moving edinburgh forward

8/3/2019 Moving Edinburgh Forward

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moving Edinburgh forward

moving

Edinburghforward

Edinburgh

LABOUR

moving Edinburgh

forward

you live here

were asking your views




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Dear Fellow Resident

Like you, this is my city. I live here and I love

Edinburgh.

My young son has grown up in this city and there

was a time when we expected the city would grow

with him that the services and reputation of the

city would improve, jobs would grow, streets would

be safe for him at night, and his education would be

assured.

But in the last five years Ive seen that dream crumble, and our city

grind to a halt.

Ive watched SNP and Lib Dem councillors flounder in the face of leadership.

Ive watched bickering and arguments in place of the leadership Scotlands

capital deserves. I believe it can be better, and believe Edinburgh can move

forward again.

When I was young my parents instilled in me the value of public service and

how much better the world can be by working together for the common good.

How much better could our city be if we all had a real say in localservices ? If we had a co-operative council, with co-operativevalues?

If you elect Labour, I will set out to work with other party leaders to achieve

those goals. I will seek to give parents, tenants, and people who use council

services a proper say in what we deliver. The current administration are

planning to privatise key local sevices, but I want to see the public involved

in delivery of public services.

Most of all, I want to stand up for my city. I want to lead from the front -

ensuring Edinburghs voice is heard, and our city moves forward again.

Andrew Burns, Leader of the Labour Group

City of Edinburgh Council

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Promoted by Hannah Lister on behalf of Edinburgh Labour, both of 78 Buccleuch Street, Edinburgh. Printed by .


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is known the world over. Ours is a historic city - capital of the

nation, and over past decades weve become a successful and

prosperous city. Its a place were all proud to call home and a

great place to live and work.

Yet, over the last five years our city hasstalled. During that time Edinburghs

council has been run by a coalition of theSNP and Lib Dems, making wrong choices

for Edinburgh. Its become a council that

hasnt delivered on our potential and has

failed to move our city forward. It has been

a tough time for our city. Just look around -

improvements are hard to see, things are at

a standstill, and, in some cases, going

backwards.

Across Edinburgh local people have had to

feel the consequences of the decisions

made by the SNP and Lib Dems. People have

suered cuts to every kind of service.

In the last four years the council has let

down our city. And it is the hard-working

people of Edinburgh who have been left to

pay the price. We've seen:

popular nurseries and schools closed

pupils feeling the eect of repeated

school budget cuts

less time spent on vital home help

visits for our older people

council debt rising to over 1.5bn

mismanagement of the tram project

attempts to privatise basic care forthe disabled and vulnerable

Our city has gone backwards. In a fewmonths time, our city faces a choice.We can either continue to gobackwards with the current council orwe can move Edinburgh forward. Webelieve that it's time to get Edinburgh

moving forward and this document presentsour positive ideas to achieve that.

Its time for a fresh start. Itstime to decide what we reallywant for our city. Its time for

EDINBURGHto move forward.

EDINBURGH


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Labour wants our city to stay

prosperous Jobs are our number one priority. We want to boost employment and get more people into work. We want to help the growing number of young people without jobs find apprenticeships with local firms,

especially small and medium sized businesses in areas where unemployment is high. In return wed like to

assist these firms, perhaps by lowering their business rates.

We believe that training and apprenticeships should be a key condition in Council contracts.

We intend support local business by tipping the balance against unfair competition from big outsiders.

We want to increase the goods and services the Council buys from local suppliers.

We will help head teachers step up eorts to prepare young people for work, and look at using schools as

a base for social not-for-profit businesses.

Labour wants our city to be

safe We all have a right to peace of mind in our homes and security on our streets. So well seek to set up a

special antisocial behaviour unit to target hardcore oenders across the city.

We want to restore the balance in favour of responsible residents by enforcing tenancy agreements

with bad neighbours.

We plan to expand drug and alcohol programmes which change destructive behaviours, and work

with the voluntary sector to increase capacity across the city.

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Labour wants our city to be well

cared for Edinburgh is a green and beautiful city and we want it to stay that way. Wed like to see new buildingscomply with top design and green standards. We want to protect our green spaces, give local people a greater say in their upkeep and development,

and ensure that local groups benefit from major events in their parks.

We want to encourage local sport, and give local sports clubs a role in managing the pitches and pavilionsthey use.

We will make sure Edinburgh plays its part in protecting the worlds climate by using Council property,

including schools, to generate green electricity. We want to help households do the same by promoting

energy co-ops like the Edinburgh Community Energy Co-op.

how well do our business...

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A COUNCIL WORKING WITH YOU

Too often this council says consultation when it

means theyre not listening. It is time to work

alongside local communities - they usually know

best. So well find a genuine way to collaborate

with communities, becoming a co-operative

council, giving local people more control of the

services they use - and the places where they live

- by putting council resources in their hands. A

new petitions committee will allow citizens to

highlight their priorities, with the city budget set

transparently.

STANDING UP FOR EDINBURGH

Well press the Scottish Government to let

Edinburgh keep a bigger share of our local

businesses rates. Well lobby for fairer fundingfor Edinburgh housing and other needs. And well

spend our time doing what the city needs, not

chasing Government targets

PUTTING THE CITY FIRST, NOTPARTY POLITICS

If you make Labour the largest party, we will get

the city moving forward again and involve every

party in Council decisions, and ensure positions

on the powerful sc rutiny committees are

allocated properly, with members of the public

invited to attend. Well make officials accountable

to the citys needs, not to rules made to suit th em

or the Government..

A COUNCIL THATS COMPETENT

Well insist on breaking down barriers and

bureaucracy because the resulting slowness

exasperates individuals and businesses alike. We

will to stop the tick-box target culture and focus

on what people really want, empowering frontlinestaff to have a say in budget decisions, squeezing

value from every penny. Above all, well not shrink

from real city leadership


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Labour wants our city to be a

better place

to live Edinburgh is one of the top world cities for quality of life. So well make sure we sustain our heritage andour arts. Well further explore a tourist-tax and commit to providing every penny we raise to ensuringEdinburghs festivals and events remain world class.

We aim to expand housing co-operatives as a way of expanding aordable housing, and providing tenants

with a bigger say in their community.

We want to assist families and first time buyers. So we want to work closely with house-builders,

releasing land to build on, in return for guaranteed high quality and fast delivery to market.

We plan to set up a city-wide Transport Forum to map out our real transport needs, with input from local

communities on where there is lack of provision and how we can fill the gaps.

We want to finish the trams project, but also want to see an urgent inquiry into what went so badly

wrong. We will press the Scottish Government to make this a priority. Edinburghs residents deserve to be

confident what went wrong here will never happen again.

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Labour wants our city to be

fair That means that everyone must have their voice heard where it matters most. So we want to transformthe way the Council does business and makes key decisions. We plan to set up a Budget Committee to ensure we have an open and transparent budget process,

where everyone has the right to be heard.

Wed like to give Parent Councils the right to nominate a member of the Education Committee.

We want to devolve more responsibility to head teachers and wed like to explore how city schools could

become a co-operative school, with a bigger input from parents, sta, students and the community.

Well investigate the option of a city-wide childcare co-op to help parents access aordable childcare.

We want to see the re-introduction of community newspapers to give local communities a voice.

We want to introduce a Living Wage for council workers, ensuring that all employees are paid a fair wage,

and well require firms who do business with the Council to do likewise.

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If you agree it really is time for better in our city, if you agree

that the current council has stalled Edinburgh, if you agree its

time for a change - then wed like to hear from you.

These are some of our ideas, but we

want to have a genuine consultationwith the people of Edinburgh. Wed like

to know what you think of our ideas, or

give us your own ideas to get

Edinburgh moving forward. Together

we can make Edinburgh a

better place to live.

> GIVE US YOUR IDEAS TO MOVE EDINBURGH FORWARD

call: 0131 667 8538

e-mail: [email protected]

write: FREEPOST RSTB-SBXK-JLHHEdinburgh Labour

78 Buccleuch Street

Edinburgh, EH8 9NH

moving edinburgh forward

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