General Election 2024
We would very much like to encourage questions from our readers which we can then put to prospective MPs at the next General Election whenever it is held.
That way we can have a bank of questions which residents really need the answers to for any interviews we conduct with candidates.
Do let us know what you want to know from any MP who might be elected in the capital.
Email editor@theedinburghreporter.co.uk
Scrapping off peak fares
The Scottish Government has been urged by various unions including Aslef, STUC and TSSA not to reinstate peak fares. A temporary measure under which only off peak fares are charged all day long comes to an end in June.
The government’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee meets this morning at Holyrood when they will hear evidence about the current state of Scotland’s railways. With ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper taken back into public ownership in 2022, this is a one-off meeting to review the current situation. Unusually the transport unions are backed by environmental groups who also consider the reduction in fares as a good thing.
The unions wrote a letter to Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop saying: “If you were to restore peak fares it would be a retrograde step that would send exactly the wrong message at the wrong time.
“We urge you to do the right thing, scrap peak fares permanently to help Scotland meet its climate targets, grow the economy sustainably and help workers by ending this unfair tax on them.”
As well as fares, those contributing to the session will address anti-social behaviour, the condition of the rolling stock and passengers’ security.
Watch the parliamentary committee on Parliament TV here.
Planning a garden
St Mary’s Cathedral on Palmerston Place has asked the council for permission to allow the garden area to the south east of the building to be allowed to rewild.
This is part of the cathedral’s commitment to the city’s aim to become net zero by 2030. The cathedral wants to allow the garden to rewild to introduce more biodiversity to the site. There will be more seating and signs incorporated in the design.
Part of the plans would be to develop an existing wildflower labyrinth on the East section of the South Lawn and designate this area of the South lawn a rewilding Ark. This is not any reference to the rain which has lashed the city in recent days but to the Acts of Restorative Kindness which you can read more about here. This involves giving at least half of your garden or land back to nature, putting up a sign to say it is an ark and mark it on the map.
Andy Warhol: The Textiles
Join Dovecot’s Curator for an exclusive tour of Andy Warhol: The Textiles.
This exhibition will take you on a journey through the unknown and unrecorded world of designs by the influential artist before his Silver Factory days. Showcasing over 35 of Warhol’s textile patterns from the period, depicting an array of colourful objects; ice cream sundaes, delicious toffee apples, colourful buttons, cut lemons, pretzels, and jumping clowns, this exhibition demonstrates how textile and fashion design was a crucial stage in Warhol becoming one of the most iconic artists of the twentieth century.
Tickets £15
Read more about the exhibition here.
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This month’s paper celebrates the 100th anniversary of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s birth in 1924. We are already working on the next paper so do get in touch if you have a story for us.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
