Ewan's Blog - Councillor Ewan Aitken

Aitken's Edinburgh

2007-11-15T14:47:00.000Z

If anyone is still coming here -

this is an old link!

My all new blog is at

http://aitkensedinburgh.blogspot.com/ .

Day 27

2007-04-29T19:12:00.000Z

The Sunday Herald poll makes grim reading. I do still think there is much to play for but our team have to dig deep to not become despondent. However, many members of the congregation wish me well for Thursday and coupled with an afternoons delivering and speaking to folk in the street, I feel much better. I still believe that when folk really think about the chaos 4 years of arguing about the constitution and not on the issues that matter, they will think twice about voting SNP. Whether they vote for us however, lies in the quality of our last 3 days campaigning.

Day 26

2007-04-29T19:11:00.000Z

I did my surgeries in the middle of the days campaigning. It was busy but my Saturday surgeries always are. It was a real grounding again. We can get very wrapped up our campaigning and the minutia of which streets have been covered with what leaflets. These folk just needed thing sorted and done so in a way that they felt they were getting control over their lives again. Whatever happens on May 3rd, they remain the reason why I put myself through this.

Day 25

2007-04-29T19:08:00.000Z

A hustings put on by the Chamber of Commerce during the day was well attended. Stephen Purcell leader of Glasgow City Council also came along at their request to promote with me the Maglev train proposal initially between Edinburgh and Glasgow and then to London. Maglev technology is the kind of thinking we need to transform our connectivity. Imagine the two great cities of Scotland being so connected that you could get there in 15 minutes and know it was one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly methods possible. Stephen and I committed to finding the funding for the next stage of a feasibility study for the Edinburgh Glasgow link if we are re-elected. If Scotland wants to compete in the global economy, we need to take these kinds of opportunities and grasp them with both hands.

Day 24

2007-04-29T18:53:00.000Z

The day begins with the official opening of the new council offices. Its Princess Anne that's been invited to do the unveiling of the plaque. I have to swallow my republican views, shake her hand and welcome her to the building. Its part of the job and so needs to be done properly but its still a bit strange to be in that situation.The last Full Council is a strange affair. In amongst the end of term feeling is the Meadowbank controversy. I have proposed a motion that I think goes at least some way to meeting the aspirations of the protesters who come on a delegation, (and present themselves really well, I have to say, clear and focused). By working with the other parties and accepting parts of their amendments, I manage to create something that has all party support. ( are we all trying hard to practice for coalitions, I wonder?). It creates a working group with local representation and an independent convener at look at the whole issue and report back. I am unsure of the response of the protesters to there being no debate. I am pleased to get all party support but in some ways I would liked to have been able to make a couple of points. I am still getting e-mails suggesting that I am not wanting any sports facilities built at meadowbank which was never the case and some folk are suggesting that what I was bringing to the Council presupposed the demolition of Meadowbank which was simply not true. It may be their interpretation of my words but having written the motion I know what I meant, that having decided on the sporting requirements, the group should then look at how to best deliver them, and if that meant a refurbished Meadowbank then that would be fine. I know I can’t control how people interpret things but its a pain when it is so far from what I intended.

Day 23

2007-04-29T18:48:00.000Z

We have to get the kids ready and out very early so that I can get to the Balmoral for 7:30am. On three days notice we have got a venue, sponsor and 120 guests. The team has excelled themselves. Gordon is brilliant and Jack was on good form too. I get to sit next to Ian Rankin at the press conference. He tells me that Rebus would vote Labour which is nice but but its real people we need to be marking their ballots. 150 business men and women have signed an advert in support for the Union. Suddenly there seems like something worth fighting for. Jim Spowart who founded Intelligent Finance asks simply, all these businessmen and women supporting the SNP, they have been hugely successful in the Union, what is it about independence that will make them more successful? By the end of the day I have done an event for a chanty called common purpose, I’ve spoken at 2 other events and attend the launch of a great group called

Day 22

2007-04-29T18:42:00.000Z

I seemed to spend much of the day dealing with sewage again. its a right scunner that we are getting the blame for something we did not control and only went into the front line about because those that should have, SEPA and Scottish Water, seemed to go to ground. I agree that we will call for an inquiry at the Council meeting. I also work on the motion on Meadowbank stadium. It is being portrayed by some as presupposing the closure of the stadium which I am clear it is not. If we conclude that ten facilities that should be delivered at Meadowbank can be best done so by the refurbishment of the present stadium than I am up for that. I want to make sure we do not loose three years work whilst responding to the legitimate concerns of those who feel excluded by our process so far but its a hard line to keep focuses on. Through out the day I work with the small team putting together the breakfast with Gordon Brown. Every time I think I have got it sussed, another wee detail seems to emerge that needs a decision. The most bizarre is getting a phone call to ask my height so we can get a lectern at the average for myself, Gordon Brown and Jack McConnell. I dash home with Chara on the bus and race back for the Labour group meeting, the last of the session. It is very upbeat. No-one is in any doubt of the task ahead but confidence is growing.

Day 21

2007-04-25T10:13:00.000Z

My day is filled with sewage but before that happens I hold a press conference to outline my ideas for Edinburgh as a capital city. I know we do well as an international city and for residents but we haven’t yet rediscovered our role as a capital. You can read the speech on our website. I was joined on the platform by Sarah Boyak MSP (deputy communities minister) and Douglas Alexander MP (Secretary of State for Scotland). Nice to have a joined up local, Holyrood and Westminster moment...I had asked for a meeting with John Hargrieves, Chief Exec of Scottish Water after the horrendous spills into the Forth over the weekend. In the end I got a 30 minute phone call as he was still trying to get things sorted. There are some serious questions to be asked about this event and although it was a helpful phone call I will be calling for a full inquiry at the Council meeting on Thursday.In between this I and a small team worked on an event for Wednesday, I spent an hour at our campaign headquarters, met with the chief executive for our weekly meeting, fielded too many calls about sewage and then spent the evening at my local community council. Who says life in politics is boring!

Day 20

2007-04-25T10:02:00.000Z

I am woken by the phone which is a request to do radio interviews about Seafield sewage. I do two and then discover that my statement is on the front page of the Sunday Herald . I spend time before church talking with our staff about what's happening over communications including having environmental wardens patrolling the beaches. We’ve had a team patrolling from 6:30am and I will number about 20 once we get to peak times. The texts and messages continue during the service. By lunch time its the top story on Radio 4 but the view from the environmental agencies is that its been handled as well as it could have been, but there's lots of questions that need answering and I will be pressing for an early meeting with the chief executive of Scottish Water on Monday. I spend the afternoon doing direct mailings. Its very Labour intensive but is probably more effective than mass leafleting although I have no doubt that if we didn’t leaflet that would be held against us. One of my colleagues says that if he gets in again he is going to spend four years identifying his supporters and staying in touch with them so he never needs to climb a stair, get through a door entry system or have his hand bitten by a dog as he puts a leaflet through a letterbox! I have some sympathy with that method but as the pile of direct mail sits I wonder if it is in fact any easier!

Day 19

2007-04-25T09:58:00.000Z

Shifted a huge number of leaflets in various parts of the ward focusing on very local issues. Its quite overcast so we don’t see many folk in their gardens. I do get a haranguing by one chap about various local “inadequacies” as he put it, but after 10 minutes discussion he says well ok, I’ll consider supporting you after all. Of course, with PR, that could mean voting for me 11th! I see my first sign of opposition activity bar the SNP. Sadly its the BNP. I know we live in a democracy and that we value freedom of speech but there is a bit of me that wonders if the pain these chancers cause with their racist rubbish is worth the principle. Its particularly hurtful for my running mate Shami Khan who is of Pakistani origin. He shrugs it off but I can see its hurting him. However, Portobello High Street is full of stalls so the race has truly begun! Better response in the afternoon as the sun comes out and people are relaxing outdoors. One woman even offers to leaflet the street for me but given that she is the last but one house I have to politely decline, wishing I had started at her end an hour ago! Its during this work that I am first informed about the problems at Seafield sewage works. I have to stop being a local candidate and start being Council Leader again. Top priority is making sure we communicate the problem to as many folk as possible in the effected area as quickly as possible. I am briefed on the plan,.I ask questions, make comment and suggest changes. I am told that pumping the partially treated sewage directly into the sea is the “emergency plan”. I have to concentrate on the issue at hand but make a note to ask questions about that later. Because its the election period, the broadcast media don’t want politicians to interview but the newspapers do so I have to agree a statement . I decide to focus on public safety first. recriminations can come later. I finish the calls and turn to continue leafleting only to be stopped by a chap in is garden who wants to talk about dog fouling. Today it would seem all politics is about......

Day 18

2007-04-25T09:53:00.000Z

The day begins at 8:30am with a series of meetings mostly about new leaflets and other events happening next week. We are running at full stretch here and there's some debate about focusing on doing what we can well rather than doing too much and not doing anything effectively. A couple of us do an hours lunchtime leafleting on Princes Street at the West End. The idea was as much to get a sense of the temperature as it was to get leaflets out although we shift loads of them. It would be true to say that probably as many folk refused a leaflet as took one but them the guy giving out restaurant menus had a similar hit rate but we experience very little outward hostility. A couple of snide remarks about Tony Blair and a couple of others about Iraq, (which given my own views on that subject I was almost relieved to hear). Yet we also got plenty of “I’m with you and I’ll be voting Labour”. But indifference probably won the day. We had a gathering of group members and our support staff late afternoon. These folk are the saving grace for our work as councillors. Unsung hero(ine)s who work very hard for little recognition and who will also be effected by the election result in that they many well be redeployed depending on the results. So it was good to be able to celebrate their work and to say thank you. In the evening I attend a superb event held at the Annandale Street Mosque to mark the departure of the Chief Constable Paddy Tompkins. Community relations has been a big priority for him and it shows with the warmth of the reception he gets. Amongst other initiatives we now have two seconded police officers from Pakistan here in Edinburgh and some of our officers have been over there. Suddenly I have to make a speech, about which I had no warning. I comment that the event is a sign of very good police community relationships, but also that it is without comment that I, as a presbyterian minister as well as a politician could be there to break bread and join in the celebrations.

Day 17

2007-04-20T13:33:00.000Z

Front page again. This time for my motion on Meadowbank. As ever, by doing what those who didn’t like what was being suggested because they weren’t consulted is portrayed as a u turn rather than as listening but perhaps I can’t expect anything else. My own view is that we should try to make sure we can have a track and training facilities for athletics. Even though we had promised to provide facilities already for 94% of the present users, that was not enough and we need to do more. However, it will be for the working group to offer suggestions as to what that “more” is. I manage also to write a 10 minute speech for and do another hustings, this time on regeneration, have lunch with the retiring Chief constable, organise another leaflet for getting out on Saturday, sign a new considerate contractor agreement with 8 utilities, do two newspaper interviews and a press release for another event. In amongst this I take a call from a constituent whose is in tears. She is a victim of domestic violence and her situation is unbearable. Her tears and her words remind me why I do this and for whom. She has to be the reason or there is no reason.

Day 16

2007-04-20T13:29:00.000Z

The hustings are front page news which is a bit bizarre but it make a nice change that Council elections are to the fore in the media.That being said, the national elections aren’t t really front page news either. The radio stations won’t interview politicians for fear of being accuse of bias, the telly has it all at fourth or fifth story and usually council elections are relegated to a paragraph or two. Having said that, it transpires I was on newsnight last night over my remarks in a speech two years ago over the naming and shaming of under 16 kids who commit anti social behaviour. How weird is that to be the main item in a news programme and not to know you are on. Clearly if I want to get more coverage I need to disagree with my own party more often, but then that becomes the issue and not the subject itself, so its not really coverage.My surgery tonight was packed. 12 cases. 10 of them new ones. Everyone very friendly, just wanting the ordinary problems sorted and not one mentioned the election.

Day 15

2007-04-20T13:26:00.000Z

All day my stomach was tight. I was on edge and felt very wound up. We do some photos for leaflets in the ward and then I dash back for a meeting that doesn’t happen which is a real pain. My tension, of course, is because of the hustings this evening. Promoted by the federation of small businesses (www.fsb.org.uk) I was pretty sure it is going to be a less than friendly crowd. I rehearse my opening speech a couple of times and then try to prepare for potential questions but its hard to know what is before me.The hustings itself is a bit boisterous. One man asked, in all seriousness, if we planned the road works and central Edinburgh traffic management scheme (CCTM) as a punishment for folk voting against the congestion charge. We do not control road works (of the 27000 road opening in the city, 85% are the utilities who do not work to our timeline). Tram was the big issue. I defend them against a number of attacks, most of which are ill informed. The SNP, who would cancel trams, or so they claim, argue that it will “only mean a 2% drop in congestion”. What they fail to point out is that is a 2% drop in present levels as opposed to a 60% increase if we do nothing. It would take 120 buses an hour to carry the number of passengers a tram can. They are playing to a gallery that is becoming smaller and smaller, thankfully. In the end I enjoy the event and my worries are for nothing although I have always said that the day you stop being nervous before a public event is the day you should give up.

Day 14

2007-04-20T13:22:00.000Z

A Labour Group meeting this week debates our next steps with some passion, borne I think from a combination of pre match nerves, excitement and, from those stepping down, demob happiness. Despite its boisterous nature, we are united, something many said wouldn’t be the case by now. I spend the afternoon working on a speech for an event this week and drafting yet another leaflet. I do wonder if its worth it given the number of folk who say they don’t read them but it feels like what we should be doing. An evenings canvassing is cancelled as I come home to find my wife really ill and so domesticity, kids dinners and the ironing call. I worry about not being out on the door steps but a night in with the kids is a wee bonus and somehow the ironing does feel more constructive than leafleting knowing much of what we push through the doors is rarely read in any detail.

Day 13

2007-04-20T13:19:00.000Z

A keen team of 4 (myself and three others) cover the 1000 or so households I wanted delivered this afternoon in around 2 hours this afternoon which feels good until I realise that unlike previous times when that was around 20% of the ward, that's now only about 8%.We aren’t door knocking but the response from the gardens is good though I do have one very polite chap who hands me back my leaflet saying that he’d already made up his mind! The talk of the steamie is the reports about the Labour broadcast and what constitutes “ordinary folk”. Well there's plenty of “ordinary folk” down my way who would have piped up and said they think the local income tax is madness. Once again I also had tories going to vote for us to keep out the SNP. There was a poll in Scotland on Sunday that put us just ahead but I am told its not from one of the mainstream polling organisations so I shouldn’t get too excited. So I won’t, but it does reflect what we are being told locally.

Day 12

2007-04-15T13:24:00.000Z

A campaign meeting for the ward in the morning is very upbeat despite the enormity of the task ahead. We agree plans for more leaflets, phones, target letters, poster distribution and I even have a volunteer for doing our lamppost posters! I know lampposts don’t have votes and I hear that there is a huge increase in postal votes but I think, if nothing else, lamppost posters give the election a sense of happening and urgency. They are a real pain however so if a ruling came to stop them I wouldn’t be looking for a ditch to die in over them. I then went out leafleting for 4 hours. Good response in the streets as I walked round which always keeps moral high. I saw Kenny MacAskill and his wee team driving round in a van shouting at everyone down a megaphone. Leafleting is very labour intensive and fair knackers your legs on all those stairs but its still more effective, I think anyway, than shouting at folk from afar.

Day 11

2007-04-15T13:20:00.000Z

Went out to Currie to do a stall after a morning of impromptu meetings with officials about too many things to mention. I was glad to get out of the office. Our reception was better than I had first thought it might be in what is one of our leafier and more well off suburbs. In fact the first person who came up to us said “ at last, its time the Labour party was up here again, we're not all Tories you know!” I was then cornered for what felt like much too long by a guy who was adamant that our membership of the European Union was the first sign of what is predicted in the Book of Revelations and then by an advocate of the Currie by-pass! Still, it takes all types. Once again however, what we are experiencing on the ground, not just at the stall but the phones and the doors is not what I see in the polls. This election is all about the don’t knows.

Day 10

2007-04-15T10:20:00.000Z

Another day of mixing life as leader and life as candidate. 2 meetings with officials, one about garden aid and another about the Science Festival along with a wee bit of fire fighting by phone was interspersed by some classic campaigning;I fought with a photocopies, found I had addressed a whole set of envelopes with the same addresses twice and couldn’t get a letter to a potential voter to print! Norman Murray, our Scottish parliament candidate’s next leaflet arrived. 34,000 of them. I’m told that people spend between 3 and 10 seconds reading leaflets before they end up in the pile with the Chinese takeaway menus and the free quotations for double glazing by the phone or on the kitchen bunker. It seems a waste of time, but folk would also notice if they don’t get the leaflets, even if they don’t read them.We have managed to be co-ordinated enough to be able to do joint leafleting with council candidates. Offers of help are beginning to come in and leafleting is something most folk will do at least a wee bit of. The deadline for candidates has now passed. I have at least 3 protest candidates standing against me. Such are the joys of leadership! I try not to take it personally but sometimes I do wonder...I note however that the SNP candidates, at least for the Scottish parliamentary constituency are registered as “Alex Salmond for first Minister", (SNP) candidates. Now is that the same Salmond who was always complaining about what he called Tony Blair's “presidential style”! Are we electing a party or one man, or is this the confession that this is truly a one man band of a party after all...

Day 9

2007-04-15T10:16:00.000Z

Today didn’t go to plan. A mistake was spotted in direct mail letters at the last minute which means they all need to be reprinted. A meeting to plan an event next week was an hour late and didn’t have all the info we needed. A photo shoot for a new leaflet was rudely interrupted by someone who seemed to think that all the ills of the world were my fault and how dare I be a minister in political life. Ah, the bliss of the democratic process. On the other hand, feedback from canvassing is good, better than the polls are suggesting. My next leaflet is making its way out quickly and the team at the rooms were on good form with plenty of that banter that makes the election process much more bearable. So I remain upbeat. I spent the evening at the John Lewis event for their staff at the EICC. It was an inspiring event with over 800 staff (out of 1025) listening to General manager Andrew Murphy using a wide array of excellent visuals to deliver a speech that focused on the importance of staff participation in the life of the company and the simple “rule” that happy staff will mean happy customers will mean better results. Its not rocket science but it works. Can I achieve that with the voters of Edinburgh? An altogether much more complicated task.

Day 8

2007-04-12T14:19:00.000Z

It felt like today was the day the campaign kicked off. Perhaps it was the launch of the Labour Manifesto which, amongst many good news stories, recognised my campaign for Edinburgh to have real capital city status, (page 100) or being interviewed by the Evening News for their “meet the local leaders” series or the two hours I spent counting leaflets into 10s and 50s for the next run! Who knows but certainly it feels like it’s really begun to hot up.

I spoke with our national organisers today. This will be a campaign won and lost on local issues and our local candidate’s ability to remind folk of what has been achieved with a Labour led council.

I would give you a list myself but it was much better articulated by a man I met at the International Science festival event I attended in the evening. He was not, I have to confess, some-one I thought would be a supporter but he strode up to me and said “I’m voting for you lot. My kids are going to be in a new school, I drive past another three new schools on my way to work, we’ve got the best bus service in the country and this city is just the best place to live in Britain. You must have done something right in the last 20 years”. I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The event I was at was a brilliant talk by Professor Marcus du Sautoy on the wonder of the never ending (prime) numbers. It was the most unmaths like maths lecture I have ever heard. Brilliant! I just hope our votes also come in never ending numbers too!

Day 7

2007-04-12T14:17:00.000Z

The phone calls start early as the campaign picks up. People checking in, asking for detailed information, wanting to make sure information is getting out to the membership. Theres teams out across the city knocking on doors and delivering leaflets. This campaign has already reached a new level of sophistication with leaflets being designed on almost a street by street basis. This election will be won and lost on local issues. Sure the big issue will matter but with 50% undecided, the swings will come on pavements, potholes and personal agendas. 4 different Edinburgh Evening News reporters ring me about 4 different subjects, though not all to do with the election. Its a sure sign they are on skeleton staff with a heavy deadline. I should just write the paper for them. I hit the phones in the evening. Its tough. I hate telephone canvassing but I cover a street in 45 minutes when it took me over 3 hours door to door to do a similar street last week. The results confirm our view that our vote hasn’t left us but its still not solidly with us. This is going to be a long three weeks .

Day 6

2007-04-12T14:16:00.000Z

Easter Sunday. The dawn service is my favourite service of the year. Its a great turn out at my local church. 7am start to think about the very heart of the Christian faith. The 10:30 service is similarly busy. There is still a desire to believe, to follow, to be faithful, despite what the opinion polls might say about the state of the church!
I avoid reading the papers. I wonder about the veracity of the opinion polls they are printing. I don’t do any campaigning today although I get lots of unsolicited promises of support on polling day from the congregation. That's really nice but that too is perhaps a less than accurate picture of the challenge facing me.

Day 5

2007-04-08T00:27:00.001Z

Easter Saturday. For the Christian community a time for reflection and prayer between the crucifixion and the resurrection. So despite the fact its probably the biggest weekend for campaigning I didn’t do any today. Instead I went to my local church for a service and then to the Easter play in the gardens (Princes Street). A crowd of over 4000 turned out in the sunshine to see the re-enacting of the gospel story of Jesus' adult life, death and resurrection. Its a bit of a risk not campaigning. Its not through some idea that campaigning would be wrong over Easter. Its simply for me, as I try to live out my faith in a world of politics, I need to make the space to remind myself what's really important and why I do what I do at an otherwise hugely pressured time. And the “joy” of mobile phones meant I wasn’t entirely removed from hearing what others were up to, questions they had and decisions they needed taken immediately whilst I watched scenes from 1st century Palestine re-enacted in Princes Street!.

Day 4

2007-04-08T00:22:00.000Z

Good Friday. Start of the most important of the Christian festivals . I decide to slow down and not overdo the campaigning this weekend, concentrate on things spiritual instead and spend some time with my kids. That resolution gets stopped in its tracks with a flurry of texts and calls once people start reading the Herald poll which appears to give us a lead, even in local government elections. I am more cautious and try to calm down my more enthusiastic colleagues. One swallow and all that. Even though the results seem to bear out our experience on the doorstep I think all this shows is that folk are taking their opposition to several places rather than simply coalescing round one party. More importantly, this poll shows that this election will be won and lost on what the “don’t knows” decide once they get in the booth at the polling station. We still need to give them a reason to vote for us, rather than depend on them simply not to vote for someone else. Still, for the darkest day in the Christian Calendar, its a nice wee shaft of light on what are otherwise still challenging times.

Day 3

2007-04-06T12:25:00.000Z

Began the day with meetings about how we cope with bin collections over holidays. I remember being told once that Jacques Chirac made his political career by reorganising the bin collections in Paris. I don’t know if thats true but no matter the solutions offered there always seems to be another problem to overcome. This one will run and run.
Spent much of the day doing personal letters to specific groups of potential voters. I would much prefer to be out and about meeting people but I am told that this is much more efficient. I don’t know if that means meeting me is more off putting or just that we can cover more bases this way with a similar return rate. I decided not to ask!
More campaign meetings to plan interspersed with a meeting with a developer who has a very controversial proposal. I tell him so and that I don’t think that it will be acceptable. I do want to be open to new ideas but lines also have to be drawn. Despite suggestions otherwise, I don’t believe in change for change sake.
Back out knocking door to door this evening in an area that might be assumed to be not our natural territory yet the response is generally good. Having said that, there are some folk who chose us the last time who are clearly scunnered, mostly by a sense of feeling they are no longer important to us. On this showing however, this is still our election to loose rather than it being already sewn up by the Nats or anyone else.

Day 2

2007-04-05T12:37:00.000Z

Spent most of the day visiting folk who might need or want a postal vote. One woman told me that she “only ever voted for that Ewan”! I decided not to tell her that he was I in case she changed her mind.

The announcements about £160m on new bus lanes were welcome but I just cannot understand the spokesperson for the Association of British Drivers who say’s it’s a waste of money and anti car. Surely more attractive bus travel means more folk choosing buses leaving more space on the roads for those who can’t avoid using their car. This is a win-win but somehow it’s always seen as opposites by them.

In the evening I was back door knocking. This election with its system of proportional representation has taken us back to old fashioned canvassing and that’s a good thing given the image of politicians being very separate from the rest of the population.

It’s not scientific, only the streets we managed to get to last night but it showed some interesting responses. Virtually no support for SNP. In fact one Tory promised to vote for us to keep them out and another resident saying he wants an independent Scotland but not a socialist one so won’t be supporting the SNP, (or us unsurprisingly!).

2007-04-04T14:09:00.000Z

I thought I would change the style of my blog for the next 30 days in the run-up to the election.

Instead of reflecting on particular subjects over the previous week I will try to give a flavour of how the campaign is going each day.

Day 1

A final proof text of my next leaflet throws up three errors. This is despite several drafts and at least 5 different people looking it over up to now. Still, I caught them in time which is a relief.

The thought of another 12.500 to get out however, fills me with trepidation. Every candidate brings their own wee team which always helps to boost the numbers of supporters. One of the consequences of the PR voting system is that we are only standing 24 candidates instead of 58. That’s 34 fewer wee teams to cover the same ground. No wonder the job seems so much bigger.

I seem to spend much of the say on the phone preparing for the next few weeks. No matter how many times its agreed for something to happen, it seems I have the need to check up its happened!

I managed to fit in a speech at the opening of the Rock Trust’s (http://www.rocktrust.org/) “Underground” facility for young homeless and potential homeless. It’s a brilliant project that copings with some of the most vulnerable in the city.

In the evening I was at the science festival launch having done the presentation of the Science festivals “Edinburgh Medal” the previous evening to do the opening speech. Its all exciting stuff but it won’t get me elected locally, so stair wells, door entries and dogs behind the letterbox here I come.

Canvassing

2007-03-27T17:04:00.000Z

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

2007-03-27T16:58:00.000Z

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

2007-03-27T16:38:00.000Z

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

2007-03-23T14:35:00.000Z

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

2007-03-23T14:31:00.000Z

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.

2007-03-23T14:25:00.000Z

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

2007-03-23T14:15:00.000Z

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

2007-03-13T09:59:00.000Z

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

2007-03-12T00:49:00.000Z

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

2007-03-12T00:44:00.000Z

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

2007-03-12T00:40:00.000Z

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

2007-03-12T00:30:00.000Z

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

2007-03-02T14:12:00.000Z

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

2007-03-01T17:32:00.000Z

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

2007-03-01T17:27:00.000Z

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.

Mrs Warren's Profession

2007-02-22T13:47:00.000Z

I went to see a great show on Saturday night at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Mrs Warren's Profession. It's one of George Bernard Shaw's earliest plays. Because of it's subject matter (prostitution, though its really a critique of middle class morality ) it caused quite a scandal when it was first published and performed.
We may be more open to performances in plays, films, literature about sex, the debate about prostitution continues to cause anguish in our middle class hearts and souls, none more so than the discussions over tolerance zones.
I have to say that it took me a long time to think this through myself.
I don't condone prostitution, I would not want it legalised and I am unconvinced by those who say "its my choice", but I have come to the conclusion that, especially given the levels of trafficking in women, we need to find ways of regulating its practice even if we don't like it's existence. That is why the legislation going through parliament must focus first on the men who solicit and those who pimp and then on giving local authorities the chance to run things like tolerance zones.
Its not easy but driving the sex industry further underground will not protect the women and will mean that we will be even less likely to be able to have the rational debate Shaw tried to have when he wrote his play some hundred plus years ago.

STV

2007-02-22T13:40:00.000Z

I spent 6 hours walking round my ward on Friday. It was great to get the chance to both hear how folk were feeling and remind myself that its the voters in the ward and no-one else, who will decide if I have a job come May 3rd. Their concerns remain the same as ever, feeling safe, quality of housing, ease of getting about, etc.
There were many compliments about the barrow beat I managed to get for the area and the new playpark in Lochend Park. Two other things were common; No-one understands the new voting system and its in danger of putting folk off voting and no-one wants us to do a deal with the Tories because the one thing they do know is that there will be a coalition.
The second one is easy. I didn't go into elected politics to do deals with the Tories. Individually many of them are nice people but their politics are an anathema to me.
The second is more difficult. The parties can do their bit but if the Executive don't get a real and effective education campaign on PR going and soon then we are in danger of being in the ironic situation of our new, fairer voting system excluding people by its very implementation. Not a clever place to be.

"Road Test" Our Manifesto

2007-02-14T16:55:00.000Z

I decided that I should "road test" our manifesto with various groups before it launches in March. It hadn't been done before but perhaps thats why I decided to do it. Face the people first seemed a good maxim.

The first two meetings were this week. First a group of students and a group from the voluntary sector.

I had no control over who attended and the venue also was in their hands.

Both meetings were positive about our agenda but had their hard questions. The students liked the many environmental pledges we will be making. Amongst the most popular were cycle lanes on all main roads, increased support for buses, (but they wanted much more support for student travel), our commitment to investing in locally produced green fuel and to give businesses support and accreditation for using green fuel. They would like to see added in no quotas on Houses of Multiple occupation and big improvements in recycling for tenements.

The Voluntary organisation were both positive but perhaps even more challenging. Despite a commitment to developing a method of "core funding" voluntary organisations, they pushed hard on us recognising just how much the voluntary sector does in our city. I think that they are right and that we must do much more to acknowledge in word and action their role in the city

There was much much more from both groups but I enjoyed the experience and I am looking forward to the next meetings in a few days time

Who knows if I have persuaded them to vote Labour but whatever they decide, they know that they were given an opportunity to influence our thinking in a way no other party has ever done before.

Creative Scotland Should Stay in Edinburgh

2007-02-14T16:50:00.000Z

I gave a speech today to a group of Edinburgh business people and public sector managers arguing that the new body to support the arts (Creative Scotland) should stay in Edinburgh.

This is not an Edinburgh Glasgow thing, Its a Capital City thing. Scotland needs a strong Capital City. Scotland's Capital is the driving force of the economy. At the heart of its economic strength is its festivals and cultural life. That cultural life is world renowned. Why would you put the body supposed to shape and drive that cultural life away from its heartland which would undermine the capital as a capital city and the economic driver for the nation?

I offered a solution which would put EventsScotland, VisitScotland and Creative Scotland all in the same building offering an unparalleled opportunity for joined up working, sharing of back office functions and the chance to contribute to the much needed regeneration of the Waterfront of Edinburgh.

Seems like a no brainer to me but you would expect me to say that, wouldn't you!

The New System of Voting

2007-02-14T16:37:00.000Z

There around 70 or so days to go and campaigning has really begun in earnest. The big fear I have is that the new system of voting will confuse, not because folk are stupid but because its not only different from before but the system for the Scottish parliament is different from the local election.

The Scottish parliament constituency vote uses a cross, the additional or list members vote uses numbers against party lists and the local government election is numbers against individuals.

You couldn't make this up!

I did find a brilliant explanation of how local government elections work under STV on a website by Moray Youthstart. http://www.youthstart.org/STV/ . Its worth a look. Although its aimed at young people its the best explanation I have seen. reminds me of being in the parish when people used to say they got more from the children's address than from the sermon, but lets not go there!

Our Manifesto

2007-02-13T12:07:00.000Z

Our manifesto is nearly finished but I have decided that, before we go public we should “road test” it six different community groups before its final publication and launch in March.

This is the first time that these kinds of groups, (the voluntary sector, young people, faith communities, students, environmental groups and the trade unions) will have had the opportunity to comment on and shape an Edinburgh Labour manifesto before publication.

I said I would try to involve more people in decisions about our priorities when I was elected leader and this is me trying to do what I promised I would do. I will have no control over who attends each of these events and I expect the conversations to be robust and frank, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. There is no point in trying to meet people's aspirations in a manifesto if you haven’t met them face to face in the first place

Council Tax at 1.5%

2007-02-13T12:01:00.000Z

So after a tough few weeks I decided that we should keep council tax as low as possible but that 0% was a bit irresponsible. Hence 1.5%, or 33p a week.

I have tried to meet the as many of the aspirations of Edinburgh’s citizens though the truth is we can’t keep everyone happy. Our budget will keep more money in people's pockets and see more police on the streets, more money for schools, the vulnerable of all ages, creativity and the arts, roads, pavements, the environment, to support the economy, more spaces for kids to play and lots of other things that people want but I am sure that there will still be things we aren’t doing or we could do better.

Edinburgh’s Lib Dems wanted to increase council tax by 2.5%. This comes on top of the 4% hike proposed last year compared with Labour’s 2.3%. They are preparing the way for their pet Local Income Tax Scheme which would be even more costly for average taxpayers – with a couple on average wages paying over £300 a year more. In Council their leader, Cllr Jenny Dawe said “The Lib Dems are champions of the local income tax to raise more funds from local people!” which was a bit worrying!

They also wanted to increase Council house rents by 7.4%, compared with Labour’s 6%, as did the Tories

Like the Lib Dems the Tories posed a tax increase higher than Labour at 2.5%. It is clear that the grass roots simply don’t know how to react to Cameron’s leadership. There was nothing to encourage schools to go green and save energy, nothing to support jobs and the economic development of our city in the Waterfront and City Centre, and nothing beyond the current year.

It probably just goes to show how much coalition politics, though a fairer representation of views, will be a much harder way to make decisions.

Climate Change,the Stern Report and Dog Fouling

2007-02-12T18:11:00.000Z

I read this week of a climate change expert who has moved his family to higher ground because he thinks we are past the point of no return. Someone said to me that they believed the Stern report which the government commissioned on climate change is basically saying we are heading for the stone age and we should all stop worrying about recycling and flying and instead practice our survival skills. Personally I refuse to give up like that but its hard when you get idiots like the fool who wrote into the local paper last week and said that it was his right to drive three cars and so what if they were “gas guzzlers” (his words)? I would like him to come and tell my children why his gas guzzlers are more important than their lungs. I would like him to to go to every school in the city and tell the pupils why his right to gas guzzlers is more important than their future. The car is not a bad invention. Used well and thoughtfully it can and does enhance lives. There are people whose livelihoods depend on them and any transport policy should reflect that also. But the sheer sick selfishness in that letter made me want to weep. Yet again this week I had folk at my surgery complaining about dog fouling. They rightly made the point that there are very few if any stray dogs in the area (thanks in part to our wardens). This means the owners are letting them use our common space as a toilet. My constituents are right to be angry and I share their anger. How would the dog owners who don’t clean up after their dogs like it if we went and defecated in their garden or front room.That may sound disgusting and I have no intention of doing such a thing but that's how ignorant it is not to clean up after your dog.

The Reading Champion

2007-02-12T18:06:00.000Z

One of the things I really enjoy about being a parent is reading to my kids. I have no doubt that they would tell you that I don’t do it enough as I am “always out at a meeting” but when I get to do it, its brilliant. For many young people, especially those in care, reading has sadly become something to be avoided. I came across a project called the Reading Champion we’ve started which I hope will change this a wee bit anyway. The Reading Champion project employs a Project Worker to carry out reader development work with care staff, Library staff and looked after children and young people, using multi media collections in the centres as the main resource for reader development activity. The project aims to improve long term opportunities to access books, reading and library services for approximately 150 looked after children and young people, care staff and others with limited access to books and reading.The long term aim of the project is to effect a ‘cultural change’ which will see staff promoting reading activity as a normal activity in the centres. The project is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for 30 months with match funds from the City of Edinburgh Council Children and Families and Culture and Leisure departments

Budget Day Looms.

2007-02-05T13:49:00.000Z

Budget day looms. Its been at the heart of my thinking for the last few weeks and certainly on my mind for much longer. Its strange to think that the total budget is around £1.2b and a 1% increase in Council tax raises around £2m which is a tiny part of the whole budget. Yet there will be much more debate about the few percentage points one way or another on the council tax than there will on much of the rest of the budget detail. It is at budget time more than any when the tension between the public's desire for politicians to take a long term view and their hope that we will make a short term decision is most exposed.

Susan Ward - British Young Teacher of the Year

2007-02-05T13:45:00.000Z

We had a civic reception for Susan Ward the British young teacher of the year whom I wrote about before. It was great to see her and many of her friends and colleagues as well as her family there as the city recognised her achievements. In Scotland we are too often reticent about celebrating the achievements of individuals. Some suggest that its our deep rooted Calvinism that warns us from self glorification. That might be helpful when it comes to questioning those who seek fame for its own sake but should not stop us saying well done to folk like Susan and the many others who give so much of themselves in service to others and should be allowed to enjoy some real recognition. It was a teacher that inspired me to stay on at school at a time when I was having a really tough time. In many ways it wasn’t how he taught his subject matter, it was simply that he treated me like a person, like I mattered. We cannot quantify the effect teachers and other adults who look after our children have. The seeds they plant can take years to grow. Yet those seeds will be as important in many ways as the things we do use to tell us whether our teachers are doing the job we ask of them.

Charging for Meal Preparation

2007-02-05T13:41:00.000Z

After 3 duff attempts by the Scottish executive to give us advice that would have meant we could charge for meal preparation as part of the otherwise excellent free personal care package , we now have QC's advice that we can’t. Clearly the ministers intention and the civil service drafters of legislation were not singing from the same song sheet. Its going to cost us around £1m a year and over £2m in back payments but frankly its the right thing to do. Its a real pain that we have been let down by the Executive in this way but I refuse to end up in court with a case over some wee pensioner who just needs looked after and not caught in some expensive legal battle over who pays for her dinner to get cooked. Only the lawyers win in these cases.

Lib Dem Councillor supports BNP

2007-02-05T13:35:00.000Z

I was amazed to discover that in Burnley Council, the Lib Dems have been supporting the BNP! Apparently in December, local Lib Dem Councillor John Jones chose to vote for the BNP candidate Sharon Wilkinson for an influential seat on the local regeneration board which is not unlike our Community Planning Partnerships, soon to become our Neighbourhood Partnerships. The local newspaper 'Burnley Today' has a serious discussion through the letters pages between local residents and the Lib Dem Councillor (click here for discussion). Apparently, the BNP candidate was the best option "because she really cares about her local community." My understanding of BNP policy is that its your skin colour that defines whether you are worth caring for! It seems to me that in some cases Lib Dem desire for power can prove nothing short of dangerous.

Declaration on Climate Change

2007-01-20T00:48:00.000Z

Yesterday (16th January), I was greatly privileged to be the first Councillor Leader in Scotland to sign the Local Government climate Change declaration at a ceremony in Towerbank primary school in Portobello (Click here for story) . For me this issue is the most important we face today. All the evidence (not least the weather at Hogmanay) tells us that we, as humans, are damaging our most precious resource, our environment. The debate is over. It is change or die time and it is right that the Council should lead by example. Although I said a few words, two 11 year olds spoke far more eloquently that I could about the need to everyone to take part in the kind of activity that will make a difference. They spoke of how their school had become very energy and waste conscious recycling not just paper but clothes and other items also. They spoke of how they had started to do this at home. They said every choice they made could make a difference. It was a powerful reminder that climate change is in all our hands. In the several interviews I did after the signing I was asked if I thought raising taxes for example, on waste, would be helpful. My view is that berating and punishing people will not work here. This is a hearts and minds debate. Our citizens track record on the recent increase in recycling suggests that with good education and easy processes, people will choose to change. May be too, experiences like Hogmanay will help us all realise that the time has come for action. As one of the wee girls put it, every little does really help.

The Robina Goodlad Trust

2007-01-16T17:09:00.001Z

One thing I am often lobbied about is cash for small groups. Many voluntary organisations can do great things with small amounts of cash. So when I received the information below about the Robina Goodlad Trust I though what better than to use my blog to pass the word. I didn’t know Robina but my friend did and he really likes the idead that her memory be nurtured in others being given the chance to live our their dream of helping others, I’m told the trust is mainly aimed at Shetland and Glasgow but the trustees are flexible in their approach. The Robina Goodlad Memorial Trust in memory of Robina Goodlad, Professor of Housing and Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow and Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice, her family and friends have established a charitable trust. Its purposes are to support: the achievement of social justice, the relief of poverty and the development of communities within deprived areas in Scotland. The Trust intends to make a small number of grants to support activities that serve these purposes. They will consider assisting voluntary, preferably community-based organisations that are seeking to try a new activity or approach. Grants will not be made to individuals. At present, they will consider giving a maximum of £2,000 in assistance (up to £5,000 in exceptional circumstances). At present they would be particularly interested in hearing from groups working in Glasgow or Shetland. However decisions will be entirely at the discretion of the Trustees. We would appreciate a brief discussion or note about your ideas when you make your initial enquiry. Application will then require completion of a simple form. Enquiries should be made to Peter Taylor at:
56, Turnberry Road
Glasgow
G11 5AP
0141 586 7588
peter@pdtaylor.com

McCrone Report

2007-01-16T17:04:00.000Z

I was dismayed at the recent knee jerk publicity of the report of the Schools inspectors on the so called “McCrone report”, the national agreement with teachers first signed in 2001. The inspectors did not say 'nothing has been achieved', as many papers suggested. What it said was that lots has been achieved but there is still a long way to go, which is true but that's not the same as saying the agreement failed. That's like saying a team behind at half time has lost the game. The agreement paced itself. Not everything was to be done at once and some of the changes need training to go with them and so they will take time to have their effect. We live in such a “instant, just add hot water and stir” world that we expect things to happen over night or suddenly “the ba’s on the slates”. But real, systemic change takes time to happen and to be effective. I have no problem with accountability but what we need here is patience not polemic from those whose real objective is to run state education down for their own political ends.

Implementing the Voucher Scheme

2007-01-16T16:56:00.000Z

Along with 21 other local authorities and many other public sector bodies, Edinburgh was chastised when one of our employees, a teacher, complained to her MSP. We have very many family friendly policies in the Council but the truth is that whilst work has been going on in recent months so we can implement the voucher scheme very shortly, she is quite right. We should have done it before now. As a father of young children myself I know how hard it is to organise and pay for flexible childcare to cope with the fact that both my wife and I work and my job in particular means long and varied hours. So hands up; the scheme is coming to Edinburgh Council and I will make sure it moves on a fast as possible but it should have happened more quickly.

When is a target not a target?

2007-01-16T16:50:00.000Z

Everyone agrees that there is a need for parking regulations and that these should be enforced consistently, fairly and impartially. No-one, of course, likes getting a parking ticket. We all feel aggrieved and it is little wonder that complaints about parking generate headlines. When these are made up and bear no relation to the facts it only serves, however, to create public hostility and undermine the parking arrangements that we all agree need to operate.

An Evening News front page suggested that parking attendants are under pressure to issue a set number of tickets. This is quite simply untrue! National Car Parks (NCP) took over Edinburgh’s parking contract last month. I can categorically advise that no quotas exist in the contract. James Pritchard, communications manager for NCP, is just as baffled by this claim. He stated that “we are not set targets by Edinburgh Council so why would we set targets for our own employees?”

The facts of the matter are that income from parking decreased by £465,000 last year. I am completely relaxed about that as no targets are set. Indeed, we are actively pursuing other measures that benefit motorists in Edinburgh and may further reduce the number of parking tickets issued. These include: lengthening the maximum stay in the City Centre to four hours; improved signage to off-street car parking; increased parking spaces; the introduction of business and traders vehicle parking permits; and a five minute grace period after tickets have expired. We do, of course, need to challenge those who park illegally to ensure that: residents can park near their homes; people with disabilities can park close to their destinations; we tackle congestion and facilitate swift journeys for people working in Edinburgh; and for parking spaces near shops to turn over regularly to benefit shoppers and local businesses alike.

Vandalism Video on You-tube

2007-01-08T13:12:00.000Z

I was told this week of a group of teenagers who smashed up a Burger-King and put a video of their vandalism on You-tube.I am no fan of fast food restaurants but this kind of action is unacceptable. Its wrong to destroy the property of the restaurant and cause fear and terror amongst the staff and customers. Its wrong because once again young people get portrayed as mindless hooligans, and if you tell me, "well folk will know its only a few", the trouble is the good actions of the many won’t make the headlines.It also undermines the integrity of You-tube which is a very democratic telling of modern day life but when its used to glorify this kind of vandalism, it gives it an unearned validity,I just wonder who the role models were who taught these young people that such actions were acceptable?

Hogmanay

2007-01-08T13:11:00.000Z

The cancellation of Hogmanay was not a happy moment for all involved. Although the right decision was made, my heart sank when I got the call from the staff to say that the decision to cancel had been taken. As ever, we were caught between the rock and the hard place of cancelling too early and then the weather turning for the better and waiting to long and people not having enough time to make other arrangements. I don’t know that we will ever get that one absolutely right.The "you should have had a plan B brigade" clearly have no idea what it takes to organise this kind of even. You can’t have another venue on stand by. That would cost huge amounts of cash and apart from Murrayfield, there's nowhere big enough and the dynamics of a stadium concert are not the same as the outdoor city centre experience, which is what makes Edinburgh’s Hogmanay so unique.But there are things we can do. So much of the problem lies in the temporary nature of the stages. What creative way we can overcome that then becomes the question. Clearly the replacement for the Ross bandstand will help but we need other city centre performance spaces too. The running of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay goes back out to tender in the spring and I will be looking for innovation and creative answers to the need for safer, more robust performance spaces and other ideas that can make our Hogmanay experience better and better despite our unpredictable Scottish weather.

Saddam Hussein

2007-01-01T20:09:00.000Z

This year will end with the image of the moments before Saddam Hussien’s execution flashing around the world, a tyranny with a noose around his neck and masked guards moving quickly to make sure his death is not somehow avoided at the last minute.

Though killed in the name of justice and there is no doubt that he needed to be brought to account, the method by which he was called to account has demeaned the justice that rightly placed him in the dock.

Saddam was guilty of heinous crimes against humanity. Of that there is little doubt. But the death penalty used against anyone, even Saddam Hussien, is an admission of failure. It says we shall stop seeing the guilty as human. Instead we shall do to them what we objected to them doing to us. When we give up on some-one, anyone, even a terrible tyrant like Saddam, in that way, we give up on ourselves

There will be much debate as to whether Saddams’ death will solve any of the problems Iraq needs to overcome to have a real democratic future. The manner of his death at our hands, (be not fooled by the “it wusny me” actions of the regime that handed him over to the Iraqi’s a mere 25 minutes before his execution), will mean that democratic and just solution is much further away with many more deaths in its path.

A Thought for Christmas

2006-12-24T01:00:00.000Z

I believe in the idea that Jesus was the child of God, a wee vunerable wean coming to live a life that spoke of Gods undefeatable love, beginning his existance as a homeless asylum seeker and ending it on a criminals cross, betrayed by his closest friends, his mothers tears at his feet and with the powerful, smug in their sense of self preservation. Even if you think those words are meaningless, think of this. Imagine a world where we listened to those who were often unheard and learnt from their experience, loved those we struggled to love and forgave those who hurt us rather than hurtiing them back. That seems impossible, idealistic, naive even. But I would rather believe that such things were possible and achieveable than to give up on humanity and say that we are all beyond such loving living. Because if I give up and say we will never learn to lift up the poor, love our enemy and serve our friends I don’t just give up on others, I give up on myself and thats no way to live. So whatever you believe about the “wean in the manger”, just another baby or the son of God, I hope that you have a peaceful Christmas, a prosperous New Year and that you choose not to give up, on others and yourself. Go well.

Affordable Social Housing

2006-12-19T17:48:00.000Z

I was underwhelmed by David McLetchie's (Tory MSP) criticisms of our housing policy. This from a man who supported council house sales, which is one of the very reasons we have a huge problem in providing both adequate numbers of houses at affordable prices and manage the estates they are in. I do not critisise those who bought their homes in any way. In many cases they were made an offer that they could not refuse. But there were huge consequences of that policy, especially as the cash raised went only to pay off debt and not new homes. I also don’t want to go back to the kind of centralised control of council housing stock that said you can have any colour of front door as long as its black. But thanks to the right to buy, from which there is no going back, we have lost more than half our housing stock and the ability to work with local people to manage the whole area and stock together. I find his conversion to the need for affordable social housing a overwhelmingly shallow experience.

Relocation of Creative Scotland

2006-12-19T13:52:00.000Z

I was annoyed to once again be told that there are further proposals to remove Civil Service jobs from the Capital just on the basis of numbers. In particular Creative Scotland, the new Scottish Arts body. It is a kind of ideological madness that says its more important to remove numbers of jobs rather than ask the more fundamental questions about what a capital needs. In this case, its a capital city which is a world leader in culture and the arts, so Nicol Stephen and George Lyon the Lib Dem ministers in charge of these relocations, want to move the driving force of the arts in Scotland out of Edinburgh. This anti-Edinburgh bias has to stop. On the one hand they want us to defend rural post offices and on the other they want to undermine our ability to be the Capital city. It's not good for the nation or it's capital.

Visit of Mr John Owino and his wife, District Director of Education in Meru South district in Kenya

2006-12-19T13:47:00.000Z

It was a great joy this week to welcome Mr John Owino and his wife, District Director of Education in Meru South district in Kenya to Edinburgh. I had met John when I went out to Kenya in June with the Director of Children and Families Roy Jobson, and a group from Drummond High School.We were greatly moved by our experiences there. Roy and I visited 11 schools in 4 days as well as several meetings with officials. We witnessed huge determination by both staff and pupils to take every chance they could to make the best of the educational opportunities they had but with up to 50 pupils per class, few resources and the classes with earth floors and and no windows, it was tough going for them. We heard stories of pupils walking several miles to be at school. School dinners were made from what the school could grow in the fields and if the school wants to grow, the parents physically built the classrooms themselves. Johns visit is the next stage of the setting up of a trust to work in partnership with Meru South authority. We have much to learn and much to give which will bring benefit to everyone. As one of the Drummond pupils put it, this trip has changed my life.

May the Peace of Christmas be with You

2006-12-12T13:51:00.000Z

I will be sending out my “official” Christmas card this week. Its not a picture of myself and my wife on the steps of the City Chambers with pictures of my venerable predecessor behind us. Its a picture of the City Nativity Scene which we blessed again this year. It sits at the bottom of the Mound, just on Princes Street, Edinburgh's main shopping centre, an appropriate reminder of the Christmas story in the heart of the marketplace. The idea that I, or anyone else would send a Christmas card that doesn’t mention faith for fear of offence is bonkers. Every year the first Christmas card I get is from the Pakistan Society, a Muslim organisation, followed closely by good wishes from many other of the faith communities. If they can recognise my faith communities celebrations and I theirs, as I do, why can't those who don't hold to any faith be equally respectful? I question whether those who claim that others “might be offended” have asked these mysterious others. I think that it is they themselves who choose to take offence. For me that is their choice not my doing. I don’t take offence at their lack of belief in a divinity and I refuse to hide my own faith for such spurious reasons. To them and to everyone else I would say simply, as I have in my card, “may the peace of Christmas be with you” .

Blessing Civil Partnerships

2006-12-12T13:45:00.000Z

I am very disappointed that 36 Presbyteries of the Church of Scotland have agreed with the motion sent to them by the General Assembly (the Church sovereign body) which would have allowed ministers to bless civil (ie same sex) partnerships without fear of prosecution. Only 6 voted in favour. I have conducted two services for gay couples both of which were moving celebrations of love, fidelity and commitment. For me this is not an debate about sexual preference but an issue of justice for one of the most excluded communities in society. I am absolutely clear that should the General Assembly ban ministers from blessing civil partnerships, if asked, I will ignore the ban. I fought to get back into the Church structures after I was excluded when I left the parish to go full time on the City council and I finally made it back in September of this year. Now I am wondering why I bothered!

Computerised Telephone Options

2006-12-12T13:36:00.000Z

I spent a fruitless afternoon trying to contact a major bank about a mistake in my account. I covered several continents in my calls and found myself negotiating endless computerised options en route. I feel like an old luddite saying this but why can’t I just ring up and talk to a person when I ring up who actually has some grasp of my account or at least the type of account I am using. This system may be efficient for the accountants but its seriously inefficient for us poor account holders.

Manifesto for May

2006-12-12T13:29:00.000Z

I spent much of Saturday morning with colleagues discussing our manifesto for May. The themes that are to be coming to the fore are transport (hence our support for issues like Trams and the Rail Link to the airport), affordable housing (we need 12000 new, affordable houses in the next ten years), the environment and the need to keep the City economy as buoyant as we have done in the last 10 years and more. We can and will make a series of pledges on these and other issues but the real challenge is how this document forms to basis for any coalition talks we enter. This is new territory and all party’s, not just ours, need to be clear on their approach. My view is that we don’t go into any talks (and we haven’t as yet talked with any of the other parties) assuming we need to reach agreement on every issue. I would rather work with a group agreeing on 70 or 80% of a programme and then put the rest up for debate to the Council meeting. Otherwise we end up with a series of lowest common denominator compromises that people feel they didn’t vote for or agreeing to things they don’t like in order to stay in power.

Young Edinburgh Awards

2006-12-08T17:27:00.000Z

I was invited to present an award at the annual Young Edinburgh Awards on Monday. This is our celebration of the outstanding achievements of young people engaged in the ordinary things of life. They allow us to say positive things about young people in a media that is often so anti our teenage generations.There were 1600 nominations for about a dozen awards and all those shortlisted were an inspiration. Yet still we allow our media to portray young people as hoodie hooligans because of the actions of a stupid or damaged minority. Why we accept this abuse of our younger generation is a question I have yet to answer.I think our media (and I don’t just mean newspapers, TV in particular shows negative images in an uncritical fashion) need to take a long hard look at themselves. They are perpetuating a mythology about young people that they are apathetic, aggressive, abusing and anti-authoritarian which is simply not the case in the vast majority of cases. It would be a bit like me saying all newspapers have a reading age of 8 years old because I had picked up one tabloid.But we too are culpable because we buy, watch, listen and repeat the myths. And our young people suffer as a consequence.

Volunteering

2006-12-08T17:14:00.000Z

I helped launch Edinburgh volunteering strategy on Wednesday. Sounds tedious but actually it was inspiring. Some of the stories of how being a volunteer had changed peoples lives and the lives of those they had volunteered to help were wonderful. Volunteering in al its forms is not just a way of delivering services on the cheap. It's how we weave the threads of our individual lives into the tapestry we call community. Its like the old lady who told me the lunch club " gave her a reason for getting up in the morning". Its not the provision of food that made the difference. That was simply a means to an end. It was the relationships built, the sense that she mattered, the understanding that she belonged that fed her soul as well as the filling of her stomach. Volunteers can change lives in ways that simply service providers don’t have the opportunity to do. And they often can do a better job because they are volunteers than the "professional" can. As I pointed out in my speech, Noah’s ark was built by volunteers, the Titanic by professionals....

Trident

2006-12-08T17:09:00.000Z

I am deeply distressed and disappointed about the direction of debate in my Party over Trident. I cannot see any moral, ethical or legal argument why we would want to spend billions of pounds on a weapon of mass destruction which not only do we not want to use in anger, but we then use to bring about a type of peace which is actually merely an absence of war, which is no peace at all. Our possession of said weapons have not helped us one iota in the present wars in which we are entangled. I do not believe that we would lose our place on the national stage if we removed Trident. On the contrary, we would enter the world stage with a new integrity where we reached out in trust not in threat. And perhaps more importantly, we would be seen to be once again forging our own path and not limping along in Americas wake.

Kenny MacAskill's outburst on trams

2006-12-08T13:34:00.000Z

I was astionished to read SNP MSP Kenny MacAskill's outburst on trams recently. This is quite a conversion. Here’s what he wrote only a few years ago.
"Instead let us recognise that at the start of C21 the route ahead for the City of Edinburgh is a light rail network that adds to both existing and reopened lines and that compliments and dovetails with other current and future modes of travel........
........The vision for Edinburgh has to be to aspire to be a truly Capital City. That means to have the public transport networks taken for granted in other European Capitals such as Copenhagen and Helsinki. Even Dublin is now recognising that and is preparing to take its city forward into C21".
He adds in conclusion that
"Edinburgh is now a Capital City it must not only think as such but act in a manner befitting that title. Now is the time to abandon CERT and go for a light rail network."
He claims its not trams, its the scheme that's the problem. Nonsense! this is all about short term political gain. But what an insult to the Capital city. Instead of £1 billion investment in Scotland's capital city which would bring benefit for the whole nation, MacAskill would give Edinburgh £4m to run a few more buses. How is this promoting the nation and its Capital as he purports to do? I think he should hang his head in shame.

a common sense of well-being as a community

2006-12-08T13:24:00.000Z

I was delighted to play host to the Interfaith Association recently. Coming at a time when the debate about religions at war with each other is intensifying, it was lovely to be round a table with representatives from Islam, Buhuddism, Bai’hi, Sikhs, Hindu, several Christian denomonations and others.We explored common ground, in particular the idea of a common sense of well-being as a community. Would it be possible to have an indicator of the well-being of the city, how contented we felt as citizens together. We have indicators for many other things but this seemed a new thought. It's more than the MORI poll “satisfaction” indicator as that is about satisfaction with services. This was something a little deeper, a collective sense of contentment, (or anger or someting in between) that is more to do with how we feel in ourseves as opposed to how we feel just about the services we use. It was the membership of the association that raised this and I think its worth exploring.

Blessing of the Nativity Scene

2006-12-08T13:16:00.000Z

So having had to “cancel hogmany” a few years ago, we found ourselves “cancelling Christmas” on Sunday, or at least the blessing of the Nativity Scene which sits at the bottom of the Mound in Edinburgh’s historic city centre. The wind and rain might have made for an authentic nativity experience but there was areal danger of some-one getting hurt. We managed to hold an indoor version up in the city chamber. It was a bit chaotic but well worth it, especially with St Peters Choir, backed by the Exile Choir, who were all ourstanding. I really like the Nativity Scene. Gifted by Sir Tom Farmer, it sits at the heart of the marketplace, a reminder that Christmas is a story about hope and forgiveness not consumption and wealth. It also is a clear statement that far from banning religous symbols, they can add to our self understanding. By that I mean symbols of all religions, not simply those from my own faith community. No matter what each person believes, symbols of all faiths allow us to reflect on our own belief decisions, even if that is to believe in nothing. Banning symbols of faith is asking us to stop thinking about what is truely significant and meaningful about life and the living of life. Banning religious symbols takes away from all our living, not just those of faith.

Pride and Prejudice, an Excellent Pamphlet

2006-11-28T12:53:00.000Z

I was honoured to be asked to write a foreword for, and take part in, the launch of a publication called Pride and Prejudice, an excellent pamphlet written by a group of young Muslim women in response to last years events known now as 7/7. After those tragic days this group of women realised they had a choice. they could retreat into their community and hide from the world. Or they could stand up and say, "this is who we are, come, talk with us and let us learn about you and you about us". Click here for Evening News article. The booklet is a description, from their prospective, about what it is to be a Muslim, including a shattering of many of the myths about Islam, especially about women.

2006-11-28T12:47:00.000Z

Post removed due to legal implications.

City’s Annual Fanfare Concert

2006-11-28T12:44:00.000Z

I was delighted to be a guest at the City’s annual fanfare concert last week. This showcases the incredible musical talent of our pupils. We were treated to classical, jazz, clarsach, rock, gospel, and much more. The best moment was when the leader of the gospel choir persuaded us to stand and move to the sound of the gospel songs. Never has the Usher Hall, usually such a sedate venue, seen such a sight! Normally reserved Edinburgh letting its hair down and going for it. As ever, it is the talents of the young that ask questions of us who think we should know better!

Skatepark at Inverleith Park

2006-11-28T12:39:00.000Z

I was seriously skunnered by the decision last week of the planning committee to reject the application for a skatepark at Inverleith park. Whilst I accept that that is why we have a planning committee and that one of the good things about democracy is you don’t always get what you want, I do feel that young people, especially skateboarders, have been sold down the river by this whole saga. I was stunned to hear that some of the protesters were suggesting that there should be no skatepark in Edinburgh. Which planet do these people live on! Skate boarding far from being a magnet for antisocial behaviour etc., is one of the few effectively teenage peer policed activities around and it keeps it's participants fit. I am not a skate boarder. I would be far too scared to attempt what these guys attempt. Sadly, they will have less chance to do so in Edinburgh. The forces of reaction have asserted themselves and Edinburgh is the poorer for it

Scottish Langoustine Being Flown to Thailand

2006-11-24T12:11:00.000Z

The story about the Scottish langoustine being flown to Thailand for hand peeling and back because its cheaper than doing in with Scottish workers was for me also a parable about the challenge of climate change. There is no doubt that in pure accounting terms the decision to fly these outsize prawns half way across the world and back makes sense though not to the 70 Scots whose jobs are lost in the jet stream. But the very act has lost that firm and its product brand value because customers are now saying "I want to pay for a low carbon footprint as well as decent langoustine".Or are they? Once those little seafood critters hit the shelves at a price much less than they would had they never seen the light of a Bangkok dawn will the customers care? There is an opportunity here for people to be really demanding. How about printing of a products carbon footprint as well as it's calorie count? That might mean a very different set of decisions at the checkout. It won’t save jobs but could this be the tipping point for the green consumer to take control of just what choice there is. But, what choices really make business sense back at the accountants desk?

Racist Attack

2006-11-24T12:03:00.000Z

I found myself running from my usual Sunday morning service to the local Sikh Gurdwara this week. There was to be a vigil following a terrible and heinous crime against a young Sikh in Edinburgh last week where four racist thugs not only beat him up but cut his hair http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1692782006 To cut a Sikhs hair is to attack his very soul, one speaker at the event suggested it was like "murder". Edinburgh is proud of its tradition as a diverse and welcoming city and this attack is an attack on us all. I attended to express the solidarity of all of Edinburgh's citizens with our Sikh community in their time of pain and suffering. I was honoured to be asked to say a few words amongst many speakers. I spoke of our commitment to bringing these hooligans to justice but I called for peace amongst the Sikh community, urging them and all of us to rise above the pain of the attack and instead to use our anger to further the cause of peace. Otherwise, the racists win again.

School League Tables

2006-11-24T11:52:00.000Z

I never thought I would type the words “I agree with Jeremy Clarkson” but there, I have, and I do, well at least on school league tables. His article in the Sunday Times is an outstanding assessment of why league tables not simply unhelpful but actually pointless. Clarkson puts it succinctly when he says “Printing a list of “best schools” purely on the grounds of academic achievement is as idiotic as printing a list of “best foods” purely on the grounds of calorie content. It tells you nothing”. The full article can be read at times online.
Of course I think the Petrol headed one and I would part company on the private public thing as he does seem to be suggesting his children will not be in the state system, but the principle remians the same, we need to know which schools are doing well and which aren’t but to find that out means doing a whole lot more than counting exam passes, as Clarkson himself might say, its not the number of miles driven but the quality of the journey that makes the difference.

A wonderful result

2006-11-17T16:03:00.000Z

I met a woman this morning at the bus stop whose wedding I conducted some years ago. She told me with great delight that she and her husband were now expecting a baby. She went on to say that it was the result of IVF treatment, a journey that had been very tough emotionally but what a wonderful result.

I am in awe of those who get up in the morning and think to themselves; “ Why don’t we try to help childless couples have the chance of being parents?”, and then go on and make it happen. What wonderful creativity.

Its achievements of that kind that I want to support and celebrate by obtaining Science City status for Edinburgh where 53% of all science research grants in Britain now come. Yet somehow we seem to be struggling to get pupils to study science or be science teachers because it’s seen (unfairly) as “boring” or only for “geeks”.
Maybe if I could bottle that womans smile when she told me her joyful news we would be able to inspire more folk to taking the science journey. Who knows what else might be achieved for individuals and for our nation?

New Teacher of the Year Award

2006-11-12T17:40:00.000Z

It was great news that an Edinburgh Teacher, Susan Ward, won the coveted ‘New Teacher of the Year Award’ in London recently.
What was very sad was that immediately some sad wee souls started bitching about her and the idea of wards on teacher online blogs. These folk need to get a life. Why is it that we seem so unwilling to celebrate success and recognise achievement? Is it the Scottish Cringe? Is it our Presbyterian roots? Is it our lack of confidence as a nation?
I don’t know but whatever it is, it is eating away at our collective soul. The sooner we learn that we all benefit when one of us does well the better it will be for our lives as a nation and our identity as a people.

the Tom Hunter foundation

2006-11-12T17:35:00.000Z

The money announced this week from the Tom Hunter foundation for three schools in Edinburgh was great news. That cash (£1.5m) will really help those kids who at present end up as NETSs, (not in employment, education or training).
A couple of issues came out of the news. Firstly the question of private cash for public schools. The thing about Tom Hunter is that he is a philanthropist not a private investor. There is a real difference. He doesn’t want to influence the curriculum, he wants to see those young lives changed.
The other issue was that the schools objected to the use of the words ‘poor’ and ‘disadvantaged’. The trouble is, these are not pejorative statements, they are simply statements of fact; the three schools, Castlebrae, Craigroyston and Westerhailes all serve areas where those with least income live and many also struggle with many other issues. That doesn’t make them bad people. It just means they need more support.
Maybe we’ve taken political correctness in our language so far that we aren’t ever able to describe the real world for fear of offending some-one

The need for forgiveness

2006-11-12T17:29:00.000Z

I returned briefly to my previous life last Sunday when I preached the sermon at the Academic Service held in St Giles Cathedral. This is one of about a dozen civic services held each year in St Giles. In this case it was to celebrate the world of academia.
I spoke about the need for forgiveness as being a central part of the Christian life. It was, in some ways, quite odd to be asked to preach as Council Leader, to be speaking as a minister and as a Christian rather than as a politician. There was, and is, a tension between these two aspects of my life and it was at times hard to make sure I kept some clarity between them.
Th central message was that, no matter how awful someone is, we must never give up on the idea that they are forgivable, even if we can’t see just how we could forgive them. That’s the only way peace and reconciliation can begin. Otherwise we become consumed by hate and a desire for revenge, neither of which are good emotions upon which to build either a life or a society.

Parking fines in George Street

2006-10-30T13:10:00.000Z

I was surprised and really angry when I discovered that Channel 4 used a made up figure to claim we collect more parking fines on George Street than any other city. They said it was £1.25m. The truth is closer to £625,000, a number we freely gave them and can justify completely. They include fines for folk who return late and, for 500 or so, for people parking in disabled bays, something I find particularly selfish.
Channel 4 made up their figure by rounding up to £60 every fine even though the vast majority of people paid £30. They said it was to create a "level playing field". What a lot of nonsense! It was to make the story sexy. If they wanted a level playing field they would have compared streets of the same length or streets with the same or similar numbers of parking bays (there are 260 in George Street our of 10,000 in the city).
This was irresponsible journalism that sadly questions the integrity of Channel Four whom I have held in high regard in the past. I intend to return to this subject once I have calmed down.

Council furniture

2006-10-30T13:05:00.000Z

I was annoyed (mostly with myself for not seeing it coming), that we found ourselves in a stupid debate lasting 40 minutes at the Council meeting on 26th Oct over chairs for the council chamber!
Every building needs to have furniture that meets its requirements. Ours is a historic building that needs furniture that reflects both is design and its role as a place of civic pride and decision-making. That costs more money than your average seat in your home or in a hall somewhere.
Of course what then became reported was the cost (somewhere between £80,000 and £100,000). Its very easy to make a scandal out of a high number when the subject is something like furniture. And of course it becomes an easy weapon to hit politicians with by suggesting, completely inaccurately, that this is somehow a sign that we have got our priorities wrong. It was one item of an agenda of over 20 items which covered many subjects or concern to the city like drug and alcohol treatment, transport issues, climate change, support for those who have lost money because Farepack went bust, nursery fees and much more.
But instead we are made to look like all we care about is how soft the seat is for our backsides. Maybe that is sadly inevitable given the public view of those of us in public service, but on the other hand, these decisions need to be taken and if we did it behind closed doors then there would be an even bigger, and in that case more justifiable outcry.

Great Scot awards

2006-10-30T12:53:00.000Z

I was at the great Scot awards on Saturday night. A wonderful event at which ordinary folk who do extra-ordinary things have their dedication to others celebrated. At a time when its often suggested that the "people are apathetic about others or about political issues" it was great to see the hard work and dedication of so many concerned with poverty or disadvantage being celebrated.

Meadowbank Stadium

2006-10-28T16:09:00.000Z

I took my son up to Meadowbank Stadium for his athletics class this week. He loves going there and its easy access for me as its only ten minutes walk away though part fo that is up a steep hill.. He also attends another class and makes good use of the activity club in the holidays. I seem to spend most of my time either taking him up the hill or collecting him from that wonderful, but aging stadium which was built for the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

I was remembering recently that when I went to Meadowbank Stadium as a lad of his age it was to watch first Ian Stewart and then Lachie Stewart win gold medals in the 1970 games. What a joy that was and what a boost for Scottish Sport.

Sadly, Meadowbank stadium could no longer host such a prestigious event. Even with refurbishment it could not reach such great heights. Yet Edinburgh, as Scotland’s capital, needs an international class stadium. But that needs the cash to pay for it.

The Council has managed to get some cash from sports Scotland to both build a new, international class stadium on a site in the west of the city and to fully refurbish the Commonwealth pool, which, as an A listed building, can’t be knocked down. But to fund the rest we are going to need to sell the Meadowbank site.

So here does that leave my boy and the thousands of other local people who use Meadowbank as their local sports centre. The answer is that I have had built in to the project plan at least £4 million to create state of the art community sports facility with pitches, sports halls, a gym and other facilities and in my view it should be on the Meadowbank site and I will continue to argue for that.

We’ve got the money for a new sports facility for this side of Edinburgh. We need to agree the site. I will be arguing for that to be the case as strongly as possible. It will still mean many trips up the hill for me and my boy, but it will be worth it and our community deserves it.

"what are we going to do with the kids"

2006-10-20T14:23:00.000Z

With this being the holiday week there’s lots of talk about "what are we going to do with the kids". In Edinburgh the GO4it and Paly4it activities are a great solution along with things like the Edinburgh Leisure activator camps and there are many other opportunities though probably not enough yet.
This got me thinking about what’s provided when its not the holidays. In my own ward I have managed to get to the stage where there is something for teenagers 6 nights a week. This includes the mobile youth club (the Youth Buzz - see picture right) of which I am very proud having personally made it happen right from asking for the bus to raising the cash to now chairing the trust. Yet two things happen. First, I still get the comment "there’s nothing to do" and secondly and connected to that, no one ever seems to ask what the parents are doing to make sure their kids have something to do.
Its quite right that we should spend money on serious and effective opportunities for young people to spend their spare time constructively but we cannot be a "24/7" (how I hate that phrase) babysitter.
I don’t wish to berate parents. I am a parent myself, but some-how we need to change the relationships between the Councils duty to provide services and parents duty to be a parent. There are times when some parents can’t cope and we need to be in there helping them. Being a parent it’s the hardest job anyone ever does and all parents need a bit of help and support.
I am concerned however, that our consumerist society is beginning to perceive the task of parenting as being something that can be achieved in large part by a form of "outsourcing" to Councils and voluntary services. At the same time society is demanding lower taxes and that staff and volunteers go through ever more rigorous checks which make providing those services even more difficult.
There are some serious contradictions here and all of us, parents, carers, young people, councils and voluntary groups need to collectively face up to them soon or we are going to have a real problem on our hands.

Trade Unions meeting.

2006-10-20T14:18:00.000Z

I had a very helpful meeting recently with 5 of the big Trade Unions ( Amicus - http://www.amicustheunion.org , Transport and General Workers - http://www.tgwu.org.uk , GMB - http://www.gmb.org.uk , Usdaw - http://www.usdaw.org.uk and Unison - http://www.unison.org.uk ). It was very helpful to hear their views on what’s important for the city as they see it.
For example, we had a helpful debate on the consequences for staff of the so called "24/7" city. It sounds wonderful and vibrant but it does mean people working more and more varied times with less and less real family time. The move to equal pay, prized by everyone, is not an easy road either and it was good to get the Unions views on that issue as well.
I have always understood that the Trade Unions are the bedrock of the Labour Movement. The Labour Party www.labour.org.uk and the Trade Unions www.stuc.org.uk have complementary roles and a common cause, standing up for the marginalised and the voiceless. We should not be in each other’s pockets but we should know what’s in each other’s minds.
I will be holding as series of further meetings with a wider range of trade unionists to make sure I hear what they have to say and understand their aspirations for the city and their part in its continued success.

Fortnightly rubbish collections.

2006-10-20T14:02:00.000Z

There’s been talk recently about Councils moving to fortnightly collections for rubbish. This is all in the context of increases in recycling meaning there is less actual rubbish. In Edinburgh we are up to 26% household waste being recycled, good but still much more to do ( http://intranet.edinburgh.gov.uk/sustainable+development/resources.jsp ).
Of course it’s all about how you tell the story. The introduction of recycling uplifts means we have more collections of rubbish, not less so moving to fortnightly rubbish collections would mot be an overall reduction from previous times, simply a reflection of changes in how we collected our waste. Yet I can see how it is perceived as a reduction. One woman said to me recently that she though she should get the binmans wages now that she had to sort it all out!
We need to take this all a step at a time. Certainly in Edinburgh, if, and that’s a big if, we go to fortnightly collections we need to do it slowly and by taking folk with us making sure they are not feeling something is being taken away without something else to replace it.

Dog fouling - a major issue.

2006-10-19T16:37:00.000Z

When I went into elected politics I expected, even wanted, to have to cope with many subjects but Dog fouling wasn’t high on my list. Yet its rapidly becoming right up there with social justice and the future of the economy!
I cannot understand why people let their dog’s foul not just pavements but football pitches, parks, verges, playgrounds and all the rest of it. It is a despicable, disgusting dis-respectful action and I despise it and those who don’t clean up after their dogs. . It’s like letting some one defecate in their front room. Public space is shared space and to ruin it like that is simply unacceptable. It’s about the most anti-social act I come across.
In my own ward I've increased the wardens, put in extra bins, run campaigns and introduced a barrow beat but still people wander along, let Rover dump in the street and walk away. It is individualism in the extreme and if anyone has an answer I’d like to know about it. One suggestion has been dog licences. Anyone got any others?

Stand Up Against Poverty

2006-10-18T18:11:00.000Z

I was very proud to see over 200 staff turn up on a cold morning to take part in the world record making stand up against poverty http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/. This campaign is calling on world leaders not to forget the commitments they made when they signed up to the UN Millennium Development goals to be achieved by 2015, www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
There are thousands of events like this happening all over the world. Timely reminders that the Make Poverty History marches that took place last year in Edinburgh http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/ were only the start of the journey.
Here are the facts. Across the world 70 million girls and 40 million boys get no education. 30,000 young people (that’s equivalent to every high school pupil in Edinburgh), die EVERY DAY of avoidable diseases. Millions live on less that half a dollar a day.
Why should we bother? In my view the stranger is my neighbour, especially in the global village in which we now live. Edinburgh is a creator of great wealth. We have amoral responsibility to share that wealth. One survey suggests that Edinburgh is the 6th most talked about city in the world. I want those conversations to say that’s a city where people care about the poor and the suffering. It’s what I would want if I were one of the suffering.

Car use in the city

2006-10-12T14:09:00.000Z

I recently put an article in to the Sunday Herald on the above subject. It starts off like this-
"One of the pleasant surprises I have had since being elected Leader of City of Edinburgh Council is the number of people who have spoken to me about the really good things the Council does. I’ve had plaudits about our schools, our recycling, our work with young people, our care for older people and much more. One area where there has been less praise however, has been on the subject of cars in the city.

On more than one occasion I have heard the accusation that the City of Edinburgh Council is anti-motorist, particularly after our idea to introduce congestion charging was rejected last year.

But the simple truth is that rather than being opposed to cars, the complete opposite is actually true. Our focus is on helping those who really need their cars to get around the city as easily as possible. That, to me, is the win win approach. Quicker journeys mean less frustration for motorists but also less pollution for all of us. So everyone is happy."

If you would like the full text of this article you can read it on the Edinburgh Council Labour Group website at www.edinburgh.labour.co.uk

Early Intervention

2006-10-12T12:32:00.000Z

This week the Council received a report on the early intervention project (http://cpol.edinburgh.gov.uk/getdoc_ext.asp?DocId=88805 ). This project tried to managed the support needed to get some highly dysfunctional families to change their lifestyle so they and those around them have a more peaceful co-existence.

Its not ‘soft touch’ or ‘goodies for the bad guys’. It is a way of challenging behaviour but also guiding folk to new choices and supporting the whole family and not just the ones in trouble.
Its not punitive but the report suggests that it does work and real change happens in these families. It is expensive but if it means these families are not a drain on our resources in future years or destroying their neighbourhoods, it is money well spent in my view.