#SP16 Sarah Boyack Scottish Labour candidate for Edinburgh Central

Sarah Boyack is the Scottish Labour candidate for Edinburgh Central and she is a list candidate too. A veteran of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, she is a well-known voice and stood as Scottish Labour leader last year too.

She did represent this constituency until the election in 2011 when she lost the seat to Marco Biagi the SNP candidate by a narrow margin of 237 votes.

She campaigned for legislation through during the last parliament to prevent party flats in the city’s tenements and modern blocks, but the key problem here is affordability.

She is keen to get new housing which is affordable to rent and to buy.  She says that young graduates and young professionals are having real trouble in buying accommodation, and that these people are now leaving the city.

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#SP16 Sarah Boyack Scottish Labour candidate Edinburgh Central from Phyllis Stephen on Vimeo.

Boyack said: “I am very keen that we get new housing but also that it is affordable. Our house to home policy will help first time buyers but there is a general need for more affordable housing. Our big commitment is for 60,000 affordable houses over the next 5 years. I have made representation on gap sites in the centre as they come up in the planning system. I think there should be a requirement for 25% affordable housing on each and every planning application made relating to land in the city centre.”

“Some of these issues run right through the period of the Scottish Parliament such as affordable housing and also affordable warmth and heat. I also want a Warm Homes Act in the next parliament.

To encourage developers to build in the city centre is to enforce the 25% policy on all city centre sites no matter whether these are used for hotels, housing or student flats.

“I am a big environmental campaigner and want to tackle the issue of fuel poverty. A Warm Homes Act would help those renting from  private landlords in the city centre.

“It is time for a new way to fund local government as council tax is now unfair. We need a tourism levy which would raise about £18 million here in Edinburgh to help plug a hole in the city’s finances and also a property based tax.

“We urgently need a fairer tax system. For example those earning over £150,000 have broader shoulders and they should be able to afford to pay bit more.”