Edinburgh transport convener admits to “Trumpian” moment after Princes Street fire

EDINBURGH’S transport convener admitted to a moment of “Trumpian weakness” after suggesting the fire-affected building be knocked down and its owners pay for the trouble.

He made the admission on Thursday, but added that he “will not apologise” for the comments, made on Facebook some time after the fire in early July.

The capital’s Transport Convener did, however, admit he might have missed some of the situation’s nuance. This came just after the announcement that the street will reopen on Saturday.

He said: “I did suggest that we just knock the building down, and in a moment of Trumpian weakness, make the owner of the building pay for it.”

He added: “I do stand by my comments. I was saying what everybody else was thinking, and my priority will always be to keep the city moving, and I won’t apologise for doing my job.

“However, I subsequently discovered that dealing with a listed building in the middle of Princes Street in a World Heritage Site is slightly more complicated than the transport convener saying just knock it down.”

A part of Princes Street has been entirely closed off since a fire ripped through the category B-listed building in the early hours of 9 July.

The fire has led to transport chaos in the capital, with trams entirely cut off in the east of the city.

Towards the end of July, he posted on Facebook: “I would knock the building down and get the city moving as soon as possible.”

The Labour administration was heavily criticised for its “chaotic” communications during a heated full council meeting at the city chambers, despite announcing that Princes Street would fully reopen on Saturday.

The city’s SNP Group accused the Labour administration of leaving parts of the city “woefully under-supported” and “under-informed”.

The SNP’s Adam Nols-McVey said: “Where were the dramatic traffic regulation changes for the city centre to keep public transport moving?

“Where was the cast iron engagement with Lothian buses to support additional capacity?

“Lothian Buses deserve credit for managing the situation as best they can, but political leadership in terms of finding innovative ways of improving that capacity and keeping the city going were null and void.”

Turning to the Transport Convener’s comments, he added: “What have we seen from the administration? An almost laughing-off approach.

“They should have taken this far more seriously.

“And the chaotic communications of a transport convener claiming he had a Trumpian moment – he’s been having a Trumpian moment for the last four and a bit years.

“To try and laugh off the chaos of expectation from someone who is supposed to be responsible for these services, responsible for keeping the city moving, is depressing.”

Council leader Jane Meagher responded by accusing the SNP Group of “cheap politicisation” of the fire and resulting emergency response.

Despite the heated debate, the entire council thanked emergency services for their “tireless” efforts to get the street back up and running, and agreed to a “lessons learned” review.

It is hoped that this will allow the council to improve its preparedness for emergency closures and incidents in future.

The Edinburgh Bus Users Group said estimates that up to five million journeys have been affected in the aftermath of the Princes Street fire.

Argonaut Books in Leith said their footfall is down 35% on August of the previous year as a direct result of the tram cut off.