Ewan Aitken is currently the Councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston and is now standing as the Labour candidate for Eastern Edinburgh. He was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council in 1999 and was elected Council Leader in August 2006 and from May 2007 until June 2008 was also Labour Group leader.
He is an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland, and is the Secretary of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council. Ewan is also an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Glasgow and an Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh University.
What are the main points which you will be campaigning on?
Jobs, anti-social behaviour, environmental issues and education.
People need to work and feel that the economy is strong. They need to feel safe in their communities. Climate change is actually the biggest political issue we face today, but it is long term so need a separate strand of thinking. Action and education is how you build a society.
What do you hope to achieve in the new Parliament if you are elected?
I want to show that long-term thinking is political decision making. That is the only way we can make the systemic changes we need to to build a better society.
I want to see early intervention in schools about the social and learning barriers which will, I think, radically change the opportunity many young people have of make the very best of themselves. And on a very specific issue, I want to achieve real sustained support for kinship carers.
What do you think makes you the best person to represent the constituency in Holyrood?
I do not want to waste time and money on constitutional change that will do nothing to help make what we are and who we are as a nation a better place to live. I have a track record of hard work in serving my constituents. I am also known for suggesting innovative responses to challenges in the community. I have clear values and principles, and I believe that what we do together will achieve far more than what we do alone
What are the big issues in the constituency which you aim to represent?
Unemployment amongst young men in particular
Drugs and localised violence
A new school for Portobello
The closure of Blindcraft
The need for the continued regeneration of Criagmillar
