The SNP today published its manifesto for Edinburgh’s Council election on 4 May 2017, Stronger for Edinburgh.
The party has set out what it describes as an ambitious platform of policies to the city forward for the next five years.
The manifesto highlights the key achievements of the SNP in the last five years in terms of policies and local achievements by SNP councillors. In the last administration the SNP group was in administration as part of the Capital Coalition.
Their platform focuses on improving education, housing and making the city a cleaner greener place.
The manifesto sets out detailed plans and priorities for an SNP Council administration and their key pledges for council services.
The group says it is committed to making Edinburgh a wealthier, more vibrant city and claims that their plans reflect their ambition for the capital city.
SNP Group Leader Frank Ross commented: “We have set out an ambitious roadmap of how we will lead the city in the next five years. We have made more than 90 policy commitments to the people of Edinburgh in our manifesto and we intend to keep to each and every one of them. We’re asking for everyone in the city to support our platform and vote SNP to make our Council stronger for Edinburgh.“
Education spokesperson Cathy Fullerton said: “Education will always be one of our highest priorities and I’m proud of the platform we’re putting forward to close the attainment gap, invest in young people and deliver for families in Edinburgh.
“We will build 12 new schools, invest in early years and ensure every young person in the Capital leaving school has the opportunity of education, training or work.”
SNP spokesperson for communities, Lewis Ritchie commented: “We are committed to allocating 1% of the Council’s budget by 2021 for participatory budgeting. The SNP trust the people of Edinburgh to know what’s best for their community and we’ll back belief up by transferring decision making and budget decisions directly to our citizens. 100% of local community grants in Leith are already decided in this way, we know”
SNP candidate for Pentland Hills ward, Neil Gardiner who is an architect by profession said: “The SNP is standing on a platform of improving the planning system to make it more reflective of our community’s needs. We recognise the importance of our City’s world heritage status and will protect it for future generations.
“The SNP has always worked to protect the greenbelt and we’re determined to find a better way of directing developments to brownfield sites in Edinburgh.“
SNP candidate in Liberton Gilmerton Lesley Macinnes, Chair of a domestic abuse charity commented: “This manifesto is a plan for a fairer Edinburgh. An SNP administration will carry out a comprehensive review of support for carers, invest in homelessness services and expand the living wage.
“Tackling poverty must be a central focus for the Council. Our plans to expand and support early intervention and advice services in the Capital will mean that the Edinburgh of the future isn’t still dealing with problems of the past.“
SNP candidate in Drum Brae Gyle, Claire Bridgman, a local business owner added: “Edinburgh’s strength is its vibrancy and diversity in its people and in our economy. Our policies will support small business to start-up, grow and develop better links between people in need of work with jobs in key growth sectors of our economy underpinning our vitality as a city.”
“We’re committed to ensuring our city continues to be a place to live, work and enjoy by avoiding dominance of any one type of development or any one industry.”
SNP Transport spokesperson Adam McVey said: “We will address Edinburgh’s air quality and congestion issues and deal with the challenges that future growth will bring. We are committed to work to reduce the number of cars commuting from outside the city boundary with investment in park and rides and other public transport key to that effort.
“We need to grow our city’s active travel and public transport capacity if we’re to deal with the huge increase in population that’s expected in the next decade. The Tram extension business case is being developed now and we have maintained a strong oversight over this process to make sure the business case coming to Council in June is as robust as possible.
“We have set out a series of conditions that must be met before tram extension proceeds. The project has to be funded without putting any additional strain on the council’s finances, we need assurances that the project will be properly managed, we need to ensure that any programme minimises disruption and small businesses must be supported throughout the duration of the works.”
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
