Local Government, Scotland
Save Our Services: East Edinburgh Edition
Posted on July 30, 2011 by Alyson Macdonald | 5 Comments
Sometimes, something happens that restores your faith in activism, and humanity in general. This week, I had one of those moments at a public meeting for Save Our Services East Edinburgh. I’ve been to a lot of meetings since the Coalition government came to power, and not all of them have been terribly interesting or [...]
2011 Election Night Liveblog
Posted on May 5, 2011 by Alasdair Thompson | 11 Comments
Tonight we’re going to try something different (well, for us) here at Bright Green and attempt to live blog the results of today’s elections as they come in. It’s not something we’ve done before, though we have live tweeted one or twice, so bear with us if the technology doesn’t always quite work or if [...]
It’s better to break the law than to break the poor
Posted on February 23, 2011 by Alex Wood | 5 Comments
Brenner’s unemployment mortality rate formula suggests that the cuts will result in the deaths of approximately 20,000 people due unemployment alone. What we are witnessing then is the nothing less than a genocide of the vulnerable. In the face of such brutality the only moral position open to councillors is to refuse to act as the executioner for this government of millionaires. We must create a campaign similar to those in the 1920′s and 1980′s based upon the setting of illegal no cuts budgets.
Countering Council Cuts: Local Alternatives to Austerity
Posted on February 22, 2011 by Alasdair Thompson | 3 Comments
This post was first published 3 weeks ago, but we’ve decided to re-post as a response to this controversial piece on Liberal Conspiracy. Photo courtesy of Guardian Edinburgh via flickr While we’ve rightly been focussed so far national campaigns, defending welfare and education, we mustn’t overlook the fact that many of the cuts we are [...]
10 things you may not have known about RBS
Posted on February 21, 2011 by Adam Ramsay | 13 Comments
10 things you may not have known about the bank you own: We own 84% of RBS. They’ll be announcing their profits this week, and UK Uncutters across the country will be sitting in branches to remind everyone who it is that caused this crisis – and who is paying for it. But I thought [...]
Green broadcast – the struggle of memory against forgetting
Posted on February 5, 2011 by Gary Dunion | 9 Comments
Is it just me or was anyone else hoping that that final Caroline Lucas speech ended with “the struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”? Probably just as well for everyone that it didn’t, but that is of course exactly what she meant. Though superficially this broadcast opens like the [...]
Countering Council Cuts: Local Alternatives to Austerity
Posted on January 29, 2011 by Alasdair Thompson | 5 Comments
Photo courtesy of Guardian Edinburgh via flickr While we’ve rightly been focussed so far national campaigns, defending welfare and education, we mustn’t overlook the fact that many of the cuts we are likely to face over the next few years will not be imposed directly from Westminster but by our own local councils. Opposition to [...]
Edinburgh Council Moves to Shut Communities out of Planning Decisions
Posted on December 2, 2010 by Peter McColl | 5 Comments
Edinburgh Council has had great difficulties coming to terms with the new Planning Act. Their understanding seems to be that developers are good and communities are bad. Repeatedly the Convener of the Planning Committee, Liberal Democrat Councillor Jim Lowry has moved to curtail the community’s right to speak at the Planning Committee. He has strengthened [...]
Help Shape the Edinburgh Council Budget
Posted on September 18, 2010 by Alasdair Thompson | No Comments
Edinburgh council are looking for feedback on their plans for the budget and service provision over the next few years. There’s an online survey, with highly leading questions and no space to offer comments, and over the next few weeks they’re organising a series of meetings to gauge opinions. You’ll have the chance to find [...]
How Edinburgh Council risks Squandering £168k
Posted on September 13, 2010 by Peter McColl | 7 Comments
On the old ward based statistics, Craigmillar was the most deprived area in the East of Scotland. Years of economic decline compounded by high levels of drug use and unemployment left a legacy of multiple deprivation. You can imagine the surprise of community representatives when we discovered that the area has over £168,000 of its [...]
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