Western Isles Women Encouraged to Attend Elect Her Workshop Events!

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is Scotland’s sole Gaelic-only named council (formerly the Western Isles Council). They provide information and services to residents, businesses and visitors to the Na h-Eileanan Siar council area (Western Isles).

The council previously drew national attention for having an all-male elected membership following the 2017 elections, before a small number of women won seats in subsequent local elections.

Elect Her work to provide women with the knowledge, confidence and skills to take the next step on their political journey and thrive once in elected office.

Ahead of next May’s election Elect Her is running two webinars on 3 September on the topic of becoming a Councillor in Scotland.

Elect Her’s website gives an overview of the workshop sessions:

“Join our online workshop where we will give you all the information you need to start your journey towards becoming a councillor in Scotland. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about what counhttps://www.elect-her.org.uk/events-workshops-landingcillors do, how to put yourself forward ahead of the 2027 local elections, how selections work, how to campaign and useful resources for new candidates.

At present, 2 out of 29 Councillors in the Western Isles are women. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar encourages all who are interested in becoming a Councillor to attend the webinars.

Cllr Frances Murray said:“Democracy works best when the voices of every section of society are fairly and equally represented. At present only 2 out of 29 councillors in the Western Isles are women. This is a situation that we should all want to see improve. I would encourage every woman who has an interest in having her voice heard and wants to play an active role in local politics to take the first step by attending the Elect Her webinars.”