Perth’s city status bid has received further attention from the highest reaches of the government.
After Prime Minister David Cameron gave the application a personal hearing, his deputy Nick Clegg has now been informed of the only Scottish bid’s strength.
Mr Clegg was given a summation of the Fair City entry at the Liberal Democrat conference in Inverness at the weekend by local councillors Peter Barrett and Willie Wilson.
The winner of the Queen’s diamond jubilee city status competition is set to be announced in April, with Perth among the front-runners for victory.
Depute Provost Willie Wilson said: ”We were able to present the key arguments supporting our city status bid directly to the Deputy Prime Minister and were given a good hearing.
”It was great to have been able to press our case at the highest level with the UK Government. Nick indicated that a decision would be forthcoming in the near future.”
Mr Barrett said Mr Clegg was already aware of the bid, which would see city status restored after it was removed in the 1970s as part of local government reorganisation.
He said: ”It was very encouraging that Nick was fully aware of Perth’s ambition to have city status restored and not simply granted. Nick has been a regular visitor to the Fair City for the past three years for our previous conferences.
”We were able to emphasise just how much city status means to us personally and the ongoing growth and resurgence of Perth as a city and economic driver for the whole of our area.”
The pair’s efforts were supported by the Lib Dem Scottish Leader Willie Rennie MSP, whose Mid Scotland and Fife constituency includes Perth.
He said: ”I have been proud to give my full backing to Perth’s city status bid.”
The Courier told last month how Mr Cameron had been personally appraised of Perth’s qualities by former resident and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.
She said he was ”very complementary about Perth and very positive”, adding if she were to place a bet on the competition’s outcome, she would back the local entrant.