Adam McVey deserves praise for poverty pledge – Helen Martin

Edinburgh Council should get credit for promising to end poverty in the city by 2030, writes Helen Martin.

Edinburgh's council leader Adam McVey (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

EDINBURGH Council leader Adam McVey and his team got pelters from many of us because of the parking bans, car exclusion and pavement widening in certain areas of the city. There are still many complaints rolling in.

But he gets a gold star for the Capital being the first UK local authority pledged to end city poverty by 2030. With over 77,000 in poverty including 20 per cent of children, the provision of social homes, jobs and health is the main goal, and particularly so in what has always been recognised as an affluent city.

And with the pandemic flaring up again, he announced the council has finally cancelled the Christmas-New Year festival and ruled out markets and physical attractions.

It was difficult to understand why he ever expected the festival would go ahead and why anyone would want thousands of tourists and non-Edinburgh markets scattered round the centre including more suffering to residents of the Auld Toon. Although he may have needed the severe likelihood of Covid risk to pull the rug from Underbelly.

I still defend my attitude that the SNP-Labour coalition is an undemocratic council set-up (which happens in many authorities) and ignores other councillors who have a right to represent their wards.

And I still know local businesses are struggling and losing customers with road blocks and parking places wiped out. Maybe if that is confirmed to him officially by retailers he might adjust it all.

But we all should still applaud him when he does good things for this city and its residents, rather than concentrating only on over-tourism.

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