Here's my Edinburgh manifesto to turbo-charge the capital |
It’s manifesto season and everyone is getting in on the act, not just the politicians. From small community groups to the biggest organisations, all are seeking to wrest commitments which advance their interests, and there’s nothing wrong in that.
I was particularly drawn to the growth programme outlined by Sir Tom Hunter this week – fast-track planning for housing and a redesign of the infrastructure contribution system, freezing rates for hospitality and retail businesses, open up North Sea oil and gas, level the tax system with England, bonfire of the quangos – for someone once so close to ex-PM Gordon Brown, it echoed the Scottish Conservative plan published last week.
But the question he posed really caught my eye. “I am reminded of a brilliant episode of The Thick of It entitled ‘Rise of the Nutters’ – a satire on inept politicians making stupid policies,” he wrote. “Is it just me or are more nutters hoping to get elected into public office?”
That was before the SNP’s Edinburgh Southern candidate Deirdre Brock suggested to a Morningside audience that maybe reading, writing and counting didn’t matter so much in schools these days. Or indeed the SNP’s food price caps gimmick, perhaps in approved branding like the old Fine Fare yellow pack line.
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But having read the Green manifesto the answer is not just a resounding yes, but the polls show the Greens must be taken seriously because they are attracting plenty of fellow travellers despite, or more........