Simita Kumar: Pride in Place – or a political optical illusion

Chris Murray MP recently asked pupils how they’d spend £20 million; Scott Arthur MP claims he has “submitted a bid for £20m for Wester Hailes” - in reality, it’s probably completion of a survey; Tracey Gilbert MP tells us “it’s great that we’re going to be consulting communities.”

Councillor Simita Kumar is leader of the SNP group on Edinburgh City Council

This “impressive” headline is part of UK Government’s so-called Pride in Place programme and the Labour MP closest to Douglas Alexander shall take the prize! Little hope for his predecessor, Ian Murray!

Let’s be clear: any investment in Edinburgh is welcome. But what is being marketed as bold injection of funding is, in truth, a political sleight of hand – one that strips power, choice and vital resources from the very communities Westminster insists it is helping.

Edinburgh, a city facing serious challenges in poverty, wellbeing, employability and regeneration, hasn’t been offered meaningful support. It has been handed an illusion.

Start with the most glaring fact: Edinburgh did not choose the five areas ‘allowed to compete’ for funding. Local people didn’t choose them. Neither did Council nor Community organisations.

Westminster selected them unilaterally, using private-sector datasets, not local expertise, treating Edinburgh’s neighbourhoods not as communities with real, human need but as pieces on a Whitehall spreadsheet.

The insult doesn’t stop there. Those five areas must now compete. Communities most in need are pitted against each other for a shrinking pot of cash. This isn’t empowerment. It’s state-manufactured scarcity dressed up as generosity.

The façade continues, because Edinburgh has no say in who ultimately receives the money. Decision-making has been entirely centralised in Westminster. Local democratic accountability has been tossed aside.

Wales is trusted to manage its allocation. Scotland is not. Edinburgh is not. Our communities are pushed into the hunger games, fighting to become the pet project that best suits their local MP’s political storyline.

Then comes the biggest political illusion of all: the “£20 million” claim plastered across social media. It sounds like transformational investment. It is £2 million per year over ten years.

The contrast with previous funding is stark. Edinburgh previously received significantly more through EU Structural Funds and the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). While SPF wasn’t perfect, it did allocate around £16.5 million to Edinburgh over four years.

Compare that to Pride in Place’s £20 million over a decade. It’s a cut of roughly £22 million – a dramatic reduction in support disguised as political largesse.

The consequences? They are already hitting home. Over 20 Edinburgh charities, community groups, frontline services, stand to lose vital support thanks to the new capital-to-revenue ratios. Jobs are threatened. Services are at risk. Community resilience is being undermined. Westminster might call this ‘regeneration’ – I’d call it ‘abandonment’.

This is not local democracy. This is not fair distribution of public money. Edinburgh needs real investment, designed locally, decided locally, delivered locally.

If the UK Government truly wants “pride in place,” it should start by trusting the people who call these places home.