Canvassing

I was out knocking on doors again this week, STV and PR has taken us all back to old fashioned politics of presence and after some initial trepidation I am really enjoying it.
I am getting a good response though it does help to have been the parish minister as many people locally do have an experience of me outside politics.
I think I was a better politician when I was also a parish minister because I spent time with people not being a politician. The difficulty is that politics, even local politics, is now so demanding that its difficult to do it well and not be full time, but yet that very act of going full time means you loose something that helps you a great deal to do the job well.
Oddly enough, despite what we might read in the press, people still have high expectations about what we can and can’t do. Those expectations come is strange ways. I had one woman at my surgery recently who is adamant I should be able to “get her a hoose”. Her circumstances are not good but not as bad as many others. I said to her that I would support her as best I can but that there is a proper system for allocations and its not right for politicians to try to get round it. "Whats the use of you being the leader if you can’t get me a hoose” she retorted. I doubt I will ever live up to her expectations then!

Anti Slavery Website

I spent much of Friday working on a contribution to the inter faith event on Sunday 25th March to mark the

Climate change and lifestyle choices

I was intrigued by the report by the Royal Institute of Chartered surveyors “City Climate Change; your city, your responsibility" takes the view that Edinburgh needs to cut traffic by 57,500 cars to achieve a 60% carbon emission reduction.
I think that they are right. The challenge for me as a politician is how do I achieve that aim without being then seen as anti car. Everybody wants to be green, (why else would all the parties be wrapping themselves in their environment credentials?) but what do they want to do about it? Recent opinion polls like the one in the Sunday Times by Yougov showed 63% against higher petrol taxes, 69% against road pricing and 60% against air taxes.
So how do we change behaviour? Better public transport is clearly one answer and trams will make a significant difference but it is no environmental magic bullet. Once again we have the politicians dilemma; what the people want and what the people are prepared to do about it are not yet connected. We need to find a way of working with the voters to persuade them to make that connection in their lifestyle choices without simply using guilt and sticks but we need to do it quickly. I don’t think any of the parties, even the Greens, have really got to grips with that conundrum.

'Bloom' at the Lochend YWCA

I was delighted to be asked to open a new community cafe called 'Bloom' at the Lochend YWCA in my ward this week along with the Hibs goalie and local boy Andy MacNeil. Andy spoke well about the need for a healthy diet and exercise to go with it. My own comment was that as well as good food, the cafe offers a place to take time. There is nothing more important that taking the time to “break bread” together, space to talk and to listen to each other. We spend to much time “eating on the hoof”. Well done to Fiona and all her colleagues on a great project and I hope to join you there again soon for some of your excellent fare

HMO’s

I spoke at the Students Representative council this week. They made it clear that they do not want quota’s on the numbers of flats in tenements being shared by people not related to each other (HMO’s) allowed in designated areas of the city. They see that as an attack on students. Later on in the week I heard from Community Councils that cover the areas student live in who were equally adamant that we need to impose quotas not simply because of alleged clashes of lifestyle but also because with so many properties being let, maintaining the overall fabric of the tenements (which are often over 100 years old) is proving impossible. Which ever way we jump, there will be many people unhappy. Who’d be a politician! We have to find a solution however, and fast. Yet, as is the case with the need for traffic calming which is the consequence of the actions of a few idiots, we are having to find a legislative mechanism to cope with the fact that some folk just won’t take account of others around them, in this case mostly, though not entirely, a minority of landlords for whom the income is fine but the responsibility is a hassle they’d rather not think about.

This can’t be a debate between bikes and airplanes.

I hosted and chaired a debate this week between Duncan McLaren, Chief Exec of Friends of the Earth and Richard Jeffries, general manager of Edinburgh Airport.This came about because I found myself on the one hand recognising the huge contribution the airport makes to our economy and so to jobs and on the other hand concerned about the dangers of an economy support by what appears to be a massive polluter. I wanted to explore that tension not simply with the main protagonists but also with ordinary citizens. What was fascinating about the discussion both from Duncan and Richard but also from the 100 or so folk present was the common ground , especially the desire to make environmental concern central to any forward planning. The divergence came over just how possible that was with an expansion of air travel. This can’t be a debate between bikes and airplanes. Its too important not just for the environment but for the economy of the city. Nor will instruments like increased taxes in themselves produce the behavioural changes we need to see in our travel choices. It also means planning economic change over several years rather than overnight. Change that must mean keeping confidence from investors but keep the eye on the prizes of a zero carbon economy. No easy task but one we cannot shy from.

Meadowbank Stadium

The big issue of the moment locally seems to be Meadowbank Stadium.

Its a place close to my heart. I watched Ian Stewart and Lachie Stewart win gold medals for Scotland in the Commonwealth games in 1970. I still remember standing up and screaming my 9 year old heart our as they hit the home straight.

I ran there myself as a young lad competing both for Pitreave Athletic Club and in the East of Scotland championships.

My children still use the facilities. I supported the setting up of the “house facility”. If there was a way to keep it I would because its part of my story.

But I want Edinburgh to have the best possible facilities and rebuilding on the site would not give us that. And if we build on the site, or even refurbish, we’ ll be without any facilities for a long time, too long.

The Truth is -

• There’s not enough space to re-build at Meadowbank
• The Council will build a new modern stadium and sports centre in Sighthill that will be publicly owned and run
• Sighthill will be complete and open before Meadowbank closes
• Sighthill Stadium will be right on the tram – 15 minutes from Leith Walk
• A new local sports facility for east Edinburgh will be built at Meadowbank
• We are consulting local people on what they want in their new sports centre
• We plan to have this complete and open before old Meadowbank closes
• The site will then be re-developed with a new public square, shops, workplaces, and homes (including affordable homes) as well as the publicly owned and run sports centre
• The proceeds from this will help pay for Sighthill and the “new Meadowbank”
• The proceeds will also help pay to re-furbish the Commonwealth Pool

Some say simply “Save Meadowbank”. That's a valid view but the consequence would be that our sports stars of tomorrow would have less than the rest and less than they deserve.

If someone can show me a costed plan for developing the Meadowbank site with income sources identified that will provide seamless access to facilities, a stadium that is to the standards that will attract international class sporting events, provide the cash we need also for the Royal Commonwealth Pool and increase the number of facilities in the city, I will listen. So far all I have heard what folk don’t want and that's fine, But we need more than that to make any decision about the future of sport in this city.

Renewal of Trident

I applaud Nigel Griffiths decision to stand down as deputy leader of the commons as he prepares to vote against the renewal of Trident.
Its a principled stand and the right one. Like Nigel I want a world protected by peacemaking not simply the absence of war created through fear.
I will be at the vigil on the Mound in Edinburgh at 6pm on Wednesday 14th as the vote goes to the house of commons.
I can't decide what distresses me more. That the leadership of my party is proposing to renew Trident or that the vote will carry on Tory support. Its bad enough promoting weapons of mass destruction but to get them through the commons on the back of Tory votes is particularly insidious.

Chinese film

I was privileged to host a civic diner for many folk involved in the wonderful celebration of Chinese film Chinemachina 07 which is happening in Edinburgh just now China is huge and influencial on our lives, an influence that is set to grow and yet we know so little about it. This festival offers a little light, a wee window on that mysterious and exciting yet still a little forbidding country.The folk I met were lovely, including Maggie Cheung a genuinely down to earth woman yet who is the superstar of Chinese film at present. And a wee bonus was meeting, for the first time, my fellow Fifer and a real boyhood hero of mine, Richard Jobson film maker and one time lead singer of the “Skids”. once Scotland premier punk band. An undervalued Scottish star if ever there was one. Though we were at school in Dunfermline at the same time, our schools were at opposite ends of the play field but never would we meet, that old Scottish denominational affliction hitting Fife just as hard as it did (and sometimes still does) other parts of our nation.

Environmental meeting

This Thursday (15th march) I will be chairing an event that both excites and scares me. I have invited Richard Jeffery (manager of Edinburgh Airport) and Duncan MacLaren (Chief Exec of Friends of the Earth) to debate air travel, climate change and building an economy for a global village. I did this because, as a decision-maker I know I am pulled both ways on this. The environmentalist in me says that I know air travel is a huge polluter and we need to ask serious questions about just what sustainable air travel is. Yet as a politician with a responsibility for encouraging the economy not just of the city but the nation, given that air travel infact only contributes around 2 1/2% (according to some) to our carbon emissions and pays such a huge role in our economic success, can we really afford to undermine it, surely managing its effects is a better approach.There are huge tensions between these positions and so I wanted to see if there was any common ground from which I could begin to shape my own political response to the questions each side poses. I will let you know if it helps or hinders my decisions on these issues.

Manifesto

So Edinburgh Labour launched our manifesto on Saturday. We decided not to do some big meeting in a hall somewhere. Instead we went back to where we should be; the streets. Using an open top bus we went to 9 places across the city to meet shoppers (and the odd rugby fan) and to hear face to face what folk felt about our manifesto and what we stand for. It was not an easy experience at times. In some places the reception was was not as good as others but that was to be expected. As I made my speech in each place I had both rude signs and warm handshakes, the words “never” and “always” said to my face and many conversations that were both warm and wary. However, if Saturday's 7 hours in 9 places is anything to go by, our support is stronger than some are suggesting. What was important was that we began our journey towards the election in the streets, amongst the people and not just those who are our likely supporters. It was a wee return to old fashioned street hustings based on human relationships not slick messages. Rougher but, if truth be told, a whole lot more satisfying

Jobs Relocation

Its not often that I agree with Brian Montieth, the independent maverick and ex Tory MSP but on the report of the committee he chairs on Jobs relocation, I will make an exception. Click here for report. The committee slammed the policy as lacking coherence, transparency or any consistent criteria for best value . The conclusions were - The Executive’s method for triggering relocation reviews is too simplistic and does not take a strategic overview; The methodology used to determine new locations has been flawed and inconsistent; The Executive has failed to provide clear explanations of the reasons for choosing each location; Relocation decisions have often taken far too long; Little evaluation of the policy has been carried out to date; As relocation decisions are taken, the Executive has failed to factor them into subsequent decisions which could result in unfair comparisons between potential receiving areas; Jobs have not been dispersed throughout Scotland as originally envisaged. I still believe that a jobs re-location policy has real merit but each case has to add up, we need to know what the rationale is behind each decision and one of the criteria must be does the capital city, to be a capital city, need to have these jobs close by. The Registrar of Scotland, Creative Scotland and Health Scotland are just three examples of where the role of Edinburgh as capital city is undermined by the moving or potential moving of the these jobs. The Audit Committee’s view 9. Conclusion: The Committee believes that some organisations are best located in Edinburgh in order to best facilitate work with the Scottish Parliament and also with partner organisations, customers and stakeholders.90. Recommendation: Some organisations are inappropriate candidates for relocation outside Edinburgh and should therefore not be subject to full-scale review.This has become a debate about numbers of jobs. That is simply too managerial an approach. Once again I would call for a halt to this policy until all of us involved can be part of the debate about what might move where and for what reason. If they tried that approach they might find that far from feeling we have to yelp everytime a decision is made for a move, we could even support some moves if they were balanced with other decisions to let some organisations stay put.

On being a citizen

I faced 180 5th and 6th years from Leith Academy this week as part of their citizenship programme. It was a tough audience. I had written a brief introduction (see below) and they had then put in questions.
The questions ranged from the personal (why did you leave the church to become a politician, I didn't I am just doing ministry in a different way), to the local (should the St James centre, a 1960’s monstrosity, be pulled down, answer yes..) ,to the ethical (what do I think about civil partnerships, I have conducted two blessings of same sex relationships and I would do the same again).
They also finally convinced me that the voting age should be reduced to 16. As one put it, its all very well saying some folk aren’t ready at 16 but there are a load of others who still aren’t ready at 30 or older! This lot certainly were and after an hour they had given me quite a grilling but it was real, grounded political debate, just as it should be.

Click here to see my address.

Faith communities have their say

It was a fascinating experience to lay out our manifesto before a group of Hindus, Muslims and Christians as apart of our road testing. They asked hard questions, often saying 'this sounds fine but how will you actually do it? '
They also question some fundamental issues. We are going to make a pledge that we will offer affordable childcare for all families with 3-14 year olds who need it. Recent reports of child poverty for example, say that affordable childcare is a major key to families getting control over their lives again.
Does that mean we are undermining the family by paying others to be parents because families need to have two people working. Wouldn't it be better to pay parents to stay at home and be parents? Now there’s a thought

Environmentalists check our manifesto

I took our manifesto to a group of environmentalists last week. They were robust in their response, supportive, but robust. We disagreed on whether or not there should be another Forth crossing, (I am of the view that, well thought through it could provide the opportunity to reduce car use, they want that achieved in other ways), but we agreed on a great deal.
They liked our commitment to challenge supermarkets to change their ways and to offer incentives to households to improve energy efficiency which we will be doing. I think they would like to see tougher targets on recycling ( I think 40% by 2009 is pretty tough but there you go) and whilst they liked our idea of a carbon off set trust, they were very clear that just planting more trees to salve your airborne conscience is in the chocolate fireguard category of usefulness. I had my eyes opened on that one I have to say. Beware gift horses and easy solutions to difficult problems.