Type of disaster even Marty McFly couldn’t fix

Michael J Fox as teenager Marty McFly, left who accidently takes a trip back in time to 1955 where he must make sure that his parents still fall in love so that he can be born. Pictured with Christopher Lloyd as Doc BrownMichael J Fox as teenager Marty McFly, left who accidently takes a trip back in time to 1955 where he must make sure that his parents still fall in love so that he can be born. Pictured with Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown
Michael J Fox as teenager Marty McFly, left who accidently takes a trip back in time to 1955 where he must make sure that his parents still fall in love so that he can be born. Pictured with Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown
It’s been a turbulent time of late at Edinburgh City Chambers. The allegations against Cammy Day and his resignation as council leader meant new questions emerged around the future of the Labour administration.

Clearly believing in the old adage, “never waste a good crisis”, the SNP group took their chance and pounced, launching their latest attempt for complete control of the council. Many familiar faces from the last SNP administration were set for their comeback special and a return to senior roles.

Such was the prospect of a return to the politics of Edinburgh’s past that I was ready for Marty McFly to appear in a DeLorean. I was even prepared for Doc “Lesley Macinnes” Brown to emerge after a bright flash of light and say: “Roads? … where we’re going, Edinburgh doesn’t need … roads.”

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Liberal Democrats make no apology for voting to block them. We remember all too well the arrogant “we know best” attitude which besieged the council when the SNP last ran the show. Worse than that were the terrible policy decisions taken year after year and never apologised for; funding for community policing scrapped, school budgets slashed, new charges for waste collection, planning policies which concreted over our precious greenbelt, the list goes on.

This term hasn’t been much better. In the last two years, SNP councillors have had to withdraw their budget proposals because they were against the law. They tried to slash spending on fixing Edinburgh’s terrible roads and pavements. They even proposed introducing 20mph on roads which already had a 20mph speed limit!

It’s little wonder that eight – that’s right, eight – SNP councillors have walked away from the SNP group in as many years. The last two council by-elections in Edinburgh have also seen the SNP vote plummet. People in the city clearly agree the SNP group should not be let anywhere near power.

For Liberal Democrat councillors, our focus is to keep fighting for the things that matter; tackling the housing emergency, fixing our roads and pavements, protecting classroom funding, improving our parks and greenspaces – the things residents expect in return for their council tax.

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This gets more difficult after years of Scottish Government cuts to council budgets. But having the SNP also running the council once again would be the kind of disaster even Marty McFly couldn’t travel back in time to fix.

Kevin Lang is leader of the Liberal Democrats on Edinburgh City Council

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