Two Down

Managed to spend a bit of time "Festivaling" this week, or "Fringing" to be more accurate, mostly comedy so not particualry high brow I must confess but good fun nonetheless and great to enjoy the city centre when all the festivities are in full swing. As well as the momentous trams decision taken at today's Council meeting which is being adequately and extensively reported elsewhere, I also learned that the two Conservative candidates selected to stand in the Pentland Hills ward at next year's Council elections have both withdrawn from the process, due to health problems and work commitments, apparently. As Oscar Wilde might have said ; To lose one candidate may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. I did meet one of them, a very pleasant young man, recently, and he seemed set for the challenges ahead. I do hope the prospect of being elected to the demanding role of a local councillor didn't cause second thoughts and I look forward to the identity of the next pairing of selected Tory candidates being revealed.

Mobilise

Least said about Thursday night the better. Busy day yesterday though, spent all day in the Regulatory Committee which rejected the SDL application to march in Edinburgh, amongst a great deal of other business. The right decision in my view, but not an easy one. It doesn't come naturally to restrict people's ability to express their views no matter how much I find them abhorrent, but the threat to safety and order in the city on a Saturday was just too great. Meeting finished around 4.30 and just had time for a drink with Karen Doran's beaten, but not downhearted, campaign team. They're looking forward to next May already. Then went to the Unison offices at Belford Road last night for a festival session as part of their Mobilise against the cuts campaign ; stand up, music, a bit of banter and all in an office converted into an intimate comedy club type venue. Very enjoyable and quite nostalgic, mixing entertainment and politics. Takes you back to the Thatcher era so it does ......

A Sell Out ?

Regulatory Committee ran on past 6pm last night which meant I didn't get to the Wester Hailes Community Council meeting as promised, which I was a bit p***ed off about. Also attended an ABM briefing earlier in the afternoon. Lots of detailed work being progressed, all with a view to achieving "best value" for the Council I'm sure, but the fact remains that it could lead to privatisation of large parts of Council services and efficiencies / savings being achieved by eroding the terms and conditions of people who work in these services, most of whom are not particualry well rewarded in the first place. Trying hard to remain objective about the process and the decsions that lie ahead, but its a struggle. Out to help in the by-election this afternoon then hoping to grab a well deserved pint before the big Euro match tonight at Tynecastle, all tickets sold out days ago. Really looking forward to it.

Election Hustings

Was delighted to step in as a substitute last night for our indisposed City Centre by-election candidate Karen Doran (nursing a broken ankle) at the Unison sponsored election hustings in the City Chambers. Not far to travel, my office is on the floor below the main chamber ! Well attended (approx 100?) so I expect the organisers will be pleased. Not for me to comment on the performance of the other speakers but anyone present must have felt that the SNP and Lib Dem reps made a complete hash of trying to justify the Alternative Business Model programme (privatisation of in house services to you and me) which could shortly see £1bn worth of council services and 4,000 council workers transferred to the private sector under contracts that could last between 7 and 12 years in duration. Don't go looking for any reference to this in SNP or Lib Dem local manifestos because its not there. Surely the only honest thing to do is suspend the process now and have a public debate in the next 8 months or so ahead of the May 2012 Council elections and let the people decide if they want this to happen. ABM aside, the ubiquitous trams questions were raised and we again had to deal with the ridiculous myth that the SNP are anti-tram when in fact all 12 SNP Councillors voted to sign up to the original contract in May 2008. To the best of my knowledge they have now supported, opposed and called for a referendum on the project. A contortionist would struggle to hold that many positions !

Army Base Backlash ??

"Flitting" went well last night, all done and dusted in a few hours. Two more mouths to feed for a couple of weeks ! Out early delivering leaflets for Karen Doran by-election campaign this morning in Royal / Calton Terrace / Greenside areas. Nice morning but was very careful on the wet steps following Karen's dreadful fall earlier this week. Interesting story in this morning's Hootsman, "Army Base Backlash" - it would appear that not everyone in the Army / MoD are particularly supportive of the idea of building a new 6000 personnel army base outside Balerno and one or two are even revolting, even a LibDem MP ! I await further developments with great interest.

Moving on...

Successfully reselected last night as the Labour candidate for the Pentland Hills ward for next May's Council elections. Bit of a formality really but good to get it out of the way and start concentrating on the campaign ahead. Very grateful too to the small but select band of activists who turned out to ensure that all the procedural boxes were duly ticked. Before that election though there's the small matter of the City Centre by-election next week and for once I've managed to free up some time this weekend to make a contribution. Had bad dreams last night featuring city centre tenement stairs ! As a warm up, tonight I'm helping my eldest move back home temporarily from his student flat while him and his mates sort out the arrangements for the next place they're moving to. I see my role as being mainly supervisory, although that may change......

ATTENSHUN !

Redford Barracks - to be closed

While everyone was waiting with bated breath to hear the fate of Leuchars and Lossiemouth the government dropped another bombshell by announcing that three army bases in Edinburgh, Redford and Dreghorn Barracks and the HQ at Craigiehall are to close and be replaced by a new "super" base at Kirknewton Airfield which, wouldn't you just know it, lies just within the Pentland Hills ward adjacent to the Edinburgh/West Lothian boundary, although the village of Kirknewton itself is firmly within the West Lothian Council area. Naturally local people, particularly in Balerno having been asking lots of questions. Trouble is, the government have provided bu**er all more detail than the announcement made to the House of Commons. No - "we've got some proposals we'd like to consult you on" or "we need to have look at army sites in Edinburgh" - just wam, bam, decision taken, now you get on with it. I don't think they even need to comply with planning regulations. Should be some interesting times ahead. By the way, found this on the Secret Scotland website which tells us a bit more of the history of the airfield.

The Mersey Beat

I found myself in Liverpool this week for an Institute of Employment Rights seminar on TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) at the Adelphi Hotel. A bit of a dry subject perhaps but interesting nonetheless particularly in the current climate of "Public Sector Reform" and a growing tendency among private companies to transfer work and workers from employer to employer. Intriguing city Liverpool, with a strong personality and identity. Having visited the world famous Cavern (ridiculously commercialised into a glorified tourist outlet) to see the resident duo perform Lennon and McCartney with no more than pass marks, I headed to the Jacaranda in Slater Street which although quiet (it was a Tuesday) it has some magnificent old Beatles photos adorning the walls, such as the one above with band en-route to/from Hamburg in the early 60s. Heading back into town I stumbled across an Orange Parade (it was 12th July) a reminder that Liverpool, like many cities, is full of quirks and contradictions. The usual ingredients of flute bands, strange costumes, Rangers tops and alcohol were much in evidence.

Freedom of the Press ?

Conference and campaigning went well on Saturday afternoon. Now confirmed that the City Centre ward by-election will be 18th August. Last couple of days has probably cemented everyone's worst fears about tabloid journalism. I'm sure the world of PIs, journos, bent coppers, politicians (national of course) and mindless celebs is murky at the best of times and best avoided by normal folk but there's obviously going to be a "drains up" on the phone hacking question and the stench will hang around for a long time to come I suspect.

On a more positive note, looks like we've got a constructive way forward in resolving the future of the Balerno After School Club. The service, properly registered and regulated, will probably now migrate to an alternative provider in the next few months (there have been 3 local notes of interest, so far) under the oversight of a parents group. School management, Council Dept and Community all moving in the same direction. Yippee ! Can't say that happens too often eh ?...

The Endless Campaign

Heading up town today for the Edinburgh Labour conference continuing the build up and planning for next year's Council elections. And then campaigning in the City Centre ward ahead of the impending by election which we now think will be 18 August. It never ends. Better get moving, I'm running late already !.....

Balerno Childcare

The Balerno After School Club issue that I reported a couple of weeks ago took an extraordinary turn yesterday. Following the intervention and "helpful advice" from Council officials Balerno High School decided to cease the operation of the ASC completely and advised parents in writing with no warning or consultation. As you can imagine this caused a great deal of upset, anger and frustration, not to mention causing my inbox to explode and phone to melt ! Spent the day making calls to and fro with parents, the school and the Council's Children and Families Dept. Hoping to find a way forward early next week.

Late Trams

Council meeting finished late last night. The vote took place after 11pm, with the meeting having started at 10am (with several unnecessary breaks built in). I'm not convinced that the best decisions are made at the end of a such a long session. Also, unusually, none of the five political parties combined their amendments and this resulted in the Lib Dem position being carried. Therefore, the Council are now committed to take the tram line to St Andrew's Square and need to find more than £200m in the next 2 months to pay for it. Big ask, eh ? To be fair, the Council can't afford any of the three options presented in the report ; cancellation, Haymarket or St Andrew's Square. The Labour Group proposal was to commit to Haymarket (from within existing funding) and an incremental approach thereafter as and when more funding becomes available. We were finally defeated 16 - 15 by the Lib Dems. Nobody knows where the additional money is to come from but I suspect the Council's debt levels and repayment commitments are about to get another hammering.

Listening...

I hear that the First Minister has performed a U turn on his plans to introduce anti sectarian legislation before the start of the football season (mid July) and has agreed, probably wisely, to allow for some much needed consultation. I've never previously felt the need to sing God Save The Queen agressively but I suppose if I want to I'd better take the chance in the few months if I want to avoid prosecution. 

Meeting of the Council's Audit Committee this morning. The agenda and reports can be accessed here if you're interested. A lot of really important issues, Council accounts, pensions, scrutiny arrangements, service inspection regimes etc etc and lots of good detail provided but incredibly dry. Either that or I've got the attention span of a gold fish. Which is not impossible.

Start of the Working Week

Visited a constituent who is unhappy at the quality of the grass cutting in Clovenstone last night. She's got a point, sadly, and there's other examples elsewhere in the ward. I'll report it anyway and see what happens. Followed by surgeries at Ratho and Balerno, both quiet, as usual, however did manage to have a chat with a couple of folk about local issues which made the trips worthwhile. Then it was off to Ratho for the regular meeting of Ratho and District Community Council. Quite a few issues raised in connection with the ongoing construction works on the Freelands Road site. Agreed to dig out the original planning permission to check which of the more beneficial elements of the development, the care home, affordable housing and canal basin are locked into the plans and how and when they should be delivered. Also got my car back last night following a failed MOT and subsequent repairs. I'm now £310 lighter than I was at the start of day ! 

Childcare in Balerno

Been contacted by some very upset Balerno parents this week. Due to SNP/LibDem Council budget cuts Balerno After School Club is having to make changes that will result in the service no longer being registered or regulated by the Care Commission's successor Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS). While this will mean little practical change to the service itself it also means that parents who are currently able to use the childcare element of the  Working Family Tax Credit or Childcare Vouchers to contribute to the costs will now be excluded from doing so. Once again working families and single parents get hit hardest by ill thought out budget cuts imposed on our schools by the current Administration. In addition, compliance with the SCSWIS regulation standards is difficult and expensive and effectively make the best the enemy of the good taking a perfectly acceptable service outwith the regulatory framework that is intended to maintain high standards. It doesn't seem to make sense. I've met with the parents and the school management and while sympathetic to the plight of some families the school's hands are tied by continuing financial pressure from the centre. All the rhetoric about supporting hard working families is meaningless if the implications of these ham fisted cuts are not fully thought through.

Trams and Tracks

Much awaited Special Council meeting yesterday to discuss the Tram Project, only to find the most important decisions won't be made until the next meeting on 30th June. This reflects how the project has been run to be honest, the crucial information and decisions always seem to be one step further on than we are with nobody really in control of the situation. Perhaps surprisingly there was unanimity from all parties, ultimately agreeing to note the report and calling for the new SNP government to make its position on the project's remaining budget clear and seeking more information on what it could cost to cancel the whole thing.

Last night saw a mad dash for me to attend both surgeries at Ratho and Balerno and manage to make an appearance at Ratho Community Council and Dean Park and Balerno High Parent Councils as well. Main issue to arise was concerns about road safety on Bavelaw / Mansfield Road in Balerno particularly for children going to and from school. I've raised this already and received a pretty negative response from the department so will need to come at it from a different angle.

Monday 9 May

Ratho Primary Garden takes shape

Meeting of the Council's Audit Committee yesterday. One of the reports provided detail of the consultation exercise on the Commissioning Strategy for Care and Support Services. Might sound a bit dry but its an excellent piece of work and can be accessed here . Last night I headed for the AGM of the Ratho Primary School Parent Council which included a tour of their garden project. A reclaimed piece of unused grassland in the corner of the school grounds, its now been converted into a herb and vegetable garden, raised planters and work top areas for the children, a stage and seating and all manner of other things that make a fantastic addition to the school's resources. All delivered by a dedicated band of volunteers supported by some modest external funding. Had to leave just as they were serving the cheese and wine to make the last few minutes of Currie Community Council before heading home. Dedication or what ?....

Severiano Ballesteros

Seve at the 1976 Open at Royal Birkdale

I was saddened yesterday by the news of the premature death of Severiano Ballesteros. He was to my golfing generation what Arnold Palmer was to my Dad's in the 50s and 60s. He played the game with style and panache and played as if he enjoyed every minute of it. Some of today's great players could learn a lot from Seve's joie de vivre.

Currie Ride

Currie Ride this morning, 44 horses and riders set off from Currie Green to the Pentlands to mark Currie's historic boundaries before returning to the Riccarton Arms for well earned refreshments. After some ceremonial formalities involving all 3 local Councillors, David McLetchie and Alistair Darling MP, we adjourned to the Weavers Knowe pub for coffee and initial negotiations about setting up a Labour/SNP/Tory coalition on the Council ! Back in the real world, I've got to head out and take down our election lamp post posters. No rest for a beaten candidate !

The People Have Spoken ....

Well, what a night / early morning that was. The much reported SNP surge materialised all over Scotland and took many by surprise. The story of the night in Scotland seems to be the collapse of the Lib Dem and (to a lesser extent) Tory vote, which transferred en bloc to the SNP, hence the unprecedented landslide result.

In Pentlands, while coming third, we increased our share of the vote by 2 points (not much consolation really). Many thanks to my wonderful campaign team who worked so hard over the last few months. Congratulations to Gordon McDonald the new MSP for Pentlands. Might sound strange, but I felt sorry for David McLetchie who seemed genuinely shocked at the result. 

The Labour Party in Scotland will no doubt take time to reflect on what the next steps will be though we, at local government level, must turn our thoughts quickly to the Council elections next May and factor in last night's experience. The fight back has to start some time, might as well be now.