Highland Council has listed a motion to remove five councillors from committee and outside body appointments. It follows the vote of no confidence passed on 17 September 2026 in Chris Birt, Duncan Macpherson, Ruraidh Stewart, John Grafton and Sean Kennedy. The motion is signed by Ian Brown, leader of Inverness and Area, and Morven Reid, a depute provost of Inverness and Area. The full council meets at 9.35am on Thursday 29 October 2026 in the council chamber at headquarters on Glenurquhart Road, Inverness. The motion is item 3. Under standing order 28.1, debate waits until the next full council, on 10 December 2026, when it is the first item of substantive business. Full council agenda
What would change
The motion asks the council to remove the five from all committee and outside body appointments. Area committees are excepted. Any committee that must be politically balanced, by law or by council policy, is excepted too. Vacancies would be filled under the council's usual appointment procedure. Which of their current seats would be caught by the exceptions is not set out in the agenda.
The five would remain elected members of the council.
Why these five
The Inverness Courier reported the licensing decision that led to the September vote. In June, Duncan Macpherson, John Grafton, Sean Kennedy, Chris Birt, Ruraidh Stewart and Willie Mackay voted to take no action to revoke a taxi operator licence in the name of convicted rapist David Brown. Mr Mackay had resigned from the council before the no-confidence vote. Four of the five named in this motion had resigned from the licensing committee before that vote. Chris Birt remains on the committee.