It helps if MSPs know the patch

The latest edition of Currie & Balerno News features an election preview in which I and the four other candidates in Edinburgh South Western were given the chance to make our pitches.

In my contribution, I pointed out that Currie and Balerno, and Juniper Green and Baberton for that matter, often feel overlooked in Edinburgh, most tellingly with the defeated plan for congestion charging which would have left residents as the only Edinburgh people paying to access their own city.

It was the same when the SNP-Labour administration took it for granted that they could shut Currie High with impunity.

And what struck me about the other candidates was how most just regurgitated party lines with little reference to the area other than to repeat the constituency name.

I have no way of knowing how much time the other candidates have spent in the area, but I don’t reckon it’s much, beyond a few campaign visits. I’ve certainly not bumped into my former Conservative council group colleague Cameron Rose, now a paper candidate for Reform.

Of course when it comes down to it we all have to follow party whips, but in an election I’d expect at least a small recognition of what makes the area tick, and particular matters of concern.

However, even though the SNP has fielded the council group leader Simita Kumar, all I can say about her approach to the election is thank goodness for Chat GPT.

If robotic repetition of the party manifesto is what local people want, she is the perfect candidate.