Council still won’t listen on tourist tax
First Minister John Swinney’s sarcastic refusal to get involved with the unfolding chaos of the implementation of Edinburgh’s tourist tax has been followed by an equally dismissive response from council leader Jane Meagher.
Well, the letter I received was signed by her – I doubt very much if she wrote it – but what matters is the continued refusal to listen to the pleas of the business owners struggling to adapt their systems to the new charge.
It finishes off with the usual stuff about what wonderful benefits the Visitor Levy, to give it it’s Sunday name, will bring, its “enormous capacity for positive change… which will benefit, business, residents and visitors alike.” Yadda yadda….
There’s no question Edinburgh needs a good scrub, but in Manchester this week for the Conservative Party Conference, the streets were noticeably pristine, no weeds and no graffiti on the walls and the whole place felt clean and cared-for.
But there is no tourist tax, just encouragement to pay a voluntary £1-per-night donation for the Accommodation Business Improvement District organisation, which cleans the streets around hotels and promotes Manchester as a destination.
Of course, the left-wing mayor Andy Burnham wants a tourist tax, but the place is doing noticeably well without one, certainly a lot better than Edinburgh is managing just now. Keeping the city looking sharp is a civic mindset and Edinburgh keeps finding excuses to let standards slip, and I’ll bet our streets will still be filthy when the tax money arrives.
Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian