Articles by Peter McColl
Peter McColl is a community activist, living in Portobello. Originally from Belfast, he has lived in Edinburgh for 12 years and has worked in student politics, public affairs and the voluntary sector.
He has been active in the Portobello Transition Town – PEDAL since its creation, and has a particular interest in community ownership and land reform.
Peter studied Cultural Geography at University, with a focus on critical theory, identity and public policy. His Masters dealt with Land Reform in the Scottish Highlands, following the 2003 Land Reform Act.
While at University, Peter was President of the People and Planet Society and was elected to take a year out of his degree to act as Vice President of the Students’ Association (EUSA). He had previously been Community and Environmental Affairs Convener and Welfare Convener of EUSA.
In these roles he was instrumental in the introduction of measures promoting Fair Trade that increased UK Fair Trade coffee consumption by 2% and to promote ethical investment of Edinburgh University’s resources.
Peter lives in Portobello with his partner, Maggie, and is currently Convener of the Edinburgh Green Party. Previously he worked in campaigns and communications, including four years working for Mark Ballard MSP.
Peter was Chair of Transition Scotland Support from 2008-11, an organisation devoted to supporting Scotland’s Transition Towns movement.
He is currently Rector of the University of Edinburgh.
http://www.petermccoll.wordpress.com
Scottish Government must act to allow Portobello and Leith wind project to go ahead
Posted on April 30, 2012 | No Comments
One of the most exciting things I’ve been involved with in my time in Edinburgh is the proposal for a community owned wind turbine. The turbine would be shared between communities in Portobello and Leith. It would be the first community-owned, revenue generating urban wind turbine in the UK, if it gets the go-ahead. And [...]
Peter McColl Rectorial Address
Posted on April 13, 2012 | 8 Comments
The five Scottish Universities with roots in the pre-modern era each have Rectors. The Rector presides at the University’s governing body, the Court, and is elected by students (and at Edinburgh University, staff). I was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh in an unopposed election in January this year. I was ‘installed’ last week [...]
Why Scotland’s 2012 Local Government Elections are an opportunity to radicalise Government
Posted on March 21, 2012 | No Comments
The notion that government could be used to transform the power structures of society to the advantage of workers was at the heart of much twentieth century radical thought. And the success of this notion is the reason why neoliberalism has a profound attack on government at its core. Many radicals reject this attack. That [...]
The Petition on Hanging shows how the Right’s Willingness to Fail allows it to Succeed
Posted on January 31, 2012 | 3 Comments
I read with some delight that the petition lodged by scurrilous hate-monger Paul Staines to have a debate in Parliament to ‘bring back hanging’ is set to be struck off. That’s obviously good news. Even in the blood-thirsty USA the death penalty is becoming less popular by the year. You may remember that this petition [...]
Edinburgh Community Wind Turbine in Public Funding Vote
Posted on November 17, 2011 | 2 Comments
One of the crucial ways in which we can reclaim our economy is through ownership of renewable generation facilities, like solar and wind projects. In Portobello and Leith local groups have been developing the first community owned wind turbine scheme in Scotland (and maybe the UK -let us know if you are aware of others). [...]
Scottish Green Party Conference Review 2011
Posted on November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments
Scottish Green Party conference 2011 was a pretty subdued affair as might be expected after the poor election result in May. There were some real highlights, though. The speakers gave very interesting presentations on what it’s like to run a Green Council and how the Aberdeen By-pass can best be opposed. One thing that was [...]
Berlusconi, Rick Perry and the end of the Post-Political Politician
Posted on November 13, 2011 | No Comments
Silvio Berlusconi has gone. Rick Perry appears to be out of the running for the Republican nomination for president. And with them we may be seeing the end of the ‘ordinary guy’ politician. For much of the long boom from the mid-90s onwards the politicians that succeeded most were those who were least constrained by [...]
Scottish Green Party Conference Preview 2011
Posted on October 29, 2011 | 2 Comments
Scottish Green Party conference kicks off today in Aberdeen. Many party members will be hoping to regroup after the disappointment of May’s election. Having failed to pick up the masses of voters abandoning the Liberal Democrats, the Greens have serious thinking to do. Our strategy for the 8 years that I’ve been involved with the [...]
Edinburgh’s Not for Sale – Time to Stop Privatisation Plans
Posted on October 27, 2011 | No Comments
Today City of Edinburgh Councillors are making the most important decision of their political careers. The Liberal Democrat-led administration has proposed a dramatic change in the level and mechanism of service delivery. While there’s been a lot of discussion of the Edinburgh Trams this change, if implemented, promises to turn vast swathes of Council services [...]
Three Things about Cameron’s Credit Card Speech
Posted on October 5, 2011 | 3 Comments
David Cameron is giving his conference speech this afternoon. The heavily trailed message is that individuals should pay off debt, including credit cards. As Tim Hardy has pointed out credit cards play an important role in the story that the Tory party has been telling about the economy. But this speech gives a new dimension [...]
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