Tag: democracy

Candidates confirmed for Edinburgh by-elections

The candidates standing in the upcoming Southside/Newington (Ward 15) and Portobello/Craigmillar (Ward 17) by-elections have been confirmed.

23 candidates will stand in these by-elections, which will elect one new councillor per ward, on Thursday 3 September 2026.

The candidates standing for election in the Southside/Newington ward are:

  • Ruth Elliot: SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY
  • Derrick Emms: EDINBURGH & EAST LOTHIAN PEOPLE
  • Isabella Gastel Alejandre: SCOTTISH GREENS
  • Roisin Keirdashian: INDEPENDENT
  • Artie Khovanov: SCOTTISH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
  • Nick Layden: SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST
  • Richard Crewe Lucas: SCOTTISH FAMILY PARTY – CHRISTIAN VALUES
  • Sam Alexander Mackenzie: SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY (SNP)
  • Sean McGregor Moffat: ALLIANCE FOR DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM
  • Gary Neill: REFORM UK
  • Markham Rowbotham: EDINBURGH & EAST LOTHIAN PEOPLE
  • Richard Shillcock: COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRITAIN
  • Marc Wilkinson: EDINBURGH & EAST LOTHIAN PEOPLE

The candidates standing for election in the Portobello/Craigmillar ward are:

  • David Craig Ballantine: ALLIANCE FOR DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM
  • Niel Deepnarain: SCOTTISH FAMILY PARTY – CHRISTIAN VALUES
  • Pete Gregson: WORKERS PARTY OF BRITIAN
  • Lorenzo Martinico: SCOTTISH GREENS
  • Silas McGilvray: SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY (SNP)
  • Andrew McLaughlin: REFORM UK
  • Peter Olech: COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRITAIN
  • Liss Owen: SCOTTISH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
  • Jim Patrick Wyke: SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY
  • Haris Young: SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST

The final candidate lists and further information are also available on the Council website.

Returning Officer for the City of Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence said: “With nominations now closed and just over a month to go until polling day, residents in these wards can start thinking about who they will vote for.

“Councillors play a key role in our democratic system, making crucial decisions that impact our city.

“I’d encourage everyone who is eligible to register to vote in plenty of time, and then make their voices heard in September.”

Poll cards will be delivered to registered voters in the area from today, with further information on when and where to vote.

If you live in these wards, the deadline to register to vote in these by-elections is 18 August. For new postal vote applications, it’s 19 August and for new proxy votes it’s 26 August.

Find out more about registering to vote on the Council website.

The election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, where voters rank candidates in order of preference, rather than using a single cross. Voters can rank as many or as few candidates as they like.

Polling places will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 3 September.

Please check your polling place as this may have changed since the last time you voted. If you bring your polling card to vote this will help us and speed up the process, but this isn’t mandatory.

Polling Places (Ward 15):

  • Nelson Hall Community Centre (New for 2026)
  • Blackford and Grange Parish Church Centre
  • St. Catherine’s Argyle Church
  • Newington Trinity Church
  • Reid Memorial Church Hall
  • 75th Braid Scouts’ Millar Hall
  • Cameron House Community Education Centre

Polling Places (Ward 17):

  • Portobello Library (New for 2026)
  • Branch Out Together
  • St Mark’s Episcopal Church (New for 2026)
  • Bingham Community Centre
  • St Martins Parish Church
  • Craigmillar Library
  • Hays Business Centre
  • Newcraighall Leith Victoria FC

The electronic count will take place at Waverley Court, starting at the close of poll at 10pm on September 3. 

Making Britain Better, or just a gimmick? No10 North opens for business

Andy Burnham yesterday became the first Prime Minister to work from No10 North, declaring ‘the days of power being hoarded in SW1 are over’

  • Burnham throws open the doors to No10 North, marking a new era of power flowing out of Whitehall and into every postcode
  • PM revives the National Economic Council in Manchester, bringing ministers and regional mayors around the table to drive devolution from week one
  • Comes as PM gives families and business owners breathing space with VAT off electricity bills, £2 bus fare cap restored, and a 20% business rates cut for pubs, clubs and music venues

Andy Burnham yesterday became the first Prime Minister to work from No10 North as he declared the days of power being hoarded in SW1 are over.

Operating from Heron House in Manchester’s city centre, No10 North will be the government’s new situation room for growth. It brings the levers of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time.

The Prime Minister is expected to work from No10 North each week so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster. Other ministers will also work from No10 North on a regular basis, underlining this Government’s determination to do things differently. 

The Prime Minister will chair the first meeting of the revived National Economic Council at No10 North today (Friday), bringing together senior ministers and regional mayors to put devolution at the centre of the Government’s mission to make Britian better. 

The National Economic Council was first established in 2008 to provide a national response to an economic emergency. Its revival reflects the Prime Minister’s belief that delivering economic growth now requires the same level of urgency, focus and collective action, bringing together other government departments and local leaders.

Regional mayors will be invited to sit around the table, cementing devolution at the centre of economic decision-making and backing the Prime Minister’s pledge to rewire Britain so that decisions are taken with local leaders, not just for them.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.

“No 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.

“It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.

“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”

Ahead of the first meeting of the National Economic Council, the Prime Minister will speak to leading Business Representative Organisations including the Federation of Small Business, CBI and the BCC to discuss how Government and business can work together to unlock growth, investment and create jobs across the country.

The NEC’s attendees will flex according to the issues under consideration, bringing together business leaders, trade unions and other partners where their expertise can help drive delivery.

Local economic growth, devolution strategy and local growth policy are being brought together so that government departments, mayors, combined authorities and business can work from a single plan rather than competing ones.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country. No10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community.

“Through this department, this Government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. No.10 North is open for business.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP added:  “This is a new era for devolution. Never before has a government been so serious about passing on its own power from Westminster in favour of local areas.

“No10 North sits at the heart of that plan. This is the way we signal real change – and the way we get it done.”

The meeting comes off the back of a series of interventions made to ease the cost of living and back local high streets, setting the tone for the PM’s cost-of-living government.

This week the government has announced:

  • The removal of VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October, saving a typical household around £45 a year.
  • The £2 cap on bus fares in England will kick in from January 2027.
  • A 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, benefiting nearly 32,000 venues and worth around £1,100 a year to a typical pub, on top of the 15% relief already in place.

Sarwar set to shun Holyrood for seat in House of Lords

SLAP IN THE FACE FOR SCOTLAND’s PARLIAMENT

SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar is set to turn his back on Holyrood and take a seat in the unelected House of Lords, according to reports last night.

Sarwar, who led Scottish Labour to a dreadful defeat in May’s Holyrood elections where the party won just 17 seats, has been tipped to become a junior business minister in Andy Burnham’s refreshed government.

There was pressure on Sarwar to step down following May’s humiliating results. but the list MSP (Sarwar didn’t win a first past the post seat but was elected through the PR top-up list system) vowed to fight on, claiming there was ‘unfinished business’.

Indeed, when asked if he would ever take up a seat in the House of Lords, Sarwar told The Herald: “No. I’m focused on being first minister of this great country.

“My only commitment, my only focus, is serving my constituents in Glasgow and serving the great people of this country, if I get the honour of being first minister.”

Last month he confirmed his determination to lead Scottish Labour for the full Holyrood term into the next elections: ‘I’m hungry for the fight ahead and I want to play my full part in making sure this country never ends up in the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform’

Just a few short weeks later, however, Sarwar appears to have had a change of mind.

The voters of Glasgow won’t even have an opportunity to have their say on Sarwar’s decision when he packs his bags and scurries down to Westminster’s unelected House of Lords – the very institution he said should be abolished!

There will be no by-election as Sarwar was elected as a list MSP, so he will simply be replaced by the next person on Glasgow’s Labour’s list.

Isn’t democracy wonderful!

Richard Shillcock, the Communist Party of Britain candidate for the Southside/Newington ward, has officially declared that tackling the city’s housing crisis through municipal house building will be a core priority of the Communist Party campaign for the upcoming City of Edinburgh Council by-elections on 3 September 2026.

Richard Shillcock emphasised that the current market-driven approach has failed local residents, arguing that a massive return to publicly owned housing is the only viable solution.

“Edinburgh has a housing crisis and there is only one answer to it—build council houses,” he said. “We need the Council to build, own, maintain, and administer council housing and not leave such an important issue to the free market.”

The Communist Party campaign outline focuses heavily on local job creation and public investment, linking a housing strategy directly to local economic development and skills training.

Shillcock added: “We need to employ council staff and invest in a new generation of apprentices to learn the skills required to build and maintain the highest quality council housing.

“Large-scale council house building was the best answer to the postwar housing crisis. It worked. Since then, turning homes into commodities in a market has failed us.”

Addressing potential concerns regarding budgets, Shillcock pointed to historical precedents and called for a major shift in public spending priorities away from military conflict and toward domestic infrastructure.

“If the money could be found in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, it can be found now. “The Communist Party would spend on homes for people, not endless warfare,” Shillcock concluded.

The Southside/Newington and Craigmillar/Portobello by-elections will take place on Thursday, 3 September 2026.

Shillcock is standing alongside fellow Communist candidate Peter Olech, who is standing in the Portobello/Craigmillar ward, on a platform of peace, public ownership, tax justice and workers’ rights.

Communist Party candidates to stand as “a socialist alternative” for Edinburgh voters

The Communist Party of Britain has today (Friday 17 July 2026) officially launched its campaign for the upcoming Edinburgh City Council by-elections, announcing a slate of candidates running on a platform of peace, public ownership, tax justice and workers’ rights.

The party will stand candidates in both the Southside/Newington and Portobello/Craigmillar wards.

A Communist Party spokesperson said: “”Our candidates are standing to address the city’s growing housing crisis, its underfunded public services, and the rising cost of living. 

“We are offering voters a distinct socialist alternative to the mainstream political parties.”

Key Platform Priorities

Housing for Need, Not Profit: Immediate rent freezes, a cap on short-term holiday lets, and an expansion of high-quality, municipal council housing.

Funding Local Services: Reversing budget cuts to local services such as libraries, community centres, road maintenance and youth services by demanding a fairer funding model from national government and taxing the wealthiest in the city.

Investment in people not wars: Demand an end to funding genocide in Palestine and endless foreign wars and instead spend that money for the benefit of working class people.

Peter Olech, the Communist Party candidate in Portobello/Craigmillar ward, said: “Edinburgh is a city of vast wealth, yet working-class communities are being priced out of their own homes and left with crumbling public services.”

Richard Shillcock the Communist Party candidate for Southside/Newington ward, added: “We are standing in this election to give a voice to working class people and to fight for a city managed in the interests of the many, not the wealthy elite. 

“Edinburgh Council should have greater responsibility for local economic development, with increased investment in council housing and public services.”

Residents will go to the polls on Thursday 3 September to elect one new councillor in each ward. The current electorate is 24,304 for Southside/Newington and 27,347 for Portobello/Craigmillar.

PICTURED: Peter Olech (L) and Richard Shillcock (R) outside City of Edinburgh Council Chambers after declaring as candidates.

COSLA calls for clarity over severance scheme for councillors

COSLA has responded to the Scottish Government’s decision not to proceed with a consultation and legislation for a severance scheme for councillors:

The COSLA President has written to the Deputy First Minister to express COSLA’s ‘profound disappointment’ in the Government’s position that a severance scheme for elected members cannot be implemented ahead of the 2027 local government election.

Commenting on the Government’s decision not to proceed with a consultation and legislation, Cllr Morrison said: “The Scottish Government’s position represents a significant departure from the expectation created by the Scottish Local Authorities Renumeration Committee (SLARC) recommendation and by the Scottish Government’s own acceptance of the recommendation.

“COSLA is clear that a severance scheme for elected members, which would bring councillors in line with what is already available for MSPs and MPs, is a key part of removing barriers to elected office and increasing the diversity and representation of local government.

“COSLA remains committed to delivering the SLARC recommendations, which includes severance, and working constructively with the Scottish Government to deliver this important reform.

“Scotland’s councillors now require a formal commitment by the Scottish Government detailing how they will take forward this recommendation in future.

“Such clarity would help provide reassurance regarding the Government’s continuing commitment to strengthening local democracy and removing barriers to elected office.”

Support your local Community!

JOIN WEST PILTON WEST GRANTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Official nominations for community councillors for West Pilton West Granton are finally live!

Follow the link on West Pilton West Granton Community Council Facebook Page to submit your nomination. Any questions please reach out

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‘British democracy is not for sale’

Tough new rules to crackdown on foreign money in UK elections

  • New rules include a cap on donations from those who’ve lived overseas and tougher checks on company donations
  • New safeguards to stop foreign money influencing UK elections, including a timebound cap on donations on those who move to the UK from overseas.
  • Tougher checks on company donations will ensure only legitimate UK-linked businesses can contribute, with donations assessed against profits rather than revenue.
  • Candidates will be required to prove campaign funding comes from legitimate sources, strengthening transparency and closing loopholes in political finance rules.

Foreign money influencing UK elections will be stamped out under a major package of reforms to strengthen political finance rules and protect British democracy.

The government will confirm today it will introduce a new timebound cap on large political donations from people who have recently moved to the UK, in effect creating a minimum amount of time someone must permanently be based in the country before they can donate over the cap to a political party or candidate. 

Other new measures include stronger tests on company donations, new and tough transparency requirements for candidates, and the closing of loopholes that could be exploited by those seeking to interfere in UK elections.

The measures, announced as part of the government’s response to the independent Rycroft Review, will strengthen safeguards against foreign financial influence and reinforce the UK’s position as a world leader in defending democratic integrity.

Together, the reforms will ensure political donations are transparent, legitimate and firmly rooted in the UK, helping to safeguard elections for years to come.

Secretary of State Steve Reed said: “British democracy is not for sale. These tough new rules will shut down dodgy funding, stop foreign money influencing our elections and keep our democracy strong.

“By holding overseas donors to tougher standards and requiring candidates to prove where their funding comes from, we are taking world-leading action to protect the integrity of our elections and tackle the threats we face from abroad.”

Minister for Democracy, Samantha Dixon MP, said: “The overwhelming majority of people who take part in our democratic process do so honestly and transparently, but our rules must keep pace with new and emerging threats.

“These reforms will close loopholes that can be exploited by those seeking to influence UK politics through foreign money, while strengthening transparency around campaign funding and company donations.

“This means political decisions are made only in the interests of voters in the United Kingdom.”

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said: “For too long, foreign money, foreign bot farms and foreign powers have exploited the system, trying to warp our elections and sow division in our country for their own ends.

“We’re cracking down on those trying to buy – and sell – our democracy and putting the British people first. If you want to donate to our politics, you need to have legitimate and longstanding roots in our country.”

As part of the government’s response to the independent Rycroft Review today [Monday 6 July], new safeguards will be introduced to toughen the previously-announced cap on political donations of more than £100,000 from overseas donations. 

Individuals returning to the UK will now be subject to the cap for at least a full calendar year to prevent the rules being dodged – not just those who are registered to vote overseas. 

Companies will also face tougher checks, with political donations assessed against post-tax profits over the previous five years rather than revenue alone.

This means only legitimate UK-linked businesses will be able to donate in a way that is transparent, accountable and reflective of their real financial position. Anyone could set up a business with high revenue without needing to demonstrate how they operate and make money, or whether they’re paying tax in the UK. Having a profit-based system will make donations clearer and more accountable.

Views of key groups, including the Electoral Commission and Committee on Standards in Public Life, have been listened to and accepted the Rycroft recommendation, which stated corporate donation income tests should be amended to one based on post-tax profits, rather than revenue.

This will strengthen the rules already set out in the Representation of the People Bill, which outlines that companies making donations will be required to show a genuine connection to the UK or Ireland by demonstrating that they are headquartered in the UK, majority owned or controlled by UK electors or citizens and have generated sufficient revenue to cover the donation.

For the first time, candidates will also be required to prove that any campaign funding received before they become a candidate has come from legitimate sources.

Candidates will also be required to declare donations above £2,230 received prior to officially becoming a candidate, improving transparency even further. At present, donations received before the regulated election period are not covered by the same requirements, meaning funding from illegitimate sources could go undeclared and later be used to support a campaign.

This builds on the measures announced in March as part of the government’s initial response to the Rycroft Review, including the hard cap on political donations from overseas electors and a ban on crypto donations. The changes being made today will accept the rest of Philip Rycroft’s recommendations in full. 

The major reforms will be taken forward through as amendments to the Representation of the People Bill, which returns to the Commons for Report stage next week [w/c 13 July]. 

The government ‘has been clear that they will act decisively to defend the UK’s democratic system from malign influence and the measures will safeguard the integrity, transparency and resilience of elections and political finance for years to come’.

Holyrood: Have your say on Public Service Reform

With the Scottish Government aiming to deliver average savings of £0.5bn a year to public services over the next three years, Holyrood’s Public Service Reform Committee is seeking views on how achievable the proposed public sector reforms are.

The Committee has today launched a consultation asking how barriers to progress with reform can be overcome; how preventative approaches to spending can be promoted; and how the delivery of public services can be simplified.

As part of its pre-budget scrutiny work, the Committee will also consider whether there is sufficient clarity around how front-line roles, which are to be protected, are defined.

Speaking as the call for views launched, Committee Convener Bob Doris MSP, said: “A Spending Review demanding £1.5bn worth of public sector efficiencies, lays bare the need for us to understand the detail of how these savings are to be made and fundamentally, how they will shape public service delivery.

“Funds designated for prevention must also be put to good use and the simplification of services must lead to positive outcomes for both the provision of services and expenditure.

“We’d like to hear from those who lead, deliver, and rely on public services about what steps can be taken to remove barriers to more progress with reform, support preventative approaches, and ensure that efficiencies do not undermine frontline delivery.

“Our scrutiny will help shape the Scottish Budget before it is finalised, so contributions at this stage are especially valuable.”

The Committee is keen to hear from leaders in the public sector; community planning partnerships; trade unions; academics and think tanks; third sector representatives and staff who deliver services within or on behalf of the public sector.

The call for views closes on Friday 14 August 2026 after which the Committee plans to take oral evidence, before reporting to Parliament late October/early November this year.

Read the questions and submit your views on Citizen Space

QUESTIONS

  1. The Scottish Government aims to deliver on average £0.5 billion in savings through efficiencies per year for the next three years (2026-27 to 2028-29): 
    1. To what extent are these savings achievable, and how will they shape public service delivery? 
       
    2. What progress is being made towards achieving these efficiencies? 
       
    3. What are the barriers to achieving greater efficiency and how can these be addressed? 
  2. How should the Scottish Government best present the extent of any realised efficiencies in the annual budget publication, including providing clarity on whether these are expected to be recurring savings? 
     
  3. The Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan aims to achieve an average reduction of the public sector workforce of 0.5% per year over five years.
    1. To what extent is this target achievable and how will it shape public service delivery?  
    2. What progress is being made towards achieving this target?
  4. What actions can the Scottish Government take to ensure these workforce reductions are delivered in a managed way which best supports effective government and public service delivery?
     
  5. The PSR strategy states that it will protect frontline services. To what extent is there sufficient clarity about how frontline roles are defined and how efficiencies in back-office functions can be delivered in a way that minimises impact on the delivery of public services? 
     
  6. Beyond the financial benefits that the Public Sector Reform (PSR) Strategy aims to achieve, what are the key outcomes that reform should be aiming for? 
     
  7. The PSR Strategy includes 18 different workstreams which aim to remove barriers to reform.  One workstream focuses on “simplification”, recognising that “complexity of processes, structures and reporting requirements is a key barrier to effective and efficient service delivery”. “Prevention” is one of three pillars providing structure to the Strategy.
    1. What should the Scottish Government’s priorities be under its simplification workstream and what level of savings can be achieved through this approach? 
       
    2. What progress has been made to date with preventative budgeting?
       
    3. How should the forthcoming Budget support greater progress towards preventative budgeting across the devolved public sector? Please set out any barriers and how these can be addressed. 
    4. What changes to the Scottish Government’s approach to budget-setting are needed to effectively deliver public service reform? 
  8. The Scottish Government included an upfront Invest to Save Fund of around £30 million in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 Scottish Budgets for reform projects that will deliver ongoing savings and support the delivery of the PSR strategy.  
    1. To what extent is the Invest to Save Fund delivering projects that achieve ongoing savings?  
       
    2. How are successful outcomes from this Fund being shared more widely across the public sector?