Sunday campaigning

Great turnout this afternoon for yet more door-knocking with Karen Doran, our intrepid candidate in the upcoming City Centre by-election ...

... she really is putting in a super-human effort to speak to as many voters as possible in the run-up to the 18th August.

I'm confident it will pay off :-)

Auchterarder today

Managed a visit to a very sunny-Auchterarder this afternoon ... bit of a family barbecue, and the weather really was remarkably good.

Didn't stay too late - always a bit dangerous to do so! - and managed to get back to Edinburgh late evening, in preparation for more City Centre campaigning tomorrow.

By-election mania

Local by-election campaign keeping me "extremely" busy at the moment - and consequently way behind with the blog :-(

Bit of a catch-up in process just now ...

... spent today catching up on Council-work, after those couple of days down in London --- I have never known as steady a flow of regular constituent-work throughout a July summer-month as this year?

It's a healthy sign, I'd say.

Electoral Reform Society elections this year

As mentioned yesterday, the Electoral Reform Society's AGM is coming up on 3rd September ...

... and a new Council will be elected this year: ballot papers go out on 4th August with voting running through until 26th August - more details here.

Of course, you need to be an ERS Member to vote --- and don't forget that there are only 2-days of that 'free ERS membership' offer left: see here.

If you join, you can obviously take part in the ERS Council elections and even consider giving a high preference to those Scots standing!

It is, of course, important that Scotland has strong voices on the ERS Council ;-)

Back in Edinburgh and candidates confirmed

Managed (just!) to get back to Edinburgh this morning ... sleeper was unable to get directly to Waverley, so had to get off at Motherwell and then catch a regular train through to Haymarket ...

... seems to be the most extraordinary amount of disruption to all east coast services, due to the derailment near Waverley yesterday evening?

Does strike me as surprising that the derailed train still hasn't been moved - but I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason why not??

Anyhow, onwards with various City Centre campaign jobs today - with all six candidates now confirmed ;-)

London today

Down to London today for the monthly ERS Officers' Meeting ... so no allotment fencing for me in the next 24-hours :-(

... AGM fast-approaching (in early September) so an even busier agenda than usual awaits in Chancel Street.

Back up to Edinburgh overnight tonight, so not escaping that fencing - or the Campaign Trail! - for too long ;-)

Low growth again

Fairly low growth figures, for the UK economy, out this morning ...

... plenty of political commentary across the internet about the significance (or not?) of today's statistics, so think I'll just post up the main graph from the BBC website and let readers make up their own mind whether they believe current economic policy is working?

I know what I think.

Allotment project!

Took most of today off work, and started my summer Allotment-project!

... looking to renew most of the fence around the plot, which is now pretty dilapidated and in serious need of repair.

Will be a long-term job, but made a good start this afternoon, completely re-arranging one corner of the plot to allow me to start working round in a clockwise direction ... got to about 5-past the hour by the end of today!

Allotment produce but thoughts elsewhere

Well, I did manage to survive Airdrie last night, and got back to Edinburgh in time for some more door-knocking this afternoon ...

... Karen receiving a very good reception on the doorstep.

Got over to the Allotment early evening and now have a good crop of very healthy red onions drying in our hallway :-)

Weather glorious, allotment as therapeutic as ever, all my thoughts elsewhere really :-((

City Centre campaigning and Airdrie

Wonderfully hot day for a bit of City Centre campaigning in The Cowgate (and surrounding area) ...

... here's Sheila Gilmore MP, and the candidate, with me doing our best to keep in the shade ;-)

After several hours of hard-work, sneaked off and escaped to visit some old friends in Airdrie for the evening. Not expecting to be at my best tomorrow!

Taking Edinburgh forward?

I know that a political defection on a Local Council isn't as earth-shattering as recent events at Westminster ...

... but, personal interest admitted, do have a read through the ongoing coverage in today's local paper about the defection of a local Lib-Dem to the local SNP - you can see it here. I do find the comments from the Council Leader fairly astounding.

Given all that's happened over the last 4-years, especially added to these events in the last few days, it really is difficult to contest that the current Council Leadership is the right one to take Edinburgh forward?

It's obvious that the local SNP/Lib-Dem Coalition is bitterly divided, is collectively weak, and simply unable to provide the leadership that the Capital City of Scotland so urgently needs.

Next May's Local Government elections just can't come soon enough.

Good old political prinicple ...

There's just no doubt that the Evening News has the scoop of the day!

Elaine Morris' defection puts the SNP Group back up to 12 Members, given the earlier departure of David Beckett ... so, current Elected Member numbers are:

Lib-Dem - 16

Labour - 15

SNP - 12

Tory - 11

Green - 3

Makes the result of the upcoming City Centre Ward by-election ever-more interesting ;-)

I'm currently aware of 6-candidates standing:

John CARSON - Independent

Karen DORAN - Scottish Labour

Alistair HODGSON - Lib-Dem

Melanie MAIN - Green

Iain McGILL - Tories

Alasdair RANKIN - SNP

All assuming that Alistair Hodgson doesn't jump ship before 18th August??

More seriously, one noteworthy point about Elaine Morris' defection today is the reported comment that she had been in discussions with the local SNP for more than a month - so when she voted on Thursday 30th June to press ahead with the tram project as far as St. Andrew Square, she knew that she was going to abandon the Lib-Dems ...

... that decision on the 30th June was carried by a single vote.

Nothing like a bit of political principle.

Wednesday surgery and political choices

Schools are off on holiday just now obviously - so no surgeries on Monday/Tuesday evenings for a few weeks - but the Wednesday night Surgery at Fountainbridge Library still on this evening ...

... can't help but give one more mention to the ongoing hacking-scandal: was it just me, or did Nick Clegg really look like death-warmed-up as he sat next to the Prime Minister as he defended his decision to appoint Andy Coulson, in the Commons debate earlier this afternoon?

It looked like the true political reality (and gravity) of Clegg's decision, back in May 2010, was only just coming home to him :-(

Today's Westminster Culture Committee

Probably like most political anoraks, I couldn't stop myself watching much of the Westminster Culture Committee proceedings this afternoon ...

... clearly the internet is completely awash with commentary on all of this, and I'm certainly sticking to my earlier belief that it's only going to get a lot worse for some ---

--- but I have to say, that I do believe this afternoon's proceedings were the most classic example of just how illusory power really is.

One can but hope that the politicians around that Committee table (and all of those watching!) don't forget the lesson, as they personally strive for the very thing that right before their own eyes was so evidently of no true value?

Defence Review implications for Edinburgh

I'm fairly stunned at the Defence Review (as announced this evening) implications for Edinburgh ...

... with both Dreghorn and Redford barracks closing, it's hard to under-estimate the impact this will have on the local community: for one thing, I'd have thought there will be a serious question mark over the long-term viability of Colinton Primary School? --- not to mention a myriad of other local services :-(

I obviously include myself in this rhetorical question; but did no-one in Edinburgh see any of this coming?

Sadly, it appears not.

Who will be next?

I hope regular readers would agree that I'm not usually one given to undue hyperbole ...

... but I've spent most of this afternoon catching up on mail etc. and have had the BBC News running on the computer and one can't help feel that the current 'phone hacking scandal has several more senior scalps to claim yet - and some of them are undoubtedly going to be political and not just 'press/police'.

The whole saga has the feeling of a 'total vortex' and I really don't think that it has yet dragged down all those at its edge.

City Centre campaigning and well done Japan!

Another busy afternoon campaigning in the City Centre Ward with a very healthy number of activists out on the campaign trail ;-)

Managed to stop for a few hours this evening and actually watched most of the Women's World Cup Final ... now, as friends know, I'm no football expert: but I was pretty impressed by the standard of play and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Japan (as evident underdogs) defeating the strongly favoured USA in a penalty shoot-out!

Allotment pear and City Centre leaflets

Despite the atrocious weather this morning, spent several hours down at the Allotment ... and here's photographic proof of that elusive pear ;-)

Its taken 4-years to arrive and I'm really looking forward to eating it very soon!

And the terrible weather couldn't dampen a large teams' spirits this afternoon as we leafleted and canvassed around the City Centre ...

... only 4 weekends left, after this one, before polling day on Thursday 18th August.