The City Council budget: What would Labour do?

As the city council finalises its next budget, Cllr Ricky Henderson, Labour spokesperson on Finance, explains what his party would do differently if it were in power.

One could be forgiven for thinking that the general outlook for Council services is pretty grim. Funding has been squeezed by the governments at Westminster and Holyrood with little prospect of the situation improving or additional sources of revenue provided.

A living wage for council workers

Andrew with Stephen Donnelly of
Edinburgh University Labour Students

Edinburgh Labour's recently-launched consultation document has a commitment to introduce a Living Wage for council workers, thus ensuring that all employees are paid a fair wage.

Edinburgh University Labour Students have been running a 'Living Wage' campaign for some time, and Edinburgh Labour group leader Andrew Burns was delighted recently to sign up to support the Living Wage on behalf of all the Labour candidates in the city.

Can you help the campaign this weekend?

With fewer than 100 days until polling day the Edinburgh Labour team is busier than ever, working to get our message out, and with your help we can get even more done!

This weekend - Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January - we're asking anyone who's willing to help stuff some envelopes to come along to the Edinburgh Labour Campaign Office at 78 Buccleuch Street [map] any time from 11am both days. Food and drinks will be provided for all volunteers.

Bill Cook: Brave hearts know it’s best to keep kingdom united

One you might have missed from the Evening News last week:

It is time to bust some myths about our national identity, says proud Scot and Labour councillor Bill Cook.

A few years ago now, whilst debating with a Scottish nationalist, she suddenly asked whether I had seen Braveheart. Bemused, I answered “yes”. I couldn’t quite understand why a brilliant but largely fictional film had anything at all to do with an argument about what was best for modern Scotland. “Having seen it do you feel more or less Scottish?” she asked. I spluttered that this was a movie, it was a fairy tale, it was as historically accurate as the tales of Sinbad The Sailor. What possible bearing could a Mel Gibson adventure story have on my sense of identity?

Read Bill's article on the Edinburgh Evening News website »