Blatant mis-use of Council publications

The Libs in Edinburgh really know no shame. They really don't.

I've had previous rants about their potential mis-use of Council publications - here, here and here - well, on the further evidence now on my desk, I think THEY ARE BLATANTLY mis-using Council publications for political publicity.

The latest edition of "Involve" (the Health and Social Care Department internal staff magazine) is just out and contains no fewer than EIGHT pictures of Administration politicians ... 3 pictures of our Council Leader; 2 pictures of the Convener of Health and Social Care; 2 pictures of the Lord Provost; and even 1 picture of the Convener of Education, Children and Families! All Liberals, of course.

This is the same magazine that ran 6 pictures of a single politician (also a Liberal) just a few months ago ... told you; no shame :-(

And I've also now got the latest edition of City News on my desk - last one had a picture of the Council Leader in it remember - and this one has a picture of the Lord Provost in it! Both Liberals. Oh, and by the way, the 'Smart Times' four-page pull-out is actually IN this edition ... still no explanation about it's absence in the last edition??

As I've said before, all of these publications are approved by Councillors before going to print ... and, I have to say, I have not seen the same blatant mis-use of Council publications by the local Nats.

In Departments, or arms-length bodies, were they have the Convener-ship there has been the perfectly acceptable use of a single picture with some introductory text, or the like. But not the use of EIGHT pictures of Nationalist politicians in one publication.

Now, as you can possibly tell, I'm so hacked off with the Liberal-lot over this that I've lodged a formal complaint with the Chief Executive ... I doubt if it will get me anywhere, but in the spirit of the season I'll repeat a version of my earlier challenge/s:


... if anyone can find me an internal, Departmental Council publication from between May 1999 and May 2007 with EIGHT or more pictures of the then Administration politicians, I will not only donate £500 to the charity of choice of the current Lord Provost, but I'll also promise never to raise another point-of-order with him at Full Council meetings prior to the next Local Government elections!


- I'm that confident of success :-))