Edinburgh Council Election 2012: Portobello/Craigmillar

[wangi]

So nominations have closed and the candidates for the Portobello/Craigmillar ward are:

• Mike Bridgman: Scottish National Party (SNP)
  Maureen Child: Scottish Labour Party
  Henry Thomas Christian: Scottish Conservative and Unionist
  Norrie Davies: Independent
  David Alistair Manson: Scottish National Party (SNP)
  Peter McColl: Scottish Green Party
  Martin Veart: Scottish Liberal Democrats
  David Walker: Scottish Labour Party

With 3 councillors being elected.

A couple of observations...

The current Lib Dem councillor Stephen Hakwins is not standing for re-election (anyone know if that is due to non-selection or standing down?)

Current Labour councillor Maureen Child is second billing to David Walker on leaflets I've seen. And David Walker has considerable history locally as covered here: David Walker to stand as local Labour candidate.

Turnout is expected to be record breaking low, due to the council elections being standalone.

[Bob Jefferson]

Lots of Labour supporters like myself, who would normally be expected to use their first and second votes to vote Labour, will NOT be voting for David Walker. Even his own party doesn't want him elected from what I've heard. Peter MColl is well-known locally for his involvment in PEDAL but has dismayed many local parents for his refusal to publicly support the plans for the new school. The Greens were the only Councillors, along with Stephen Hawkins, to vote against.

[seanie]

I don't think the Greens ever voted against the High School, just never quite voted for it. They seemed to be hedging their bets and trying to appeal to both sides, without satisfying either.

[Porty]

The current Lib Dem councillor Stephen Hakwins is not standing for re-election (anyone know if that is due to non-selection or standing down?).

It is a bit of both; party doesn't want him, jump before you’re pushed.

David Manson- let us not forget he's the boy that totally misled the St John's Community on the new school opportunity that was on offer. He wrote to all parents urging them NOT to plump for a new school. According to him, the council were going to leave the old school building standing in the playground. He even appeared in the Evening News telling us all about it. Clowncillor would be a more apt vocation for him.

If you are Chair of a parent Council and are quite happy to peddle falsehoods to people you encounter at School- just think what you could get up to as a councillor?

Mr Manson did his best to keep PHS off the park- please keep that in mind when voting.

[Bob Jefferson]

Doesn't leave us much to vote for.

[seanie]

I've not received any election literature from anyone, but to be fair I think all the candidates from the major parties are supportive of the school, both in Portobello/Craigmillar and Craigentinny/Duddingston. Spoke to Labour, Liberal & SNP Cllrs/Candidates yesterday and they couldn't have been more supportive.

Not heard a peep out of the Greens yet. Maybe we can ask them at the hustings.

[Porty]

Speak to Alcatraz?

[terry2t]

Like much of Greater Craigmillar I was astounded to learn some time ago that David Walker was selected as one of the Labour Candidates for ward 17. I would like to point out a few things Mr Walker does not publicise in his campaign. He was part of a group that had to be removed from illegal control of Craigmillar Community Council in 2007 by the court of session. Cost to CEC £75,000. In 2011 he was a senior part of the management of the Capacity Building Project that had to be evicted from council premises in Craigmillar where they had squatted for nearly 2 years. This time £50,000, unfortunatly unlike PPAG costs were never sought. These facts are easily verifed on line. Mr Walker also likes to tell us he has been involved in local matters and improving the community for 20 odd years, he neglects to mention he's been very well paid for it.
I can only surmise that Mr Walker and his extremely crafty campaign manager Mr Paul Nolan (ex-councillor also worth a google) knew they had little chance of many votes where he had operated so they engineered things to ensure he was campaigning in areas where he and his history were relatively unknown. I leave it to you to do the right thing here.

This was written on a personal level but I have tried to keep personalities out of it, after all the facts are enough.

[Franck]

David Manson- let us not forget he's the boy that totally misled the St John's Community on the new school opportunity that was on offer. He wrote to all parents urging them NOT to plump for a new school. According to him, the council were going to leave the old school building standing in the playground. He even appeared in the Evening News telling us all about it. Clowncillor would be a more apt vocation for him.

If you are Chair of a parent Council and are quite happy to peddle falsehoods to people you encounter at School- just think what you could get up to as a councillor?

Mr Manson did his best to keep PHS off the park- please keep that in mind when voting.

Is this accurate? I think one of his kids was in my daughters year at St.Johns and I've never heard this before.Infact, I'm off to contact him to ask his opinions on the siting of PHS and a new St.Johns...

[Epykat]

Mr Manson did his best to keep PHS off the park- please keep that in mind when voting.

Will do....thanks!

[Henry Christian]

Just to let you know that I (the Conservative candidate) wholeheartedly support the building of a new PHS in the park.

[Bob Jefferson]

Thanks Henry, that's just saved me a phone call! May I refer you to:

http://www.facebook.com/new.phs.park

where your support for the new school may well win you some new friends and perhaps the odd vote!

[Betty Windsor]

Mr Manson did his best to keep PHS off the park- please keep that in mind when voting.

Will do....thanks!

Thanks god I can at least use one of my votes! Just need to find out what Mr Walker thinks about council landgrabbing before I totally make up my mind. Pity about the green candidate.

[Bob Jefferson]

Pity about the green candidate.

Ah well, that's what happens when you try to please everyone. You end up pleasing no-one.

[Henry Christian]

Thanks Henry, that's just saved me a phone call! May I refer you to:

http://www.facebook.com/new.phs.park

where your support for the new school may well win you some new friends and perhaps the odd vote!

Too late. I have already "liked" the page (and signed the petition), but thanks for the thought.

[Porty]

Mr Manson did his best to keep PHS off the park- please keep that in mind when voting.

Will do....thanks!

Thanks god I can at least use one of my votes! .

Hang on!!!!

Shouldn't you familiarise yourself with recent track record prior to wasting your vote?

[wangi]

Mr Manson did his best to keep PHS off the park- please keep that in mind when voting.

His position now:
https://twitter.com/#!/DavidManson2011/ ... 1951339520

@talkporty Now park only practical option so essential building of new PHS proceeds.Would oppose any future proposal for housing on park.

[Bazza]

To my mind, the fact that the Greens didn't support the school in the park isn't that surprising. I did a lot of soul searching about it too. I HATE building on green space in the city, although I've come round to supporting the site in the park. But that's one small part of their voting history. So they'll still be getting my vote, seeing as they still seem to be a true left of centre party.

[Bob Jefferson]

I would love to vote for Peter but I won't unless he makes a clear statement in favour of the school and signs our petition. Bazza, you can see that on this occasion and in these specific circumstances, building on Portobello Park is both justified and sensible. In terms of environmental justice, it's a no-brainer. Right now we've got 1400 kids cooped up in a tower block with not a blade of grass in sight, while just down the road a handful of dog walkers have got a whole park to themselves. Peter is a very clever chap and he understands that too. What he seems to lack is the moral courage to come out and say that. If he does, however belatedly, we will all have a lot more respect for him.

[Bazza]

I do support building the school on the park. But now the decisions been made (nearly!) I'm less interested in councillors opinions on the matter.

[wangi]

The Portobello/Craigmillar ward is all about the fight for the third seat...

Mike Bridgman / SNP will likely get first.

Maureen Child / Labour will likely get second.

But third? SNP (Manson), Labour (Walker), Libs (Veart), Greens (McColl) and Conservatives (Christian) all fancy their chances. Cast back to the 2007 results and Hawkins / Lib Dem just managed to get the third place - only getting in after the 14th stage! The Conservative candidate and 2nd Labour candidate actually had more first choice votes.

The coalition at Westminster is likely to impact the Liberal vote... What is having a second SNP candidate going to result in? And what about the Labour wildcard with Walker as top billing?

I'd fancy either the Greens or Conservative getting the third seat; with SNP getting two of the three as an outside bet.

It is a much smaller and mainstream list of candidates compared to 2007. And Henry Christian certainly isn't the stereotypical Tory candidate!

And see also: A Manifesto for Mavericks.
L/

[Bazza]

Maureen Child / SNP will likely get second.
L/

I'm no fan of the Labour Party, but it would be nice to at least recognise their councillors!

[Lones]

Will there be a hustings taking place?

[Bob Jefferson]

CC are to organise this, as on previous occasions, but no date set yet as far as I'm aware.

[Bob Jefferson]

I am reliably informed that the hustings event will take place on Wednesday 25th April in the Town Hall, 7-9pm.

[wangi]

Another interesting blog post at http://liberalsellout.wordpress.com/201 ... burgh-snp/

The vaulting ambition of Edinburgh SNP

If you had ‘broke’ an electoral system thanks to your unprecedented popularity, you’d have a spring in your step too. Just as in the rest of the country, the SNP have high expectations in Edinburgh.

The overflowing confidence brought by May 2011 has led the SNP to field more candidates than any other party in Edinburgh – 26 in all. That may also be why their leader Steve Cardownie felt he could declare that “the Greens are submitting this motion now because they won’t be here after May” as he and the Lib Dems slapped down their motion for a public petitions system.

You cannot blame the nats for this confidence. And having been cautious in 2007 by only standing one candidate in each ward, net gains are the only probable outcome. In fact the Lib Dems owe many of their seats in Edinburgh to nationalist hesistancy in 2007: in Portobello the SNP’s Bridgman was elected in the first round with 1000 votes spare, whilst the Lib Dems scraped in on the fourteenth round, not even making the quota.

But there’s an interesting characteristic to the SNP vote. Those 1000 votes in Portobello largely didn’t transfer, and that pattern is repeated across Edinburgh. If you take the four wards where the SNP and the SNP alone won in the first round it’s possible to determine the political peccadillos of the nationalist voter. There’s over 10,000 in the sample, not a bad survey:

With over half not transferring this confirms what is known from the “both votes SNP” Parliament campaign. Those that vote with the cause are really quite attached. And with the nats standing two candidates in nine wards this will further choke the transfers other parties may hope for.
...

[Maria]

It is a much smaller and mainstream list of candidates compared to 2007. And Henry Christian certainly isn't the stereotypical Tory candidate!

So it would seem. Can't recall getting any election material from him, but reading his Twitter account he certainly seems a bit different!

[wangi]

SNP, Green and Conservative election leaflets now online at http://liberalsellout.wordpress.com/201 ... -leaflets/

Dan Phillips: Four of the five parties now uploaded to Portobello/Craigmillar Leaflets http://wp.me/p24O7F-35 @talkporty your readers may be interested!

[Henry Christian]

So it would seem. Can't recall getting any election material from him, but reading his Twitter account he certainly seems a bit different!

Sorry you haven't received any material yet. I have been doing the deliveries almost entirely on my own, so I hope people will understand if I haven't quite managed to get round everyone yet.

In the meantime (as mentioned in the post above this one) you can view my leaflets online at Dan Phillip's Liberal Sell Out blog. http://liberalsellout.wordpress.com/201 ... -leaflets/

[wangi]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/outgoing-l ... -1-2224498

Outgoing Lib Dem predicts party voting snub at polls

AN outgoing city politician today fired a parting shot at his own Liberal Democrat party, warning support will evaporate on polling day.

Stephen Hawkins, a member of the city council administration, said his party’s association with the Westminster coalition government is likely to result in a voting snub on May 3.

The 59-year-old, who has represented Portobello and Craigmillar since 2007, is standing down from his seat and quitting the party.

He also said the ongoing legal row over Portobello High has been poorly handled by both senior council officials and his own administration.

...

[rmolehusband]

Ineffective councillor quits rather than face grubbing in the polls.

He said he primarily stood as a council candidate to represent his community

Well he certainly failed spectacularly in that that respect.

I love the fact he's blaming the Lib Dems national performance. Face it Councillor Hawkins, even if the Lib Dems were universally popular, you'd still be on a hiding to nothing.

[seanie]

They forgot to ask him the most important question.



Did he ever find Craigmillar?

[Pal of Porty]

I think Councillor Hawkins totally abused his position as a Councillor when it came to planning matters and used his privileges as a Ward Councillor to work his own ends on several applications in the Portobello area. And before anybody says anything - yes I did discuss this face to face with him.

[Bob Jefferson]

I would love to vote for Peter but I won't unless he makes a clear statement in favour of the school and signs our petition. Bazza, you can see that on this occasion and in these specific circumstances, building on Portobello Park is both justified and sensible. In terms of environmental justice, it's a no-brainer. Right now we've got 1400 kids cooped up in a tower block with not a blade of grass in sight, while just down the road a handful of dog walkers have got a whole park to themselves. Peter is a very clever chap and he understands that too. What he seems to lack is the moral courage to come out and say that. If he does, however belatedly, we will all have a lot more respect for him.

Peter McColl comes out in favour of the school on the park and wants to return the current site to green space.

I think that any new school must go on the Park. At this stage I don’t see a realistic alternative.

Given the strength of the comments by Lady Dorrian in the initial case, it seem unlikely that the Park will be retained. No real good will come from taking it further, and so the campaigners should drop their appeal.

[Maria]

I am reliably informed that the hustings event will take place on Wednesday 25th April in the Town Hall, 7-9pm.

Regarding the hustings on Wed night, please note that the hustings will be run as a panel, Question Time style, meeting. If anyone wishes to to submit questions in advance, they should send them to secretary@portobellocc.org