The Ron Mueck exhibition and the Merchant of Venice

I went to the Ron Mueck exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy here in Edinburgh on Saturday. Mueck creates outside and undersize models of real-life human moments which are just brilliant. They face you with yourself in ways you don’t expect in an art gallery. Its very powerful.

That evening I saw the Royal Lyceums production of Merchant of Venice. This 300 plus year old play is about as contemporary as ever, exploring religious tension, love and power in an extraordinary pertinent way for the 21st century global village. In particular the place digs into the whole debate about the roots of anti-Semitism and the Jewish response to suffering in ways that a modern play would find very difficult.

Saturday was a timely reminder that the role of culture and the arts is to do much more than provide the basis for economically powerful festivals that provide jobs, income and economic growth for this great city. The significance of culture in all its forms is much more than a debate about money generated for the economy. But yet money is never far behind.

This week I had a very good initial meeting with the newly formed Alternative Independent Venues forum, a new body set up to support the work of the twenty or so big venues that provide the space for around 85% of Fringe performances. It was a very helpful meeting and I will be meeting them again in late October to put some flesh on the bones of a number of ideas we have about how the Council can support the Fringe and others. This will mean money but what I am sure about is that we need to spend our money wisely to get the return we all need. That means for me not simply subsidizing the companies but putting in place the infrastructure and incentives so that the Fringe and others can grow as they would hope. Ideas like the tented village, better co-ordinated and targeted marketing are just two of many.

Edinburgh Airport Link

I was disappointed to see that the SNP and the Tories were suggesting that the Edinburgh Airport rail Link (EARL) should be scrapped.

There is nothing wrong in asking questions about a project like this but we have to make sure we get value for money. But they are simply wanting to do Edinburgh down. They don’t want to see Edinburgh Labour continuing to make a success of our city.

This is a project that, at the last consultation, had 83% support from the public. It’s a massive task but will open up Scotland to many people much more quickly. For example, times to Edinburgh will be reduced to 10 minutes and Glasgow to 40 minutes.

The costs have been very carefully looked at and take account of possible changes. They are not based, as was alleged, on premium fares but on around £3.75 for the trip into Edinburgh.

The rolling stock will be able to cope with the gradients despite what was suggested by some opponents. Building the tunnel will be tough but it’s not like we’ve never dug a tunnel in this country before. We‘ve got some of the best engineers in the world.

EARL will create jobs, it will increase access, and it will offer more public transport choices and reduce car use. For example, it will provide direct rail access to the airport for 64% of the Scottish population. Perhaps that’s what the SNP fears

Fore me this debate isn’t just about numbers. It’s about an attitude of mind. What other Capital city does not have a rail-link from its Airport to its city centre and beyond. Why do we see those who claim to be standing up for Scotland run away from the big task of improving its Capital City.

Residents Parking

Last week the Council heard some deputations about the immediate and temporary difficulties around the first extension of the parking zone in the south of the city.

The Labour and Conservative Groups on the Council worked together to try and help deal with the problems and, as a consequence, the Council supported the following motion. The Liberal Democrats did not support it.

Council notes :

the introduction of the first phase of the CPZ implementation and the apparent approval from those living in the new zones;

the action taken to prepare for the CPZ implementation including extensive local consultation over a six year period, the significant changes as a result of that consultation and the public inquiry;

the detailed communication strategy which included mailings to 32,000 households in zones and peripheral areas, on street signage, advertising in a wide variety of newspapers, a poster campaign and the work of the call centre;

that the decision to place zone S2 at the end of the process was based on a recommendation by the public inquiry reporter and in response to local representation;

the provision of 250 permits for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children peripatetic staff and 80 for hospital based staff and that similar permits are available on a case by case basis for other bona fide health professionals; and,

the commitment by the department to introduce traders permits by February 2007 (assuming there are few objections to the TRO) and for business permits as soon as possible following that date.

Council agrees:

that there is always room for improvement in a strategy of such complexity;

to instruct the Director of City Development to report on additional preparations for the next phases including the possibility of implementing the further zones more quickly; and,

to begin a variation to the order to allow zone S2 to be implemented in the next phase of the roll out.

Next Year's Council Tax

Yesterday councillors and officials started the formal thinking about next year's budget and Council Tax.

Edinburgh has the lowest government grant per head of any Council in Scotland. We also have enormous pressures to spend more on maintaining the fabric of the city, because of our prosperity, and more on the services we provide, because our population is changing. So it's not going to be an easy process.

Last year we kept your Council Tax increase down to a just-under-inflation level of 2.3% and we still have the lowest Council Tax of any of the main Scottish cities. We managed this last year because we spent almost all the Council's available reserves.

The Liberal Democrats last year wanted to increase your Council Tax by 4%. But they weren't going to spend the extra money on the people of Edinburgh - they just wanted to keep it in the bank. The Conservatives, of course, wanted to cut spending across the board - including teachers and schools.

Edinburgh Labour is determined to keep the rate of Council tax increase at or below the rate of inflation. But we are also determined to care as best we can for the city and its people and, most important, to continue to find the investment to sustain the City's hard-won prosperity. We've got some hard work to do ourselves, of course, but there's no doubt we'll also need government help if we are to achieve both those things. A difficult few months ahead.

PARKING CHANGES

A large part of Thursday, like Wednesday, was taken up with dealing with the impact of the new controlled parking zones in South Edinburgh. Though the problem only affected a few streets, the impact that it had on those streets was considerable.

The reason why we extended the controlled parking zones that have been operating in the city centre for twenty five years into our inner residential areas was that commuters were using these residential streets as “park and walk” sites. Residents asked us to do something and we did.

On the north of the City, in Broughton and Calton, there have been a few minor teething troubles, but probably fewer than we expected. Colleagues have even received messages of praise and support.

In the South though, commuters simply parked their cars a little further out – and sometimes in the most inconsiderate and dangerous way. Some residents too, instead of buying residents permits for their own streets simply went and parked for free in their neighbours’ streets. (I was amused by the story of one resident from the new controlled parking zone going out in the early morning in pyjamas and dressing gown to move her car into the “free” area!)

What I did, with Cllr Ricky Henderson, now with responsibility for Transport, was instruct officials to supervise the problem streets and put cones down where necessary to stop dangerous parking. I also instructed that a letter was sent to all residents in these streets explaining what we were doing. And Cllr Henderson and officials will organise a public meeting in the area, once motorists have got used to the new arrangements, to see what longer term adjustments need to be made.

I do think there is a lesson here for our officials and ourselves. I think it is to say to people – look, this is a complicated problem and we are dealing with human behaviour and so we won’t get everything right first go. But we will go back over it and make changes when we see what happens on the ground – and then please will you help us get it right.

And another thought – why is it that motorists always seem to get so angry, but pedestrians never seem to, when you could easily argue that pedestrians often get a worse deal than drivers?

GORDON BROWN

I met Gordon Brown last Thursday evening and was inspired. After 10 years at the top of British politics, he is still fresh and passionate about what matters, justice, hope and change. His speech, when he opened the refurbished HBOS headquarters on The Mound, was funny and intelligent too

We talked about the need for better transport links both between Edinburgh and Glasgow and between Scotland and London which the Chancellor was positive about.

I intend to take every chance to pressure those who have the power to support Edinburgh's economic growth. Like Gordon Brown, I believe in the redistribution of wealth but I, like him, know we need to create the wealth to redistribute. That will always mean competing agendas, but better that than a political philosophy that says wealth is for the few and not for everybody.

PROTECTING CHILDREN

I was privileged to hear an outstanding speech last Friday by Lord Laming, who conducted the inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie

Visibly angry in recounting this horrific story, Lord Laming captured for me the eternal tension local Councils face as “corporate parents” - looking after children when they are at risk. Councils must constantly be ready to intervene but yet we must not become so interventionist that we hinder parents being parents and more importantly, stop children being children,.

Like health and safety rules on things like school trips that have become so over protective that we are stifling children's opportunities for self discovery, we can become so obsessed with the process of child protection that we loose sight of the needs of the children we are trying to protect. Yet we must always be vigilant.

I don’t think we will ever get the balance absolutely right. I also doubt whether we will every stop all abuse, especially given that most abuse comes from family members or “trusted’ adults. And Councils have to be prepared to take the easy criticism from people who will never recognize that this isn’t a perfect world, that however hard we try, we might always make a mistake.

Yet, as Lord Laming demanded of us, even though the task is hard, we must never ever stop trying to protect our children from harm

Craigentinny Community Fair

On Saturday I spent a couple of hours at the Craigentinny Community Fair down in my ward. For many years the Fair was an annual event but this was the first one for 12 years.

There was the usual gala king and queen, music, food and activities for kids. I was given the great honour of judging the glamorous granny, great granny and bonny baby competitions. A classic no-win situation for me!

What was excellent was that it was a genuinely locally organised event. The committee was all local volunteers supported by the community education worker. Their driving motivation was simply to celebrate our community and they did so in style.

These events are always much more than who win what competition. They build what academics call “social capital” and what you and I might call “a strong community who look out for each other”.

In a world where communication is instant and the global village is a reality, our relationships with our neighbours are often limited. Yet its those relationships that can make the difference about a community feeling safe, feeling strong, feeling cared for, feeling prosperous.

You can’t buy that, but its value is immense.

Festival Fireworks

Sunday night I was at the Festival Fireworks concert. What an event that is. I’m told it’s the largest classical concert in the world. Certainly with an audience of 250,000 plus it must be right up there with the best.

The crowd was a wonderful wide mixture. I could see all ages and a mix of fashion from shell suit to cashmere and barbour, (sorry about the stereotyping but you get my point). From what I could gauge there was also a healthy mix of locals and tourists.

That of course, is one of the difficult tensions we have in the city. Tourism brings in millions to our economy. The Festival alone brings in £184m. 10% of Edinburgh’s jobs are tourism related. The money spent by tourists helps keeps businesses going, even helps us invest in new buses, so that local people can benefit all year round. We have become a 24-hour, 12 months of the year city.

But the 24-hour city brings its problems. Noise, cleanliness, pressure on police and other services are just some of the difficulties we experience. Especially in the Festival when the population doubles. Yet we don’t want to return to the sleepy provincial city of 25 years ago.

Glasgow Visit

Last Thursday I met Cllr Steven Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council.

We agreed that it would be very much to our benefit to market our Cities together for inward investment from down south and abroad. We also committed to prioritise improving the rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I struggle to see why this can’t be done. In 1991 an experiment was carried out using present rolling stock and a clear track. The journey time was reduced to 32 minutes. So half hour times even then were technically possible. But yet the answers we get are always about the technical problems.

There is no doubt in my mind that we need something of a culture change not just in the railways but in all our public services to much more of a “can do” attitude. Debates like this should begin with “what’s the solution” rather than “what’s the problem”, and then work backwards to implementation.

This Blog's Values

Welcome to my Blog. Edinburgh Labour, in all that it does, is built on core values. Briefly stated, we want Edinburgh to be a city that is "prosperous, fair and well cared-for".

Of course, those values can mean different things to different people so, if you share those values and want to talk with me about them, then please do use this blog. I'd like to hear what you have to say. You certainly don't have to be a Labour supporter or a Labour voter to take part in the debate.

You might, of course , have other values and aspirations for this city - in which case, do join the discussion, but I am most unlikely to agree with you and you may find you gain a better hearing elsewhere!

Standing up for Edinburgh

As soon as I was elected I made it clear that standing up for Edinburgh was my first priority.

Edinburgh is the most prosperous city outside London with a job for everyone who wants one and has the skills. That success hasn’t happened by accident. The Council has taken the lead over the years in bringing investment to the City. And we have to continue with that with investment in transport, in support for businesses of all sizes, in education and training, in things like the festivals that help give Edinburgh its reputation and quality of life.

Edinburgh creates wealth and it needs a fair share of that wealth back to turn into investment to keep our success going and bring its benefits to everyone.

Last year we lost £111m in business rates - 40% of what businesses pay. I have no problem with sharing our wealth but we are in danger of undermining the heart of our city’s and our nation’s prosperity if we pay out so much.

I’ve met with the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and I’m pleased to say they are with me on this.