 | 'Cllr. Mordi's victory last week was a result of both her own hard work and that of the local Cupar Liberal Democrats who pulled out all of the stops to help her. The results were close but I have no doubt that Loretta will work hard to ensure that she represents the range of views across the ward' Iain Smith MSP, 16 th November 2004. |  |
There was a by-election for the Cupar North ward of Fife Council on the 11 th November 2004 following the resignation of Cllr Susan Clark.
Cupar North is in the Norh East Fife parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem Menzies Campbell MP) and in the North East Fife Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem Iain Smith MSP).
| 9 th October 2003 By-election Turnout 38.0 % (- 8.3 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loretta Mordi |  |
Liberal Democrat | 443 | 34.4 % | - 20.7 % |
| Dave Carstairs |  |
Independent | 379 | 29.4 % | (+ 29.4 %) |
| Alison Murray |  |
Conservative | 342 | 26.5 % | + 1.2 % |
| John Docherty |  |
Scottish National Party | 54 | 4.2 % | (+ 4.2 %) |
| Thomas McAviney |  |
Scottish Socialist Party | 40 | 3.1 % | - 5.2 % |
 |
Labour | 31 | 2.4 % | - 8.9 % | |
| Liberal Democrat hold | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 64 | 5.0 % | - 24.8 % |
| 1 st May 2003 Turnout 46.3 % (- 10.2 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Susan Clark | |
Liberal Democrat | 879 | 55.1 % | + 11.5 % |
| William Bruce | |
Conservative | 403 | 25.3 % | + 4.8 % |
| David Stoddart | |
Labour | 180 | 11.3 % | - 12.4 % |
| Thomas McAviney | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 133 | 8.3 % | (+ 8.3 %) |
| Liberal Democrat hold | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 476 | 29.8 % | % |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout 56.5 % (+ 12.3 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Clark | |
Liberal Democrat | 868 | 43.6 % | + 4.0 % |
| Bryan A. Poole | |
Labour | 472 | 23.7 % | - 7.6 % |
| William S. Bruce | |
Conservative | 407 | 20.5 % | + 0.8 % |
| Douglas McLeod | |
Scottish National Party | 242 | 12.2 % | + 2.9 % |
| Liberal Democrat hold | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 396 | 19.9 % | + 11.6 % |
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 43.8 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Clark | |
Liberal Democrat | 632 | 39.6 % | |
| Charles Milne | |
Labour | 500 | 31.3 % | |
| Keith Griffiths | |
Conservative | 315 | 19.7 % | |
| Margaret Braid | |
Scottish National Party | 148 | 9.3 % | |
| Liberal Democrat hold | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 132 | 8.3 % | |
LONG-distance lorry drivers in Cupar have hit back at plans to ban them from parking in the town overnight.
Speaking on behalf of a number of HGV drivers, Dennis Finnie said calls for drivers to park at the trading estate would put the safety of drivers and their loads in jeopardy.
Mr Finnie said that since the plans were first revealed in the Fife Herald to stop vehicles parking in the Fluthers car park, he had asked a number of residents living in the Castlefield area about their alleged concerns, and no-one had any complaint to make.
Fife Council's east area services committee has approved the decision to impose a Traffic Regulation Order banning HGVs from the Fluthers car park, but the issue could go back to committee depending on the strength of objections.
Expressing annoyance that Cupar North councillor Susan Clark had been working to have the order implemented, Mr Finnie asked where vehicles would have to go.
"The drivers are in town for a reason, but at the end of the day by law they must stop," he pointed out.
"If they haven't been able to make their deliveries they have to stay the night wherever they are."
Mr Finnie said that as well as being far from facilities such as shops and restaurants, the trading estate was not suitable as a safe overnight stop.
"There have been repeated attacks on vehicles parked there, from one getting 100 litres of diesel siphoned out of it to a grain lorry having its back door opened and five tonnes of grain spilled," he said.
"Drivers sleeping overnight in their cabs are also vulnerable as vandals have been known to attack and break into cabs parked in deserted areas.
"These drivers are hard-working men who deserve to have some recreation time in the town when they finish work and to be able to have somewhere safe and central to park. I do not see why we should be turfed out to the trading estate."
Mr Finnie explained that the Fluthers has been used by lorry drivers for decades, and had once held parking bays for HGVs before work to widen the East Bridge road led to their removal.
Despite these objections, Councillor Clark said there was no reason for lorries to be parked in the Fluthers overnight.
"The point is that they do not need to be in Cupar," she said. "They are coming here by word of mouth because it has got round that there is free parking, but none of them are in Cupar for any reason but to stop over.
"I don't know of any other long stay car park that turns into a lorry park at night and is in such close proximity to houses in a conservation area.
"People who live there never thought they were buying their houses in front of an all-night lorry park."
Chris Bell, a lead officer with Fife Council's transportation services, said the move to impose a Traffic Regulation Order was made in response to complaints over vehicles warming up their engines early in the morning.
However, he rejected suggestions that it was up to the council to arrange parking for drivers at alternative sites.
"It is not our responsibility to tell drivers where to go," he said.
"We can suggest areas such as the trading estate or possibly other sites, but it is up to the driver or the haulage company to find appropriate locations to park at night."
THREE candidates have been announced for the forthcoming Cupar North by-election.
Defending the seat for the Liberal Democrats will be Loretta Mordi.
Married with three children, Ms Mordi currently works for Citizens Advice and Rights Fife, and is a member of Cupar Community Safety Panel.
North East Fife MSP, Iain Smith, commented: "Loretta Mordi is extremely well qualified and experienced for the job, and I am sure she will be an excellent councillor for Cupar North."
The Conservatives' candidate is Alison Murray, a well-known and prominent community activist in Cupar.
The mother of four, who stood for Cupar in the last local election, is currently chairman of St Columba's Primary School Association.
She has also served on Cupar Community Council as an elected member and in the roll of the secretary, and chaired the Abacus Community Day Nursery Project from 1999 to 2003.
Ms Murray works for Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Ted Brocklebank, and is the Conservative Party's constituency agent.
Standing for the Scottish Socialist Party will be Thomas McAviney.
The ex-sericeman, who suffers from Gulf War Syndrome, is an active campaigner on local issues such as housing, TETRA communication masts and genetically modified crops.
An SSP spokesman said: "Thomas is an ideal representative for the working class people of Cupar North."
The by-election, which has been caused by the resignation of Councillor Susan Clark, will be held on Thursday, November 11.
Iain Smith, North East Fife's Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament, speaking from his office in Holyrood today has congratulated Cupar North's newly elected councillor, Loretta Mordi, on her by-election success last Thursday and welcomed her to her new position.
Iain Smith commented 'I was greatly impressed by LorettaÕs energy and dedication as I helped out during her campaign, and I am certain that she will bring these same qualities to representing Cupar North on the Council.'
'Cllr. Mordi's victory last week was a result of both her own hard work and that of the local Cupar Liberal Democrats who pulled out all of the stops to help her. The results were close but I have no doubt that Loretta will work hard to ensure that she represents the range of views across the ward.'
'I echo my colleague, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, and the rest of the local party when I congratulate Loretta Mordi on her achievement and say that we look forward to working closely with her in the future.
Notes to Editors:
1) Iain Smith is the MSP for North East Fife and Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Local Government & Transport. He is also Convenor of the Scottish Parliament Procedures Committee and a member of the Local Government & Transport Committee.
2) Cllr. Loretta Mordi was elected to Fife Council to represent Cupar North on Thursday 11th November 2004 in a by-election following the resignation of Cllr. Susan Clark.
3) Loretta Mordi is also the first African-born female councillor in Scotland.
CUPAR'S newest councillor has denied allegations that Liberal Democrat campaign material used ahead of last week's fiercely contested by-election misled the public.
Loretta Mordi won the contest by just 64 votes over Independent candidate Dave Carstairs.
Councillor Mordi said she did not believe a leaflet which stated the election was a "two-horse race" between the Lib Dems and Conservatives was intended to con Cupar North residents into thinking a vote for any other candidate would be worthless.
But following claims made this week that she already knew it was a "three-horse race", Councillor Mordi told the Fife Herald she would not comment on the evidence used to back up her pre-election claims.
The Liberal Democrats' campaign strategy has been attacked by Cupar man Bryan Poole, who has written to Councillor Mordi, Cupar South councillor Margaret Kennedy and Sir Menzies Campell MP, seeking an explanation for the "apparently misleading election material issued in the name of all three."
In his letter to Sir Menzies, Mr Poole said: "In many previous campaigns in North East Fife the Liberal Democrats have encouraged 'tactical' voting by 'threatening' that a vote for anyone else other than the Lib Dems would let the Tories in.
"Although a very negative tactic, the 'figures' allowed you to use that tactic without leaving yourself open to the accusation of deliberately misleading the electorate.
"The difference on this occasion is that the 'figures' indicated a three-horse race.
"Perhaps you could explain, given that all canvass returns were indicating a three-horse contest, why your letter and leaflets were stating this was a "two-horse race"?
"Would you agree that this was a deliberate attempt to mislead the electorate?"
Lib Dem councillor, Donald Lothian, said on Wednesday that Sir Menzies would respond when he received the letter.
Mr Carstairs said he was surprised an established party had resorted to the "politics of the playground".
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