The new provost of Perth and Kinross Council has revealed how a childhood of politics helped him reach one of the most senior local government positions aged just 28.
Xander McDade has taken the chain of office following Dennis Melloy’s defeat during May’s council elections.
It makes him the region’s youngest-ever provost and the second-youngest in Scotland since the Second World War.
Xander is only serving his second term as an independent councillor having been elected to the Highland ward in 2017, at the age of 23.
He now assumes a position often reserved for those who have already dedicated decades of their lives to politics – as part of a minority SNP-led administration.
Attending political marches aged six
Xander was brought up in Pitlochry from the age of 10 after moving there from St Andrews, having been born in Aberdeen.
He attended Pitlochry High School, Breadalbane Academy in Aberfeldy and Perth College.
He now lives in Blair Atholl with his one-year-old black Labrador Cora.
His political connections stretch back generations: his mum Helen McDade previously ran for election at local and national level, while grandad Donald Dyer was a town and county councillor in the 1960s and 70s.
Xander’s first memory of an election was his mum running for Holyrood when he was nine.
He said: “I remember being taken to council meetings by my mum when I was about six or seven, protesting outside council offices at that age, going to the Scottish Parliament and going on marches, so I had a very political childhood and it’s just kept with me.
“That sort of campaigning on issue politics is what I grew up with and you see the frustration of decisions going the way you didn’t want them to; that was one of the reasons why I went down more the political route.
“I am the one who wants to be in the room making decisions.”
Xander says putting his name in the hat to become provost was a last-minute decision – and he had even considered not standing for re-election.
Away from political circles, he runs the Ballinluig Hotel and spends time with his dog.
He is a “bit of a workaholic”, saying: “I suppose you don’t achieve what I have achieved by not working hard.
‘I worked 100 hours a week to buy a hotel’
“I worked 100 hours a week for six years to get enough money to buy the hotel, it was a dream of mine since I was four.”
Xander hopes to encourage young people and show them that council roles are accessible.
“The real positive part is when young people come up to you and say they didn’t think someone young could get into these roles and be influential, and that it has inspired them,” he said.
“I’m hoping this council term is a reset and opportunity for us all to move forward.
“I’m going to make sure there is no discrimination of any sort in any meeting or anywhere in the building.
“I hope we are moving forward as a society in making these sorts of roles more accessible.
“Also, the council is not representative of the communities that we are serving, so we need to find other ways to reflect that, and we’ve made some progress on this already.”
It isn’t going to be going round shaking people’s hands – it will be using the role to make a positive difference”
Xander might only be a month in but he already knows what he wants to achieve in the provost’s role – which traditionally sees the incumbent representing the council at civic events.
The former deli boss said: “You spend a lot of time campaigning on issues, wanting to make change, so when you get the opportunity to be in a position to make change happen that’s a great thing.
“I intend to make sure I can maximise the role to make a positive change and change the way we do business at the council.
“It isn’t going to be going round shaking people’s hands – it will be using the role to make a positive difference.
“Provost is one of these roles that changes with the incumbent of the office.
“I want to bring more economic investment into Perth and Kinross and show we are very much open for business, and want to reach out to communities elsewhere in the world and trade with them.
“There’s a lot to do. There’s not much time to sit back.”
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