Cllr Gerry McGarvey appointed as Stirling Council Leader

Cllr McGarvey (Labour) steps up from Depute Leader to take over the role that was held by Margaret Brisley, who passed away last year.

The vote was passed by 12 votes to 11. Cllr Jen Preston has been appointed as Depute Leader.

Cllr McGarvey represents the Forth and Endrick Ward and was first elected as a councillor in May 2022.

As well as Depute Leader, he has held a variety of positions at the council including Convener of the Community, Housing and Wellbeing Committee and Baillie.

A privilege

Cllr McGarvey said: “It’s a privilege and an honour to be appointed as Leader of Stirling Council.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my predecessors, Margaret and Chris Kane, for their guidance and support since I was elected as a councillor, and I’m determined to build on the great work done before me.   

“I am committed to working collaboratively with my fellow councillors and build consensus so that we make decisions that improve the lives of the people in our wonderful and diverse communities.  

“That will start this month when we will have to work together to set a balanced budget that meets the needs of our residents against a hugely challenging financial landscape for local government.

“While there are clearly further challenges ahead for Stirling and other local authorities, we march forward with optimism and ambition.  

“We are approaching the finale of Stirling’s 900^th anniversary celebrations, which are going to be fantastic and an opportunity to show how we are delivering a better future for all.

“Major transformative projects, such as the redevelopment of Forthside and the creation of Stirling Studios – which will be among the biggest film studio campuses in Scotland – are among the ways we are doing this.

“As Leader, I look forward to working closely with our communities and partners to unleash our full potential, increase investment and ensure Stirling is an attractive place to live, work, learn and create.”

A number of other appointments were also confirmed at the meeting: including:

• Cllr McGarvey as Convener of the Finance, Economy and Corporate Support Committee and Vice Convener of the Children and Young People Committee
• Cllr David Wilson as Convener of Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee
• Cllr Danny Gibson to the Licencing Board and as Baillie.

The full list of appointments will be updated here