Full house for North Edinburgh’s Big Night Out

There wasn’t a spare seat in the theatre for North Edinburgh’s Big Night Out, organised by local group Power to the People, at North Edinburgh Arts last week. Over a hundred people from North Edinburgh and beyond enjoyed an evening of song, poetry, dance and drama.

Power to the People evolved from North Edinburgh Social History Group, local people who trawled through a huge volume of archive material to produce ‘Never Give Up’, a history of community activism in North Edinburgh.

Power to the People took this a stage further, and last Friday’s event was not only a celebration of the succesful conclusion of the course but also an opportunity to encourage wider activism.

Guests and visitors had an opportunity to visit art and photography exhibitions and view a video slideshow in North Edinburgh Arts’ galleries and cafe area before taking their seats in the theatre

There was a raft of strong performances on a special evening. North Edinburgh’s very own Timebank Choir got the show off to a rousing start and this was followed by poetry from Ian Moore and Anna Hutchison, two founding members of both the Social History and Power to the People groups.

If the early part of the programme was dominated by North Edinburgh’s more mature activists, the stage belonged to the next generation when students from Craigroyston Community High School performed a medley of music, prose and drama which almost brought the house down. The future’s bright …

The Craigroyston kids were a near impossible act to follow, but North Edinburgh’s Womens International Group did just that with a moving interpretation of a work by Pastor Niemoller.

The evening was not limited to performers from North Edinburgh, of course, and Scots machair Liz Lochhead was a very welcome guest. Scotland’s national poet remains as popular as ever and national treasure Liz delighted an appreciative audience with some of her earliest poems as well as her latest epistle – written especially for a cinema opening the following evening and hot off the press. North Edinburgh heard it first!

The talented Penny Stone brought a memorable evening to a fitting finale by leading the audience – young and not quite so young – in a medley of popular protest songs.

CLD worker Lynn McCabe, who supports the Power to the People group, said: “The group wanted the Big Night Out to achieve a number of things: celebrate the end of the Power to the People course and share what we’ve learned with a wider audience. We also wanted people to have a good night out and to enjoy the entertainment.

“The Big Night Out also gave us an opportunity to promote the arts and to raise awareness about the Referendum – we hope the event will promote further discussion and debate.

“It was great that the young people from Craigroyston played such an active part on the night and we would like to attract more young people as well as others of all ages who are not already involved.

Our hope was that the audience would leave feeling inspired, motivated to get involved and more committed to equality and defending what’s important. The Power to the People group wanted to get the message across that change is possible, that there is an alternative and that we can change the world!”

The group would like to thank:

Jade and Subie for giving up their free time to produce their art work for the big night out (this was done on a voluntary basis outwith their course)
Helen Foster at Scran and Claire the IT tutor at Royston Wardieburn for supporting the Power to the People group learn how to use this important resource to prepare the exhibition
The Scotsman Publications, Gerry McCann and Duncan Brown for allowing us to use their photos for free
Craigroyston Community High School for encouraging and supporting their pupils to participate in this community event
The timebank choir
All the staff at North Edinburgh Arts
Royston Wardieburn Community Centre for paying for the transport to get people here and back tonight
CLD for providing worker support and finance towards the cost of the event
Plton Central Association
Liz Lochhead for giving up her time to join us here tonight
Joel Venet for filming the event
Dave Pickering, MC for the night
And finally, the Power to the People group for organising the event

The group will evaluate the Big Night Out when they next meet – changing the world may take a little longer!

Some Big Night Out pictures:

STOP PRESS: Joel Venet has prouced a short Big Night Out highlights video. You’ll find it on YouTube at North Edinburgh Fights Back – it’s called Celebrate2

Local group’s fury over ‘Bedroom Tax’ vote

North Edinburgh Women’s International Group has written to Labour leader Ed Miliband following a vote in the House of Commons last week:

Dear Mr Miliband

I am writing to you on behalf of North Edinburgh Women’s International Group regarding reports in the news that 46 Labour MPs failed to turn up to the House of Commons to vote for a motion which could have led to the scrapping of the bedroom tax.

We are unable to understand how this situation could have come about. We can only assume that the 10 Scottish MP’s who failed to vote were unaware of the 150% increase in people using foodbanks in Scotland during the last year as a result of the current programme of welfare reforms. They must also be unaware of the warning from Shelter that “for many, the safety and security of a home is under threat like never before.”

We understand that Labour’s motion on the scrapping of the bedroom tax was defeated by only 26 votes. We would have thought that the recommendation by the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing calling for the bedroom tax to be suspended immediately would have had an impact on members of the Labour Party. This does not appear to have been the case.

We were under the impression that an important part of an MP’s job involves turning up to their workplace (ie the House of Commons) and voting on issues which affect the people they represent. We believe that 46 of your Party’s MPs have not been doing their job and we find this completely unacceptable.

The inaction of these MP’s demonstrates that the Labour Party does not represent the interests of ordinary people. It also suggests that the Labour Party does not care about the suffering and hardship experienced by many families as a result of the bedroom tax.

We are interested in finding out what the Trade Union Movement’s response is to the inaction of the 46 MP’s who represent the Party which they fund.

We are disgusted, angry and disheartened at what has become of the Labour Party. It is no longer the Party of ordinary people. Your Party has taken working class people’s votes for granted. You have insulted our intelligence by assuming that people would forgive and forget this terrible betrayal. This is a serious error which will cost the Labour Party at election time. The excuse of Labour MPs having been paired will not be accepted.

We look forward to your reply

Your sincerely

Anna Hutchison

On behalf of North Edinburgh Women’s International Group

One week on, the group is still awaiting a response.

Forth Labour Councillor Cammy Day comments:

Responding to letter by the Edinburgh North International Women’s group

I agree with the Edinburgh North International Women’s Group in their letter dated 19th Nov in their deploring of the evil bedroom tax. As the deputy convenor of the Council’s Health, Social Care and Housing Committee I have seen first hand the damage it’s done, but I think your letter unfairly puts the blame of the existence of the bedroom tax on the Labour Party. It was the Labour Party who voted against the introduction of the bedroom tax from the beginning. It was the Labour Party who has campaigned to bring an end to it and promised that a Labour government would scrap it right away. This policy was brought in by the Coalition Government, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. They are the ones who made this unfair and pernicious tax, a law.

At Council level the Labour Party has prevented evictions in cases caused by the bedroom tax, something I was proud to be a part of in Edinburgh. At Holyrood they have voted against it and sought to bring in legislation to prevent it. I feel your letter leads people astray in their thinking, last week’s opposition debate by the Labour Party sought to highlight and reverse the government’s position. You are correct when you say that some Labour MPs did not vote for the motion. This was a result of pairing – where MPs from both opposition and government are paired when they cannot attend (either because they are ill, or because they have constituency or foreign business). This is part of our parliamentary system.

I hope you will reconsider your verdict on the Labour Party’s position on the bedroom tax. Only a Labour government in 2015 has committed to scrapping the bedroom tax and only a Labour government will continue the fight for the ordinary working class people you speak for. That’s why I am a member of the Labour Party and the trade union movement. We must stay together in this battle for a fairer society and show the coalition government of Liberal Democrats and Conservatives for what they damage the have done by legislating for the bedroom tax to exist in the first place and their wider attack of welfare reforms.

Cammy Day

Councillor – Forth Ward

Readers – it’s over to you!

Community event homes in on welfare changes

North Edinburgh Womens International Group have organised an important community event which focuses on changes to welfare benefits. With advice and information stalls and speakers from a range of local and nationwide agencies and organisations, this is your opportunity to find out more about changes to welfare, how you are affected – and what you can do about it.

The event takes place on Thursday (7 November) from 10am – 2pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre on Pilton Drive North.

See attached flyer for details.

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