Councillors' boozy parties to be banned
Plus: Busiest ever day at Waverley; 100 years jail for crime gang; and council leader seeks Green Port clawback
Conduct classes and alcohol restrictions after criticism of ‘drinking culture’ at City Chambers
Alcohol-fuelled social gathering are to be banned at the City Chamber after an independent probe criticised the ‘booze culture’ among some councillors.
The prevalence of alcohol at social gatherings - particularly Christmas parties hosted by political parties, where councillors served behind the bar - was condemned by independent investigator Kevin Dunion.
Scotland’s former Information Commissioner highlighted the issue after investigating the handling of complaints into the behaviour of former council leader Cammy Day.
The local authority’s complaints procedures are also to be tightened up, including introducing steps to ensure better record keeping of complaints and how they are dealt with.
The council’s Speak Up campaign is to be relaunched to help reassure whistleblowers it is safe to raise issues at the local authority. That follows concerns about the leaking to the media of details of a complaint to a confidential hotline about Cllr Day.
The background: Dunion was called in after the former Labour leader of the council Cammy Day was accused of sending inappropriate messages of a sexual nature to Ukrainian refugees he had met through the course of his work for the local authority. He stepped down last December and a police investigation subsequently found “no evidence of criminality”.
The investigation uncovered concerns about a ‘drinking culture’ being accepted within working hours at the City Chambers, the historic building on the Royal Mile where city councillors are based and hold public meetings. Dunion also concluded there were failings in the way the then-council leader, Adam Nols-McVey, handled a complaint against Day, when he was the deputy leader in 2018. Despite the seriousness of the claim that a "senior Labour councillor" had "groomed" a 15-year-old boy, Nols-McVey did not share it with the council's chief executive and senior monitoring official, his report said.
The response: A report to be considered by councillors tomorrow recommends annual refresher training for elected members on their code of conduct. Among a range of other steps it also suggests councillors should “consider the appropriateness of social events and hospitality arrangements”. It adds: “Social events for the purpose of celebrating predominantly with that political group and their guests has been historically permitted. From the date of the approval of this report, social events meeting this criteria should therefore deemed to be prohibited under the code of conduct”.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
WAVERLEY RECORD: A record number of passengers passed through Waverley Station on Saturday, 9 August, thanks largely to the Fringe, the Tattoo and Oasis at Murrayfield. The 148,000 station visitors beat the previous record of 145,000 set on Saturday, 14 December, 2024, during the Christmas markets. The station has been recording visitor numbers since 2019.
JAILED FOR 100 YEARS: Six members of an Edinburgh crime gang led by jailed drug dealer Mark Richardson have been sent to prison for a total of 101 years. The six were convicted of a series of violent gangland attacks in late 2022 and early 2023 in and around the Capital, including attempted murders and setting prison officers' cars on fire. One machete attack left a victim with his hand "hanging off," while another left a man in intensive care.
“GET YOUR S*** TOGETHER”: Succession star Brian Cox has put some noses out of joint by suggesting the Edinburgh International Film Festival is not big enough to host his directorial debut Glenrothan. The actor - who has been in the Capital to appear on stage in Make it Happen as part of the International Festival - said bluntly the film festival needs to “get its s**t together” following its financial collapse three years ago. The film's distributor has instead chosen the Toronto Film Festival, which is a far more regular host of A list premieres than Edinburgh ever has been.
TAXI ‘SATURATION’ TEST: The number of private hire cars operating in Edinburgh is to be reviewed amid claims the city has reached saturation point. Councillors agreed to the survey after some taxi drivers said growing numbers were putting “unsustainable pressure” on their livelihoods. Councillors refused a plea for a moratorium on new licenses being issued ahead of the survey being carried out in the New Year.
LABOUR SHOWDOWN: Lothians MSP Foysol Choudhury has beaten city council transport convener Stephen Jenkinson to be named Labour candidate for the new seat of Edinburgh Northern in next May’s Scottish Parliament elections. The businessman is the first Bangladeshi member of the Scottish Parliament and was co-founder of the Edinburgh Mela.
TRAVERSE TRIBUTES: Tributes have been paid to Terry Lane, the co-founder and first artistic director of the Capital’s Traverse Theatre, following his death at the age of 88. The theatre said Lane helped establish the venue “as a home for new writing and theatrical risk-taking” in the 1960s. He was also responsible for naming the theatre, in error as it turned out, when he mistakenly thought traverse was the name for a “transverse” stage layout. By the time he realised his mistake, the name had stuck.
PIGEON POSTED MISSING: Another of Elm Row’s celebrated pigeon sculptures has vanished, the fourth to go missing since they were reinstalled following the tram works two years ago. The eight sculptures, estimated to be worth around £5,000 each, were first erected in 1996. Two of the missing ones have since been recovered.
FUNDING GROWTH: More than £50k in funding has been awarded to food growing projects across Edinburgh. The city council’s Grow Your Own Fund has been shared between 13 community and voluntary groups engaged in creating food growing space and providing food growing education, with grants of up to £5000 awarded.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
Council wants incentive clawback if firms fail to meet green commitments
City councillors will tomorrow vote on a proposal from council leader Jane Meagher to seek UK and Scottish Government legislative changes to claw back or end tax reliefs for businesses within the Forth Green Freeport who “fail to meet fair work and net zero commitments.”
In a motion to go before the Policy and Sustainability Committee, Cllr Meagher says it is a concern that Forth Green Freeport – in which the council is a partner and the leader a Board member – does not have the ability to reclaim financial incentives given to companies who don’t meet these commitments.
Cllr Meagher has raised her concerns at the Board and her motion also asks the council to write officially to the Board asking that they write to the UK and Scottish Government seeking the legislative changes that would be needed to allow any clawback.
And she is also asking for council agreement to end business rates relief for businesses in the event of any breach in commitments.
Normal tax and customs rules are varied to promote growth and trade in Green Freeports. The area around Forth Green Freeport generates 40% of Scotland’s industrial emissions and is being positioned as Scotland’s largest and most important renewables hub. Partners include Forth Ports, Babcock, CalaChem, Edinburgh Airport, Falkirk Council, Fife Council, INEOS, Royal Navy, and Scarborough Muir Group.
It is expected to deliver thousands of new green jobs through private and public investment, providing expanded logistics and trade capacity for existing and emerging industries including advanced modular systems, biofuels, hydrogen and carbon capture, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and storage, as well as support additional R&D capability and green incubator space to drive SME and start-up business growth.
BUSINESS FAILURE: Research by Women’s Enterprise Scotland has shown that two-thirds of women-led businesses in Scotland are failing to progress beyond start-up, despite women creating more than half of the country’s new-start companies. Equity investment was less than 3% for women-led start up businesses. Women-led business that employ people has dropped to just 20%. The organisation is proposing a number of policy initiatives to tackle the issue, which runs counter to international trends, following the work which was funded by the Scottish Government.
EXPRESS AT STATION: A new Tesco Express store has opened its doors near Haymarket Station. The company said the Tesco Express is open 7 days a week from 6am–11pm and has employed 14 new staff members.
NEW CHIEF SOUGHT: Edinburgh-based hydrogen energy pioneers Logan Energy are on the lookout for a new Chief Executive, following the decision of Bill Ireland to step down from his role after serving around 15 years and taking the company from a handful of people to more than 40.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
POWER UP: It’s the turn of AC/DC to sell out Murrayfield on Thursday as the Aussie rock legends bring their Power Up tour to Scotland. Verified resale tickets are available from £180. Sam Fender is at the Royal Highland Showground the following night.
FILM FEST: Ken Loach in In Conversation with his long-time collaborators writer Paul Laverty and producer Rebecca O’Brien at Tollcross Central Hall on Wednesday at 11am. That’s followed by his Palme D’Or-winning The Wind That Shakes the Barley, starring Cillian Murphy, at the Filmhouse at 1.30pm.
FRINGE JAPAN: Japanese culture including ikebana, kimono and sumo will be showcased in a series of Fringe Japan events, staged by the Consulate General of Japan in George Square, on Wednesday.
If you haven’t caught up with our tips for the best returning shows at the Fringe, you can check them out here, and our surprise package recommendations here.
QUICK BITES
BAKERS TEN: A new bakery is set to open in Gullane, East Lothian, around the end of the month. The No. 10 bakery in Stanley Road is to sell a menu including croissants, pastries, cakes and bread, created by 21-year-old baker Katya Eardley, who has helped run a family bakery in the Borders since she was 17.
BUCKING THE TREND: The Buckstone, which closed as a pub nine years ago, has reopened in Morningside as a café, with a dog-friendly area, an outdoor terrace, and a variety of food and drink offerings.