‘It was the straw that broke the camel's back. We couldn’t afford to buy in Edinburgh’
The tax forcing first-time home buyers out of the Capital and the campaign to reform it
Welcome to your midweek edition of The Inquirer.
For today’s long read David Forsyth has been talking to first-time buyers about an extra barrier they are facing trying to get on the property ladder in Edinburgh. It’s a taxing problem, one that bites harder in the Capital as a result of inflated property prices here.
David has been looking into the impact of LBTT, otherwise known as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and how it could be reformed to remove a formidable barrier to prospective buyers in property hotspots such as Edinburgh.
More on that below, but first your regular midweek news roundup and your cultural highlights for the week ahead.
Your Edinburgh Briefing
NOT SO STANDARD LIFE: Standard Life is buying Aegon UK in a deal valued at £2 billion which will create the UK’s largest retirement savings and income business. The new combined business, headquartered in Edinburgh’s Lothian Road, will have £480 billion in assets under administration and 16 million customers. There are concerns, however, the takeover could lead to job cuts.
CREATIVE SPARK: An all-women shortlist has been drawn up to create a statue of Dame Muriel Spark in Princes Street Gardens. Works by two of the four are on permanent display at Jupiter Artland - Laura Ford (who created Weeping Girls) and Tania Kovats (creator of Rivers) - while Louise Gibson has worked with the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and author Jenni Fagen, and Jacqueline Donachie with the Fruitmarket Gallery.
SIGNS OF UNREST: Plans to install another huge illuminated advertisement on Princes Street have been submitted to the city council. The 14-metre tall ad would cover scaffolding on the building on the corner with Hanover Street. The application comes after complaints about a huge KFC ad wrapping around the corner of the former Forsyth’s and Top Shop store at 30-31 Princes Street.
ARTISTS’ PAY: A trial scheme offering artists a guaranteed minimum income in Scotland looks increasingly likely following a campaign by the actors’ union Equity. The SNP have backed the idea of a trial while Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has promised £30m to a scheme.
CUP BIN: It’s now easier to recycle your takeaway cups in the city centre thanks to a trial of dedicated cup bins on Market Street, Waverley Bridge and outside Haymarket Station. The initiative by Keep Scotland Beautiful and the city council aims to raise the recycling rate for single-use cups - which currently sits at a measly 4% across Scotland.
Your Pick of the (Cultural) Pops
Greetings, Pop Pickers!
As the Easter eggs vanish from the supermarket shelves (do treats come any better than a cut-price egg?!) and the famous Edinburgh wind tries its absolute best to knock us off our feet, it’s time to take shelter in the city’s finest auditoriums. We have a brilliantly varied chart for you this Thursday, bringing together high culture, high camp, and high-octane rock. From cinematic ballet to symphonic perfection, here are — according to me — the hottest tickets in town, writes Will Quinn.
Let’s count them down...
Honourable Mentions: One Day & RSA New Contemporaries
It is your last chance to catch these two heavy-hitters before they bow out! You only have a few days left to see the Lyceum’s mammoth musical adaptation of One Day (a staging full of engaging drama, even if the soundtrack is forgettable) before it officially closes on April 19th. You also only have until April 22nd to browse the graduating artistic talent on display at the RSA New Contemporaries 2026 (an eclectic, highly recommended must-see where everything is brilliantly up for sale!).
New at Number 5 is... The Red Shoes (Festival Theatre, Spring 2026)
Matthew Bourne’s cinematic and people-pleasing approach to ballet certainly puts bums on seats. Based on the iconic Powell and Pressburger film (and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale), this production follows Victoria Page, a gifted young dancer torn between an all-consuming romance with composer Julian Craster and the uncompromising demands of ballet impresario Boris Lermontov, who insists that true greatness requires absolute personal sacrifice.
For all of New Adventures’ lavish, energetic storytelling - superpowered by Lez Brotherston’s ever-impressive sets - the results can be a little underwhelming for me. Nevertheless, the sheer scale and ambition of The Red Shoes is undeniable, and for those less zeroed in on pure technique and emotional depth, it will undoubtedly be a highlight of the Spring. At least, that’s my opinion: by the time you read this, one of my reviewers, Sass MacDonald, will have given her verdict over on theQR.co.uk - so I stand ready to eat humble pie!
Staying at Number 4 is... Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Edinburgh Playhouse, until Saturday)
Last year, I caught a dazzling, glitter-soaked rendition of this beloved musical by Edinburgh’s premier unpaid professional outfit, The Bohemians. Now, the official 30th anniversary touring production is rolling into the Playhouse, and it is bringing some serious industry firepower with it. With a cast boasting Kevin Clifton, Adèle Anderson, and Peter Duncan, plus a wardrobe stuffed with spectacular costumes by Strictly’s Vicky Gill, the pedigree on and off the stage is undeniable. Given how much I enjoyed the local grassroots effort, I fully expect this blockbuster spectacular to be at least as fabulous. Shake your groove thing and grab a ticket!
Staying at Number 3 is... Deeper Purple (The Voodoo Rooms, Saturday)
Classic rock fans, consider your weekend plans sorted. I caught this phenomenal tribute act last year, and they unequivocally blew my (and my Deep Purple-loving wife’s) socks right off. Serving up a face-meltingly authentic homage to the rock gods, you can expect blistering, note-perfect renditions of anthems like Smoke on the Water, Highway Star, Child in Time, and Perfect Strangers. As a lovely bonus, the band members are absolute sweethearts off-stage, too. Do not miss the chance to see them back in Edinburgh this Saturday.
Holding firm at Number 2 is... GUSH (Traverse Theatre, until April 25th)
Now fully up and running at the Traverse, Jess Brodie’s debut play is generating some serious chatter. It completely upends the usual rosy narrative of impending motherhood by plunging us into the nerve-shredding final days before Ally’s due date. She’s meticulously followed all the rules, cut the caffeine, and done the classes, yet she can’t shake the terrifying feeling that she’s about to lose her identity entirely. Helmed by the brilliant Becky Hope-Palmer, audiences are promised a fiercely honest, darkly funny examination of female desire, compromise, and prenatal panic. Go see this undeniable win for grassroots talent development.
New at Number 1 is... Sir Stephen Hough Plays Rachmaninov (Usher Hall, April 24th)
It is certainly not for lack of competition that we have a new Number 1 in town. But when one of the world’s most distinguished pianists - recently voted the 7th greatest of all time by BBC Music Magazine, no less - sits down at the keyboard, it instantly becomes the hottest ticket in the city. Sir Stephen Hough brings effortless brilliance to the stage, and here he will be tackling Rachmaninov’s show-stopping Piano Concerto No. 1.
As if that wasn’t enough, he is joined by the brilliant John Wilson on the conductor’s platform alongside the mighty Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The evening’s programme is beautifully rounded out by Ravel’s sumptuous dream waltz, La valse, and Vaughan Williams’ gloriously technicoloured Symphony No. 2 (A London Symphony). Anything less than perfect musical magic is impossible to imagine.
And that’s your Top 5!
Whether you are seeking a glitter-filled outback adventure, an existential theatrical journey, or a night of symphonic perfection, get out there and support our venues. Drop a comment below to let me know if my picks hit the right notes this week, and I’ll see you in the stalls!
‘It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We couldn’t afford to buy in Edinburgh’
The tax forcing first-time buyers out of the Capital and the campaign to reform it
by David Forsyth
“It was a bit heart-breaking to be honest. We had finally found the first home we dreamed of – but once we realised we still had to factor in the tax it proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back and we were back to square one.”
Jane and her partner Ian had been searching for a flat they could call their own in Edinburgh, their home city, for a few months when they came across a modern, two-bedroomed flat in the Dalry area.
It ticked all the boxes for the young professional couple in their early 30s, and at £300,000 it stretched a little beyond their budget but they reckoned they could just about manage it. And then came the bombshell from their solicitor – they’d forgotten to factor the need to pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax into their sums, a further £4000 they had to find.
“It doesn’t seem all that much, but we’d saved for years to gather the deposit through savings and some family borrowings, then would’ve had to borrow a little more to stretch to achieve the £300,000 asking price. Another £4000 on top was just a deal-buster.
