We asked for views on what some Edinburgh people think Scotland might be like this morning. Colin Keir is MSP for Edinburgh West and this is the Scotland he envisaged ahead of the Scottish Independence Referendum vote yesterday. Here is what he had to say:
The sun is shining and the birds are singing and Scotland awakes to the most exciting period its long history.
Our nation has decided to move forward, it has decided that those who live here are the best people to decide our own future. In eighteen months time Scotland will re-join the international community of nations as an equal partner. No longer will we be seen as a region of North Britain, governed by a Westminster parliament which has become remote in terms of relevance to those who live north of Hadrians Wall.
But this is the 21st century. We will be leaving the UK but physically we are attached. There will be no border posts and guards, no need to take your passport to the rest of the UK and we welcome our friends and family from the rest of the UK to our country with open arms.
But I so dearly look forward to seeing Scotland make an even bigger mark on the world, not just in terms of how we relate to other nations and peoples which is important but to build a society here in our own country which is seen as a beacon of fairness and democracy.
Gone will be the lingering 19th century view of the British Empire which many at Westminster still cling to. No more illegal wars, weapons of mass destruction and we can do something to help those worse off by ditching among other things the Bedroom Tax.
We can also take steps that will build us an economy which means we will eliminate the need for foodbanks in our communities.
The potential of our country is massive. We will awake on the 19th September with hope as well as pride that we are standing on our own two feet.
Unless we have voted NO?
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
It seems a tad unkind to have published this article. Like Colin Keir, 45% of the Scottish population must be very disappointed today.
However, I know many people in Edinburgh especially will agree with my neighbours and myself when we say we have had a narrow escape. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for planning legislation that is wide open to abuse, enables fundamentally dishonest practices within our planning services, failure to comply with recommended Planning Charters and ultimately members of the public suffering hardship and injustice.
Our MSPs are also responsible for the SPSO Act 2002. This enables the “somewhat toothless Ombudsman” (Kenny MacAskill MSP – Justice Secretary) to condone these practices by ignoring the maladministration involved rather than make recommendations for retraining and changes to procedures as their publicity suggests they will. This would ultimately lead to the more accurate and professional service we all have a right to expect from our Planning Depts. By all accounts, SPSO staff and those MSPs we have dealt with recently do not even understand the legal implications of this piece of legislation e.g. just what legal obligations do the SPSO have to the public?
It is worth mentioning that Mr Keir, a number of his parliamentary colleagues in the Edinburgh area and even the First Minister have been aware of the problems within both CEC Planning Dept and the SPSO since 2011. Yet those problems still remain, despite both Councillors and MSPs having a legal obligation to comply with their respective Codes of Conduct, i.e. serving the best interests of their constituents and in the case of MSPs, the people of Scotland.
These problems have given rise to more than 4000 people adding their names to the following petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no-confidence-in-the-city-of-edinburgh-planning-department
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