Tuesday July 21st 2026
Scottish Borders Councillor Tom Weatherston
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A much-admired Scottish Borders councillor and “outstanding servant” to Kelso who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer is to call time on his near-20-year political career.
Tom Weatherston was first elected to SBC in 2007 as an independent for Kelso & District, having served on Kelso Community Council several years before that.
Tom said: “People encouraged me to stand at the time and said I would have a good chance and I decided to give it a go and was lucky enough to be elected.
“I crossed the floor to join the Conservatives just before I got elected for a second time.
“I waited just before the election and crossed the floor. I thought that if Kelso people weren’t happy with me they had the chance to say they didn’t like this, but I’m glad to say they still elected me as a Conservative.
“I felt that being part of a bigger group I could get more things delivered for Kelso.”
Tom has been re-elected at every subsequent poll, and will mark 20 years of service come the Local Elections in May next year.
Now he has announced his decision not to seek re-election again after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
He said: “I think I would probably continued but my diagnosis at the time was two to four years, so I thought that even if I got elected next May there’d be a by-election and it was easier just to call it a day.
“I’m okay in myself and am starting chemotherapy shortly and I’ll see how that goes. I’m basically taking one week at a time.”
Tom says the fellow councillors in his ward have “never played party politics” and have worked together, whatever their political persuasion, for the benefit of the town.
He added: “We’ve managed to get two new schools, and I was involved quite heavily in bringing the Sainsburys supermarket to Kelso and the new industrial estate which is now nearly full.
“I think Kelso is doing very well and we’re very lucky, we have the Events Centre and Floors Castle, the racecourse and various other things, we’re a busy little place and there are very few empty shops and if one is empty it is usually filled pretty quick.
“I think Kelso is punching above its weight.”
Parking is the issue which remains a bugbear in the town.
Tom, 69, said: “There’s no easy answer. We have limited parking in Kelso and we’re building more and more houses and there’s really nowhere else for another car park and that something for further down the line, without a doubt.”
Honesty has been at the heart of Tom’s political career.
“I think it’s about being honest with people and tell them how it is. I always like to try and get results but sometimes if something is not achievable through lack of money, or for whatever reason, I’d rather tell somebody ‘we’re going to struggle here’ than flannel them off with an answer that they want to hear. I’d rather be honest with people.”
Tom, who was proud to receive the Ex-Kelso Laddie Club Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025, is married to Fiona and has a son, daughter and three grandchildren.
He recalled one memorable encounter with King Charles just before he became monarch.
“I was deputy convener at the time and the Lord Lieutenant said to Prince Charles, as he was at the time, ‘this is Tom Weatherston, deputy convener at Scottish Borders Council’ and Charles said to me ‘Tom, you and I have something in common’ and I said ‘what’s that’ and he said ‘I’ve been a deputy almost all my life’. That’s what we’re laughing at in the photograph. He’s not a deputy now.”
Fellow Kelso and District councillor Euan Robson, leader of the Liberal Democrats on SBC, said: “Tom has been an outstanding servant to Kelso over many years both as a councillor and in his voluntary work.
“There are many people who have cause to be grateful to him and he has my very best wishes for his retirement.”
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