Imaginative and robust transport solutions are needed to combat the worsening congestion between work and home. The painfully slow progress of integrated Park and Ride transport schemes has been particularly disappointing, as has the lack of progress on a new link between Edinburgh and Fife. Not only are we spending more and more time stuck in traffic jams, but there are costs to our health and the environment from pollution that is only going to get worse.

Cameron Rose says:

'Parking rules must focus on bigger picture'

'Some residential roads have become long-stay car parks and others will do so when the remainder of the scheme is implemented. Others are almost car-free. A balance which uses the resource of roads efficiently has not yet been struck and there will need to be much fine tuning.'

Go here to read full article in the Edinburgh News.

The Council needs to take a more active interest in curbing crime and nuisance. Our legal system and public policy hugely underestimates the effects of crime and addictions on society. As a police officer, I have seen the devastation of crime on all sections of the community at close range. Protecting the poor and vulnerable in our community needs to be a priority.

Cameron Rose says:

'We mustn't let fear dominate park life'

'For the majority, it is possible to live near and to use the Meadows without being dominated by fear. The emphasis in recent years on targeting the fear of crime at the expense of targeting crime itself shows a lack of strategic focus. Lighting, for example, in the Meadows should be good. But we should not concentrate on measures which buttress a fortress mentality such as CCTV.'
'Prison overcrowding, or the inability of prison to rehabilitate, overshadow the need to punish what is a crime against the community, not just the victim.'
'Drunkenness is a huge factor in crime. For all too many the fling ends in addiction, crime or both. We all must be active in resisting that strand in our culture - whether as a right of passage for those growing up or becoming a student or as an addiction.'

Go here for full article the Edinburgh News.

Cameron Rose says:

'How well can Paddy police the police?'

'Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has all the appearance of a cosy club. The current Chief Inspector is a former chief constable. His deputy is a former deputy chief constable. Their five staff officers are all seconded policemen of superintendent level. (The Chief Inspector of Constabulary does have one lay inspector on his staff). Given the role of the HMCIC in setting the standards of Scottish policing, the time-honoured system of selecting a "safe" chief constable to inspect the police is not only cosy, it is organisationally incestuous. It is never likely to provide the originality and fresh skills necessary to lead the fight against crime in Scotland.'

Go here for full article in the Edinburgh News.

Southside and Newington needs what Edinburgh needs - a vibrant economy but with lower taxes! I will push for lower Council tax; the rises over the past 10 years have been significantly above inflation level.

As my children came through the state education system, I became frustrated with the inefficiencies of the system. I served on our local school Board where I experienced the deadening effect of bureaucracy on the initiative and inspiration of our teachers first hand. Money has been thrown at education in the last 10 years, but it has not been used efficiently as evidenced by static exam results.