My name is Vicky Nicolson, I am pleased to be a new SNP candidate standing in Inverleith Ward.
Originally from Ayrshire I came to Edinburgh in 1995. I was a young student and within months of living here I fell in love with this amazing city. I went on to have my family here and we have spent more than twenty happy years calling Inverleith Ward home. I love spending time with my children, my dog, gardening, holidaying in Scotland, being with family and friends, reading widely, enjoying the live music offered, especially country music and keeping up with politics, and being both connected with my community and a community connector.
The main reason for my wish to stand as an SNP councillor for Inverleith Ward is that being elected will allow me to represent and help my community during a time of such great change. As well of recovering from a turbulent two years with the pandemic, we are now all concerned about the current news from Ukraine – and the ever increasing worry for all of us about the rising cost of living. I would like to make myself available to serve you and do what I can to help local people during this period of uncertainty and beyond.
I truly believe there is enough evidence to prove Scotland can and will flourish as an independent country given the chance and my hope is to make a valuable contribution towards this aim.
I have worked for the City of Edinburgh Council for twenty years and am experienced in many of the systems and processes within the council. I have also been a Community Councillor for five years and until recently, have held the position of Community Council Secretary. These roles have given me an insight into how the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh’s communities interact. As a Community Councillor I have served with other community members and the Ward Councillors with whom I have formed constructive working relationships. My time working with the Community Council has informed me about what matters to people: safe streets, timely services, clean and tidy neighbourhoods and quick responses and resolutions to council issues.
Volunteering for the Community Council, having a full-time job alongside being a single parent presents certain challenges. I have not been able to devote as much time to the community as I would like and as much time as I have found it would be necessary to elicit change. As your Ward Councillor, I am looking forward to being in a position to focus on the role of serving my community as my full-time job.
I currently work for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership as a Local Area Co-ordinator. This role involves helping people who experience barriers such as living with a disability or a long term condition to access their communities. I connect people with their community, help them to develop supportive networks and live as full and independent lives as they possibly can. Where gaps are identified in what the community can offer, I work with individuals, communities, and organisations to fill the inevitable gaps. I have enjoyed my role advising people on welfare rights, helping people navigate the complex systems within the Health and Social Care Partnership, organising respite care and short breaks for unpaid carers and supporting people to find the resources they need. At the height of the Covid crisis I left my job temporarily and volunteered in a Council run care home, I was then promoted to a position where I was responsible for managing a Council Home Care team in North West Edinburgh.
The SNP government has managed to keep citizens feeling safe and informed throughout the pandemic, at all times putting the safety of the people of Scotland at the heart of all decision making. My colleagues within the City of Edinburgh Council and the front line workforce have responded to the pandemic with great courage and dedication. While working in the care home and managing the home care team during 2020/21 I was overwhelmed with admiration for the staff teams on the front line as well as in the offices. The staff kept services running when, at times, it seemed like we were running out of options. The ways in which the City of Edinburgh Council, residents, communities and agencies pulled together and worked through the situations imposed upon them makes me proud to have been part of that journey and makes me certain that I have the enthusiasm and ability to allow me to influence the change needed.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
