach.

This issue was again prevalent at the weekend.

I invited a representative along from the local community council and we agreed to hold a further meeting with numerous other stakeholders to try and find a solution to this problem. 

I will of course keep readers updated as the matter progresses.

I welcomed Norman Kerr OBE to my office.

Norman is Director of Energy Action Scotland (EAS).

EAS works to alleviate fuel poverty across Scotland and tries to influence both local and national energy policy for the betterment of people living and working across our nation.

Norman was keen to point out that as the Scottish Government is preparing to produce a new fuel poverty strategy, local authorities must have a key role in the new strategy and make significant contributions that are integral to the aim of fuel poverty eradication.

I’m sure this will be of interest to the new council and I would ask them to think carefully about how we all work together to eradicate fuel poverty locally.