London bound ...

ERS quarterly 'Council Meeting' tomorrow in London ... so, off on the sleeper again later this evening.

Planning to stay until quite late Sunday, so blogging could be pretty light until then :-(

Rhetoric and Reality - MIND THE GAP

Here's a first-class example of good old "National Rhetoric" - just check out this Scottish Government News Release from yesterday - here - and by the way, just what is the point of those last couple of paragraphs :-(

- now contrast it with the "Local Reality", here in Edinburgh, by scanning through some of these posts (and the links therein) on Early Years Education in our Capital City during 2007/2008.

Honestly - the gap between such vacuous rhetoric, and the reality on the ground, is enough to make you weep :-((

For good measure - throw in the class-size ruling in East Lothian, reported in The Herald today, and its hard not to come to the conclusion that the whole Education Policy Framework of this Government is simply a joke and quite frankly not worth the paper its written on.

Without legislation (which would lead to the requirement for financial investment) then class sizes of 18 or less for P1-P3 are not going to happen. It's a cruel deception to suggest otherwise.

I do cling to the hope that more and more will see through all of this nonsense in coming months ...

Airdrie to win CIS Cup ...

Amazing - my old home-town team put Hearts out of the CIS Cup last night ...

... need to be careful what I say, what with thousands of Hearts fans forming part of my potential electorate :-(


But, lets face it, who can possibly stop Airdrie now??

Mela mania

Went to the opening evening of the Edinburgh Mela festival last night ...

... very enjoyable - especially all that fantastic food ;-))


P.S. and before any wag asks - yes, I did pay for my own ticket!

Congratulations Tavish Scott

Slightly belated congratulations to Tavish Scott on a pretty convincing victory.

I see there's a bit of banter on several Scottish blogs about his unwillingness to do a deal with the SNP last May and how this could be a poor omen for the Libs - who are now to be consigned to political oblivion due to Scott being such a tribalist??

... well, for what its worth, I had to work very briefly with Tavish Scott when he was Minister for Transport, and I had the Transport Brief at the Council, and found him to be quite the opposite of tribal. It was never a difficulty to get an agreement (with him or his advisers/civil servants) on a way forward - despite political differences.


P.S. Actually, this reminds me that during my near 5-years with the Council Transport Brief (which felt more like 50!), I worked with all of the first two-terms of Devolution's Transport Ministers:

1. Sarah Boyack
2. Wendy Alexander
3. Iain Gray
4. Nicol Stephen
5. Tavish Scott

- and no, no matter who requests it, I will not be undertaking a preferential voting exercise on who was the most effective Minister ;-))

A Political Shambles (2)?

Attended an enjoyable (Council-sponsored) lecture last night by the City Design Champion Terry Farrell ...

... he presented a fairly blunt message about the need for some clear leadership on certain specific (planning) topics - top of the list: trams. It has been a common theme of his time as Design Champion.

And, I am stating the obvious when I say his specific message(s) haven't always been heeded ... but, at the very least, clear political direction has been present - even if not of his liking.

As for the future, I'd love to be wrong, but given the current political circumstances I just cannot see such equivalent leadership being forthcoming in any shape or form :-(

Not good for the city ...

A Political Shambles?

My thoughts on the Edinburgh tram project are well known - in summary here (but do follow those links therein!) ...

... and equally, my thoughts on the current Council Coalition are hardly secret - my most recent ramblings on this issue are probably here.

And if you need an exemplar of how these two topics collide, then just cast your eye over this article from yesterday's local newspaper ...

... surely, even if you're opposed to the tram project, you have to concede that this type of 'political' response is doing nothing but damage to Edinburgh?

Its just very hard to see how a truly difficult political decision can be made on anything in this current (and obvious) climate of mistrust between the local Coalition partners ...

Council has spare cash?

A rumour is sweeping the City Chambers this afternoon that a deal (signed today with BT) to provide a Council-wide fixed rate telephone network, has just resulted in "immediate savings" of £250,000 per year?

If true, that's a considerable saving to make on a revenue account ...

... one would hope that such an amount could be put to some immediate good use??

John Travolta need not worry ...

Various colleagues (of all political groups) have been giving me serious grief over the last few days for NOT blogging about Frank Boyle's 'Traffic-Lights Cartoon' in last Thursday's Evening News (on the day of the Full Council Meeting) ...

... well, okay - here it is.

I ask you, do you blame me for not wanting to publicise it any further than need be ... I stopped dancing like that a long time ago ;-))

Quality debate?

Am I getting too cynical in my old age:

• 5pm'ish Sunday evening and the SNP Sports Minister puts out a call for a Scottish Olympics Team (such good timing, many wonder?)
• 2am'ish Monday morning and the SNP First Minister recycles an old story about a possible UK Olympic Football Team - even better timing :-(

Oh well, no need to worry ... after all, it is only the future constitutional status of our nation that's at stake over the coming months.

Plenty of time to raise the quality of debate before that pesky referendum eh?

... you do have to wonder :-((

A Scottish Olympics Team?

In a way, I'm sort of surprised its taken until after the closing ceremony for the Nats to have yet another go at this one ...

... but really, and I say this as someone who is not tribally opposed to those who choose to make an intellectual case for Scottish independence, I don't think this is the smartest move to make just minutes after the most successful-ever, modern UK Olympics Team is winding down and celebrating its phenomenal success.

This could have been left for another day - surely?

Sad but true

Sad but true, even with all these international visitors on our local doorstep -

... well, you do have to agree that Coatbridge does feel somewhat like another country ;-) ...

- we did manage today to fit a quick 'allotment visit' into the hectic, festival schedule :-((

And, just look at that prize-winning pumpkin!

Bank Holiday weekend

Bank Holiday weekend, and a whole stream of visitors coming to Edinburgh, and our corner of Shandon, over the next few days ...

... thought this headline might be appropriate for Edinburgh given current weather, and tram works, but the sun is indeed shining today! Amazingly?

And, to add to the feeling that anything could happen, our weekend visitors are travelling from an incredibly diverse range of locations: some from Holland, and some from Coatbridge!

I kid you not ;-))

Financial Competence?

Well, well, well ... remember last February and the setting of the 2008/09 Council budget?

A bright, new future for Edinburgh - was it not:

• "Council finances are now back onto a stable course" - Councillor Dawe, Council Leader
• "We now have the budget under control" - Councillor MacLaren, Convener of Education

Now then, just look at the Month 3 (yes, only Month 3!) financial figures for the Council's two largest Departments (you'd better sit down first, if you have a weak constitution) ...

• first, have a read at paragraph 3.1 here - which shows a £4.4million projected overspend in the Health & Social Care Department budget at the end of Month 3
• worse still, have a look at paragraph 3.1(a) here - which shows a £8.9million projected overspend in the Education, Children & Families Department budget at the end of Month 3

In both of these Departments, further significant management actions (code for yet more front-line services cuts?) are now being employed to bring these budgets into line.

Financial competence?

Sadly, as I've said before, this is NOT now a Council which is 'service-driven' ...

... but the mechanistic-approach adopted last February - one of "knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing" - also now appears to be failing miserably.

Not good for Edinburgh, not good at all.

STOP - lights at red

Those pesky traffic-lights might well work in curtailing a bit of democratic debate ...

... but they won't necessarily improve the quality of decision-making currently being undertaken in the City Chambers :-(

And don't forget, the lights themselves cost some £1,600.00 :-((

Full Council

Well, the meeting finished around 1.45pm - my prediction was correct!

... of course, I'm sure some will claim it was all down to the infamous traffic-lights, but truth is the agenda was pretty light and I suspect September's meeting will be more weighty?

Of note:

• Lord Provost casting vote used to reject a one-off request for funding of £8,000 for 'Senior Action Group Edinburgh' (SAGE)
• Lord Provost casting vote used to reject a perfectly reasonable motion from the Greens on the use of the 'Climate Challenge Fund' - see item 10.6 on the agenda here

But, much more serious than the LP using his casting vote to prevent progress on items such as those above (important though both are in their own right obviously) is the ever-creeping, and blatant, politicisation of the LP's position.

At the meeting (and anyone present will confirm this I'm sure) there was a woeful use of Standing Order 22 (see page 11 here) which stops a decision of the Council being changed within 12-months.

The LP has used it frequently to prevent us discussing issues such as school meals, and he used it during this month's meeting to prevent the Council discussing the Fairer Scotland Fund (see item 10.1 here) ... all these topics are just too embarrassing for the current Lib/Nat Pact, you see :-(

... but not Post Offices - no, that's not too embarrassing because the whole Post Office Agenda is being led by a tier of Government within which they have no power or control.

Now, the fact that we've discussed, and made significant decisions, on Post Offices at Council Meetings in both May 2008 and June 2008 was quickly swept under the carpet and Standing Order 22 (despite my request for it to be applied consistently!) was ignored when it came to discussion of an 'emergency motion' on Post Offices.

Shameful.

Full Council meeting today

Full Council meeting today - agenda here - wonder if it will be as interesting as last night's hustings??

... unfortunately, I've got very severe doubts :-((

Leadership Hustings - Edinburgh

Attended the Scottish Labour Leadership Hustings in the Grassmarket earlier this evening ... pretty big crowd in attendance and I thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Personally, I thought all three main contenders spoke very well in their opening 4-minute speeches ... Andy Kerr and Cathy Jamieson were confident and clear in their message, as was Iain Gray whose contribution definitely had the most heartfelt passion behind it.

All three also dealt pretty well with a fairly wide range of questions - although, it has to be said, that during the Q&A's I felt they were all overly conscious of the presence of the press-pack at the back of the room :-(

That aside, on the evidence of tonight, I don't doubt for a second that any one of the three of them could successfully lead the Scottish Parliamentary Party - a very heartening conclusion to the evening.

For Leader, Iain will be getting my first preference - he's got the breadth of experience from both within, and outwith, politics to bring real 'added-value' to the job; he's passionate, sincere and has the skills to work across the myriad levels of today's Scottish Politics.

And, crucially for me, he's not overtly tribalist or unnecessarily partisan.

Talking of which, next up were the Deputy Leadership candidates who were somewhat ... what can I say? ... more 'entertaining' ;-)

... but, for me, there is no doubt that Johann Lamont came across the much stronger and I'll be casting my 'Deputy Leader vote' for her.

Whatever the outcome on September 13th, this whole leadership selection process will definitely have strengthened the Party for the challenges ahead in the run-up to May 2011 ... no bad thing in itself!