Edinburgh Council's 60m budget headache

[Nookie Bear]

13 hours ago, Der Kaiser said:

New teacher pay deal for April needs to be the priority........

 

Yep, 10% cuts all round.

 

Deal?

[Spellczech]

11 hours ago, Cade said:

Libraries do far more than book borrowing these days.

Most of them do free internet, IT education classes, literacy classes, they're almost a citizens advice bureaus these days as well as offering lots of social groups.

 

Whack parking charges up.

Whack business rates up for larger businesses.

Impose a tourist tax. Nobody is cancelling a holiday to Edinburgh because they're paying an extra one/five/ten quid a day on top of their budget.

Impose a land tax. Extra taxes for empty land which has planning permission but not being built on. Build the houses or sell up.

Impose punitive council tax charges for empty properties.

Increase council tax for the upper bands.

Ban Air BnB.
Impose private rental caps.

Impose some kind of levy on the Universities.

Take full control over the Festival and Christmas market; stops the money being hoarded away by private concerns, have it all flow into the Council coffers instead.

Fast food companies pay an extra surcharge for refuse collection.

Stop subsiding the feckin trams. They either stand on their own or they go bust. Sunk cost fallacy is a thing.

 

Sack almost all upper and middle management in the Council itself.

Massive road patching effort (yes patches are shite and don't last long and need re-doing not long after but the roads are in crisis so a short term fix is better than nothing and we certainly can't afford total re-surfacing).

Increased frequency of refuse collections, especially in the city centre.

Increased frequency of street cleaning.

Re-open public toilets.

Get the grass cut, verges sorted and trees properly maintained. City parks too.
Tow away the Gold Bros cars and crush them next time they're illegally parked, then shut down all their shitey shops in the Old Town, citing uncompetitive business practices.

Build a wall around Pennywell/Pilton/Drylaw/Muirhouse and invite the RAF to use it as a live fire bombing range. 

 

Can't argue with any of that until the last one where I think megalomania may be starting to impinge upon your judgement...

[Spellczech]

Just now, Nookie Bear said:

 

Yep, 10% cuts all round.

 

Deal?

How about a pay to play deal - pro-rate teacher pay to % of the year they actually work...about 65% - then give them a 10% increase. Easily affordable.

[That thing you do]

12 hours ago, Victorian said:

UK wide,  all parties involved will indulge in all manner of localised blame games.  But the source is the same.  A per capita economic landscape in freefall.  It's seriously ****ed.  A brutal reckoning will eventually come.  Councils are already starting to cut into the essential services budgets.  Adult social care,  etc.  The result will not be pretty.

Yep. The big picture is the UK economy is in free fall. There's lots of places to lay blame with English councils bankrupt or near it in many places as well.

The SNP have to take some of it though they can only work in the box they are given as well.

Despite the short time Truss was in power that's the point where bad got worse.

Brexit is also to blame both for making business in the EU slower and more expensive and the magical trade deals still in the hat with the rabbit.

Sunak literally doing nothing is up there too.

Sadly this is just the start im afraid.

 

 

[Ribble]

With over a 3rd of Edinburgh residents being students and not paying council tax there needs to be something done to re-coup some, if not most of that revenue!

 

Want to build 300 students flats? Cool, by the way as the developer you are on the hook for council tax on the flats for the next 20 years and each flat is going to be Band E.

 

Want to rent out your 2nd, 3rd, 4th property on Air B&B/short term let? Cool, property is now subject to business rates.

 

[Spellczech]

17 minutes ago, That thing you do said:

Yep. The big picture is the UK economy is in free fall. There's lots of places to lay blame with English councils bankrupt or near it in many places as well.

The SNP have to take some of it though they can only work in the box they are given as well.

Despite the short time Truss was in power that's the point where bad got worse.

Brexit is also to blame both for making business in the EU slower and more expensive and the magical trade deals still in the hat with the rabbit.

Sunak literally doing nothing is up there too.

Sadly this is just the start im afraid.

 

 

Sure you are not giving credibility to their excuses immediately on the back of saying they shouldn't be making them? 

 

The SNP chose to give a load of freebies at national level which they are keeping (free travel for young and old, free prescriptions, sanitary products and baby boxes, free tertiary education etc) which the rest of the UK has known for a long time are no longer viable. They are desperately hanging onto these in the hope and perhaps expectation that some other party will be in power when they get taken away, precisely so they can get back into power on the back of it...This is not responsible Government.

 

The SNP froze council tax rate increases then cries foul when the block grant doesn't rise to cover this also...

 

Simple truth is that when a country is in recession it cannot afford to be so generous to it's least productive members  of society. However, the mechanisms by which cuts get made is the big blame game - the hot potato of blame, it's like a game of pass-the-parcel but with a grenade...

 

Moreover, you only have to look at the M8 & M9 at rush hour to see that there are a lot more people commuting to Edinburgh for work from the west and Fife than there are going the opposite direction. These people benefit from lower housing costs but contribute absolutely nothing to the services they use in Edinburgh. Central London gets extra subsidisation for tourists and commuters - When I lived there my Council Tax in Chelsea was half what it had been in Glasgow City Centre...

Edited March 19 by Spellczech

[That thing you do]

32 minutes ago, Spellczech said:

Sure you are not giving credibility to their excuses immediately on the back of saying they shouldn't be making them? 

 

The SNP chose to give a load of freebies at national level which they are keeping (free travel for young and old, free prescriptions, sanitary products and baby boxes, free tertiary education etc) which the rest of the UK has known for a long time are no longer viable. They are desperately hanging onto these in the hope and perhaps expectation that some other party will be in power when they get taken away, precisely so they can get back into power on the back of it...This is not responsible Government.

 

The SNP froze council tax rate increases then cries foul when the block grant doesn't rise to cover this also...

 

Simple truth is that when a country is in recession it cannot afford to be so generous to it's least productive members  of society. However, the mechanisms by which cuts get made is the big blame game - the hot potato of blame, it's like a game of pass-the-parcel but with a grenade...

 

Moreover, you only have to look at the M8 & M9 at rush hour to see that there are a lot more people commuting to Edinburgh for work from the west and Fife than there are going the opposite direction. These people benefit from lower housing costs but contribute absolutely nothing to the services they use in Edinburgh. Central London gets extra subsidisation for tourists and commuters - When I lived there my Council Tax in Chelsea was half what it had been in Glasgow City Centre...

The interesting thing about all this is Scottish Councils are now where English ones were in 2018.

 

That's when first major cuts were called for and some went bankrupt.

 

We are in economic freefall. Despite the "freebies" and council tax freeze weve mitigated impending disaster by 6 years up here and no im not saying thats down to the SNP, but factors up here have mitigated it, which is all devolution can do in this situation. Paper the cracks.

 

1 in 10 councils in England will go bankrupt this year. None of which can be blamed on freebies.

 

The UK is an economic basket case. And there's the square root any devolved administration can do to prevent it. That's a Job for who hold the economic levers.

 

 

 

 

[Spellczech]

10 minutes ago, That thing you do said:

The interesting thing about all this is Scottish Councils are now where English ones were in 2018.

 

That's when first major cuts were called for and some went bankrupt.

 

We are in economic freefall. Despite the "freebies" and council tax freeze weve mitigated impending disaster by 6 years up here and no im not saying thats down to the SNP, but factors up here have mitigated it, which is all devolution can do in this situation. Paper the cracks.

 

1 in 10 councils in England will go bankrupt this year. None of which can be blamed on freebies.

 

The UK is an economic basket case. And there's the square root any devolved administration can do to prevent it. That's a Job for who hold the economic levers.

 

 

 

 

Probably more to do with the councillors up here being lefties and not investing council money in whacky property and energy schemes. Also Devolution and a legacy of Sturgeon's control-freakery, ironically actually means we are quite centralised in a way that England is not ie In Scotland the NHS is regional rather than individual NHS Trusts at every hospital.

 

I don't necessarily mean the above as a compliment to Scottish councillors - I actually think they are too sht and not bright enough to come up with Get-rich-quick schemes...

Edited March 19 by Spellczech

[Mysterion]

15 hours ago, Spellczech said:

Bet the fools wish they hadn't built all those cycle lanes with bollards now...

 

So what would you advise to fix it?

 

Starter for 10: Close libraries - nobody reads books anymore, so 20th century. Repurpose or sell the buildings. Donate the stock to McDonalds.

 

There is never an easy option - but IMO a toll charge to enter the city provided it "only funds education" is one method to getting the additional funding to support advanced services/mental health services/health and sport services for schools. Normally Toll Charges are draconian but this sort of method could be a positive alternative.

 

It's rubbish but at some point we need to prioritise funding kids/young adults education & support services which will have a long lasting benefit for decades.

 

[Seymour M Hersh]

12 minutes ago, Mysterion said:

 

There is never an easy option - but IMO a toll charge to enter the city provided it "only funds education" is one method to getting the additional funding to support advanced services/mental health services/health and sport services for schools. Normally Toll Charges are draconian but this sort of method could be a positive alternative.

 

It's rubbish but at some point we need to prioritise funding kids/young adults education & support services which will have a long lasting benefit for decades.

 

 

That would certainly assist greatly in killing of the economy in the city. 

[Spellczech]

8 minutes ago, Mysterion said:

 

There is never an easy option - but IMO a toll charge to enter the city provided it "only funds education" is one method to getting the additional funding to support advanced services/mental health services/health and sport services for schools. Normally Toll Charges are draconian but this sort of method could be a positive alternative.

 

It's rubbish but at some point we need to prioritise funding kids/young adults education & support services which will have a long lasting benefit for decades.

 

Unfortunately this sort of argument always makes me think of Comic Relief and other telethons - where wealthy celebrities donate their time in order to tell the poorer masses to donate money...

 

If people who have kids paid for kids needs there would be a finite link between responsibility and education. Asking drivers to fund education is simply another way of saying the state is responsible for raising kids...if that is to be so then rather than provide child benefit to everyone who produces kids, why not work it the other way and tax those who have kids then spend the money on their kids? 

[Howdy Doody Jambo]

Bring back the poll tax that will sort it 

The student flat industry up and down the country is a racket that needs investigating it just doesn't stack up 

The top management are obviously doing a shit job and are grossly overpaid - get rid and save millions on salaries and how taxpayers money is spent and prioritised

Bring in a cycling, Escooter road test with all road user's having registration plates 

Impose fines on missed appointments wasting council time 

[frankblack]

21 minutes ago, Seymour M Hersh said:

 

That would certainly assist greatly in killing of the economy in the city. 

 

The Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes will do that for businesses.

Edited March 19 by frankblack

[jack D and coke]

Britain is seriously going down the kazi. 
It almost feels like it’s too late to save too, the damage is done. 
If the austerity years didn’t do enough damage to it Brexit comes along to turn the screw. 
 

[Taffin]

1 hour ago, jack D and coke said:

Britain is seriously going down the kazi. 
It almost feels like it’s too late to save too, the damage is done. 
If the austerity years didn’t do enough damage to it Brexit comes along to turn the screw. 
 

 

I've found myself slipping into a malaise about life in the UK lately.

 

I think you're right, and the damage is done.

 

It's so bleeding expensive just to live currently then we've got council tax taking a bit more to pay for others to live. I'm pretty left leaning as my posts on here would suggest, but council tax is now increasing to cover things that should be covered by central government and the family unit imo yet they won't fix the streetlights on my road?!?

 

(Not Edinburgh council for clarity)

[JudyJudyJudy]

4 hours ago, Spellczech said:

Probably more to do with the councillors up here being lefties and not investing council money in whacky property and energy schemes. Also Devolution and a legacy of Sturgeon's control-freakery, ironically actually means we are quite centralised in a way that England is not ie In Scotland the NHS is regional rather than individual NHS Trusts at every hospital.

 

I don't necessarily mean the above as a compliment to Scottish councillors - I actually think they are too sht and not bright enough to come up with Get-rich-quick schemes...

Yes a nanny state . Devoid of individual personality responsibility . Promoted by the SNP and greens . 

[henryheart]

The reality is that the council is only allowed to raise 34% of its income from council tax and non domestic rates and the rates that it can charge are set by the Scottish Government. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government is free to raise what it wants from changes to income tax; the amount spent on administering the Government rises substantially each year and money is wasted on merging services to create nationwide bodies such as Police Scotland. We are increasingly living in a centralised state.

 

 

 

[jack D and coke]

28 minutes ago, henryheart said:

The reality is that the council is only allowed to raise 34% of its income from council tax and non domestic rates and the rates that it can charge are set by the Scottish Government. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government is free to raise what it wants from changes to income tax; the amount spent on administering the Government rises substantially each year and money is wasted on merging services to create nationwide bodies such as Police Scotland. We are increasingly living in a centralised state.

 

 

 

Police Scotland saves money. It received cross party support too at the time. 
Whether it was a good idea is another argument though. 

[henryheart]

12 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Police Scotland saves money. It received cross party support too at the time. 
Whether it was a good idea is another argument though. 

 

Fair comment.

[Seymour M Hersh]

6 hours ago, frankblack said:

 

The Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes will do that for businesses.

 

In the suburbs without doubt but congestion charge (effectively what the poster was proposing) will do for the city centre.

[il Duce McTarkin]

2 hours ago, jack D and coke said:

Police Scotland saves money. It received cross party support too at the time. 
Whether it was a good idea is another argument though. 

 

Every copper that I know thinks that it was a ****ing terrible idea.

[jack D and coke]

1 minute ago, il Duce McTarkin said:

 

Every copper that I know thinks that it was a ****ing terrible idea.

Yeah it’s a contentious issue. 
They’d likely have been even more cuts though if the forces had remained separate. 

[il Duce McTarkin]

1 minute ago, jack D and coke said:

Yeah it’s a contentious issue. 
They’d likely have been even more cuts though if the forces had remained separate. 

 

The least smelly shite in the pan is still a shite, jack. 

[Spellczech]

28 minutes ago, il Duce McTarkin said:

 

Every copper that I know thinks that it was a ****ing terrible idea.

Yeah but that is because they basically took all the forces and rolled them into Strathclyde Police. It was not a marriage of equals...I met a policeman after one of the rugby matches in a pub who told me morale was through the floor and he wants to quit to drive a train.

[Der Kaiser]

11 hours ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

Yep, 10% cuts all round.

 

Deal?

[Gundermann]

23 hours ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

 

What excuse do Labour in Wales have then?

 

Strange but Wales is facing cuts, several councils in Tory England are already bankrupt and our own Scot Gov is having to make difficult choices. So, blame it on the SNP or maybe the common evil here is Tory rule in London - the only actual authority that has all the levers of power?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/19/wales-government-announces-raft-of-cuts-to-public-services

[Gundermann]

9 hours ago, Spellczech said:

Unfortunately this sort of argument always makes me think of Comic Relief and other telethons - where wealthy celebrities donate their time in order to tell the poorer masses to donate money...

 

If people who have kids paid for kids needs there would be a finite link between responsibility and education. Asking drivers to fund education is simply another way of saying the state is responsible for raising kids...if that is to be so then rather than provide child benefit to everyone who produces kids, why not work it the other way and tax those who have kids then spend the money on their kids? 

 

[Byyy The Light]

Legalise drugs and rake in the tax

[John Findlay]

9 minutes ago, Gundermann said:

 

What excuse do Labour in Wales have then?

 

Strange but Wales is facing cuts, several councils in Tory England are already bankrupt and our own Scot Gov is having to make difficult choices. So, blame it on the SNP or maybe the common evil here is Tory rule in London - the only actual authority that has all the levers of power?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/19/wales-government-announces-raft-of-cuts-to-public-services

Jees you really are a whataboutery guy.

SNP, the only party in government where everyone else is at fault apart from them.

The only government who abdicate responsibility. It no oor fault. We're no at fault for anything. Sycophants like yourself lap it up.

[Malinga the Swinga]

22 hours ago, Cade said:

Libraries do far more than book borrowing these days.

Most of them do free internet, IT education classes, literacy classes, they're almost a citizens advice bureaus these days as well as offering lots of social groups.

 

Whack parking charges up.

Whack business rates up for larger businesses.

Impose a tourist tax. Nobody is cancelling a holiday to Edinburgh because they're paying an extra one/five/ten quid a day on top of their budget.

Impose a land tax. Extra taxes for empty land which has planning permission but not being built on. Build the houses or sell up.

Impose punitive council tax charges for empty properties.

Increase council tax for the upper bands.

Ban Air BnB.
Impose private rental caps.

Impose some kind of levy on the Universities.

Take full control over the Festival and Christmas market; stops the money being hoarded away by private concerns, have it all flow into the Council coffers instead.

Fast food companies pay an extra surcharge for refuse collection.

Stop subsiding the feckin trams. They either stand on their own or they go bust. Sunk cost fallacy is a thing.

 

Sack almost all upper and middle management in the Council itself.

Massive road patching effort (yes patches are shite and don't last long and need re-doing not long after but the roads are in crisis so a short term fix is better than nothing and we certainly can't afford total re-surfacing).

Increased frequency of refuse collections, especially in the city centre.

Increased frequency of street cleaning.

Re-open public toilets.

Get the grass cut, verges sorted and trees properly maintained. City parks too.
Tow away the Gold Bros cars and crush them next time they're illegally parked, then shut down all their shitey shops in the Old Town, citing uncompetitive business practices.

Build a wall around Pennywell/Pilton/Drylaw/Muirhouse and invite the RAF to use it as a live fire bombing range. 

 

Maybe add 

Stop sending foreign aid when we have problems at home.

 

Start charging students council tax. They use facilities same as everyone else.

 

Extend school day making it 8.30 till 5pm, 5 days a week. 

 

Give teachers 6 weeks off a year, same as most other occupations.

 

Review public sector pensions. 

 

Stop free prescriptions.

 

Extend support for families with autistic and special needs children. They deserve it.

 

Conversely, everyone adult who can work must work.

 

Bring public sector into 21st century and make them work for living. They can't do job, get rid of them. Too many of them have job for life and would never cope in private sector.

 

Bring utilities back under public control. In return for this, minimum service must always be maintained so unions can't hold country to ransom as per 1970's.

 

Stop extending tram world in Edinburgh. They're a drain on everything and every business.

 

Pursue every single person who owes money from poll tax. These people expect services and used protests as a means of getting something for nothing.

 

Simplify tax laws to dissuade people/business from evading tax.

 

Any person who holds elected position and then commits fraud should be immediately sacked, jailed and never allowed to hold office again.

 

Any business owner who commits fraud should be jailed and receive a lifetime ban from running another business.

 

Cyclists should be licensed and insured.

 

Anyone dropping litter should be made to do community service.

 

Bring back National Service.

 

[Taffin]

7 minutes ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Maybe add 

Stop sending foreign aid when we have problems at home.

 

Start charging students council tax. They use facilities same as everyone else.

 

Extend school day making it 8.30 till 5pm, 5 days a week. 

 

Give teachers 6 weeks off a year, same as most other occupations.

 

Review public sector pensions. 

 

Stop free prescriptions.

 

Extend support for families with autistic and special needs children. They deserve it.

 

Conversely, everyone adult who can work must work.

 

Bring public sector into 21st century and make them work for living. They can't do job, get rid of them. Too many of them have job for life and would never cope in private sector.

 

Bring utilities back under public control. In return for this, minimum service must always be maintained so unions can't hold country to ransom as per 1970's.

 

Stop extending tram world in Edinburgh. They're a drain on everything and every business.

 

Pursue every single person who owes money from poll tax. These people expect services and used protests as a means of getting something for nothing.

 

Simplify tax laws to dissuade people/business from evading tax.

 

Any person who holds elected position and then commits fraud should be immediately sacked, jailed and never allowed to hold office again.

 

Any business owner who commits fraud should be jailed and receive a lifetime ban from running another business.

 

Cyclists should be licensed and insured.

 

Anyone dropping litter should be made to do community service.

 

Bring back National Service.

 

 

Read down that list expecting to be outraged by something. Wasn't.

 

Barring 1 or 2 quibbles, I agree.

[Bender]

On 18/03/2024 at 20:45, AlimOzturk said:

They will do the usual, send the parking wardens out by force and up the amount they charge motorists in parking fines and bud lane fines. They will be raking it in with LEZ fines as well now. 

 

Do you understand the LEZ fines are for cars that don't meet emission standards, which practically all cars built within the last 10 years do?

[The Real Maroonblood]

4 hours ago, jack D and coke said:

Police Scotland saves money. It received cross party support too at the time. 
Whether it was a good idea is another argument though. 

I understand it’s an other argument but Police Scotland was a huge mistake.

[jack D and coke]

10 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

I understand it’s an other argument but Police Scotland was a huge mistake.

It’s not been popular but there would have been likely even more cuts to the police had they remained separate forces. Back when it came into being it was already saving £1billion IIRC. 
The police are stretched as it is. 
Who knows bud…
 

[Costanza]

22 minutes ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Maybe add 

Stop sending foreign aid when we have problems at home.

 

Start charging students council tax. They use facilities same as everyone else.

 

Extend school day making it 8.30 till 5pm, 5 days a week. 

 

Give teachers 6 weeks off a year, same as most other occupations.

 

Review public sector pensions. 

 

Stop free prescriptions.

 

Extend support for families with autistic and special needs children. They deserve it.

 

Conversely, everyone adult who can work must work.

 

Bring public sector into 21st century and make them work for living. They can't do job, get rid of them. Too many of them have job for life and would never cope in private sector.

 

Bring utilities back under public control. In return for this, minimum service must always be maintained so unions can't hold country to ransom as per 1970's.

 

Stop extending tram world in Edinburgh. They're a drain on everything and every business.

 

Pursue every single person who owes money from poll tax. These people expect services and used protests as a means of getting something for nothing.

 

Simplify tax laws to dissuade people/business from evading tax.

 

Any person who holds elected position and then commits fraud should be immediately sacked, jailed and never allowed to hold office again.

 

Any business owner who commits fraud should be jailed and receive a lifetime ban from running another business.

 

Cyclists should be licensed and insured.

 

Anyone dropping litter should be made to do community service.

 

Bring back National Service.

 

Intrigued by this. Where else in the world has this been trialled and proven to have benefits,  financial or otherwise?

As someone who cycles and drives, I hate everyone on the road. Personally I'd double the taxation of anyone who drives a BMW.

 

On the school hours thing as well, does any country have hours like that for kids? Most countries that are ranked higher than the UK don't so I'm not sure this is really required, albeit given the lack of after school and breakfast club at my daughters school, I'm not completely discounting it....

[1971fozzy]

Absolute arseholes.

the money wasted on these cat scratching cycle poles is just staggering. Fools and idiots. Scary thing is they did it. And can’t afford now to take them away 🤣🤣

[frankblack]

1 hour ago, Bender said:

 

Do you understand the LEZ fines are for cars that don't meet emission standards, which practically all cars built within the last 10 years do?

 

Not everyone can afford to change cars especially if the car is in good condition with low mileage.

 

Also  I've had conversations with tradespeople who won't be able to accept jobs in this LEZ zone as the fines and parking charges would be unaffordable .

[That thing you do]

3 hours ago, John Findlay said:

Jees you really are a whataboutery guy.

SNP, the only party in government where everyone else is at fault apart from them.

The only government who abdicate responsibility. It no oor fault. We're no at fault for anything. Sycophants like yourself lap it up.

I dont believe you truly believe a word of that.

 

The SNP have made a mess of alot of things. But the economy being in freefall isn't their doing. All they can do is bail water on the titanic a bit more efficiently and creatively, but WM hit the iceberg, not the SNP.

 

Don't go thinking Labour are a lifeboat either. They controlled Scotland for 40 years and lets remember the mess they made also.

 

The real way to avoid the sinking is the carpathia coming along side but labour and tory can't work the radio but you can bet they claimed it on expenses.

 

Scotland always has the carpathia as an option. That is if people would admit bailing together is a myth.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 20 by That thing you do

[manaliveits105]

6 hours ago, John Findlay said:

Jees you really are a whataboutery guy.

SNP, the only party in government where everyone else is at fault apart from them.

The only government who abdicate responsibility. It no oor fault. We're no at fault for anything. Sycophants like yourself lap it up.

Fair comment 

[i wish jj was my dad]

16 hours ago, Seymour M Hersh said:

 

That would certainly assist greatly in killing of the economy in the city. 

Agree. A lot of local businesses in town depend on trade generated by commuters. They will already be affected by increased home working. Further discouragement is hardly going to help. 

The problems stem from austerity. Brexit, Covid, inflation, Truss, increased cost of social care and pissing away public money (UK, SG and local government) and the cataclysmic decision to freeze council tax increases. 

Depressing stuff. 

[The Mighty Thor]

9 hours ago, il Duce McTarkin said:

 

Every copper that I know thinks that it was a ****ing terrible idea.

They do but they've faced significant budget cuts since its formation. 

The police service is creaking under trying to do more with less just like all the public services. 

[The Mighty Thor]

4 hours ago, That thing you do said:

 

Don't go thinking Labour are a lifeboat either. They controlled Scotland for 40 years and lets remember the mess they made also.

 

This.

 

There will be a lot of folks who will come to realise very very quickly that Keith's mob plan to change nothing.

 

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed as much in her speech yesterday. She'll continue the Tory economic policy. 

[il Duce McTarkin]

40 minutes ago, The Mighty Thor said:

They do but they've faced significant budget cuts since its formation. 

The police service is creaking under trying to do more with less just like all the public services. 

 

I understand the constraints that they're operating under, TmT, and that they have had to adapt practices to compensate, but the general point stands. Police forces throughout the UK are struggling, and the malaise amongst rank and file is endemic. 

[Seymour M Hersh]

1 hour ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

Agree. A lot of local businesses in town depend on trade generated by commuters. They will already be affected by increased home working. Further discouragement is hardly going to help. 

The problems stem from austerity. Brexit, Covid, inflation, Truss, increased cost of social care and pissing away public money (UK, SG and local government) and the cataclysmic decision to freeze council tax increases. 

Depressing stuff. 

 

Truss's policies never had the time do any good or damage to the economy.  The real problem is lack of growth over the last decade which, ironically, she attempted to improve but just implemented it badly. However your comment about local government (and others but it's the clowncil we're discussing here) is absolutely spot on. Unfortunately they will continue to do so at an alarming rate while saying they don't get enough m money from central gov. How much has the "Inquiry" now cost into their vanity project?

[John Findlay]

5 hours ago, That thing you do said:

I dont believe you truly believe a word of that.

 

The SNP have made a mess of alot of things. But the economy being in freefall isn't their doing. All they can do is bail water on the titanic a bit more efficiently and creatively, but WM hit the iceberg, not the SNP.

 

Don't go thinking Labour are a lifeboat either. They controlled Scotland for 40 years and lets remember the mess they made also.

 

The real way to avoid the sinking is the carpathia coming along side but labour and tory can't work the radio but you can bet they claimed it on expenses.

 

Scotland always has the carpathia as an option. That is if people would admit bailing together is a myth.

 

 

 

 

 

I believe every word.

Here's the thing.

I have no faith in any politicians of any party. As far as I am concerned they are all shitebags. 

None of them take responsibility for anything. Tories, Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Greens. All shitebags to a man, and woman.

[fabienleclerq]

21 hours ago, Mysterion said:

 

There is never an easy option - but IMO a toll charge to enter the city provided it "only funds education" is one method to getting the additional funding to support advanced services/mental health services/health and sport services for schools. Normally Toll Charges are draconian but this sort of method could be a positive alternative.

 

It's rubbish but at some point we need to prioritise funding kids/young adults education & support services which will have a long lasting benefit for decades.

 

 

So people from outside Edinburgh pay for Edinburghs services, I assume there will be an extra tax on the residents?

 

The reality is more people would be allowed to work from home and more businesses would leave the city. That's before you think about the hit to the economy of the smaller shops/food venders with no commutors. 

 

Rejoin the EU and tax big businesses taking the piss like amazon.....

[Bozi]

Homecare in Edinburgh has been receiving death by a thousand cuts for years, the workforce is about a third of what it was 5 years ago and yet the expectation on delayed discharge remains all consuming (ignoring that early intervention and prevention would be more beneficial) 

The whole system is broken and now seeing this in every aspect of council work, it's going to be a seriously tough next 5 years 

[Bender]

14 hours ago, frankblack said:

 

Not everyone can afford to change cars especially if the car is in good condition with low mileage.

 

Also  I've had conversations with tradespeople who won't be able to accept jobs in this LEZ zone as the fines and parking charges would be unaffordable .

 

Then don't bring your car into the city centre. It's pretty simple when you consider just how good our public transport network is.

 

As for trades people, I'm sure they'd find a way to get themselves a vehicle that was less than 10 years old. People are quite adaptable when they want to be.

[Nookie Bear]

5 minutes ago, Bender said:

 

Then don't bring your car into the city centre. It's pretty simple when you consider just how good our public transport network is.

 

As for trades people, I'm sure they'd find a way to get themselves a vehicle that was less than 10 years old. People are quite adaptable when they can afford to be.

 

FTFY

[Bender]

6 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

FTFY

 

Plenty of van leasing companies out there. If you're genuinely that worried about how many jobs you're going to miss out on because you drive an old banger that pollutes the air, go out and find one.