Would a Greater Edinburgh Council be such a bad thing?

This newspaper’s most prolific and much-loved writer, the late John Gibson, would be cock-a-hoop at the prospect of Leith getting its own council again.

A proud Leither, he often used to moan about his home town (he insisted it was still a town in its own right) being part of Edinburgh. But if John Swinney has his way on local government reform, we might soon see an independent Leith once more.

The First Minister has proposed a wholesale review of councils. Early plans published by the Scottish Government suggest that Scotland’s 32 councils could be replaced by between six and 10 regional ones, with up to 160 community councils dealing with local planning issues, the management of local leisure and sports facilities and licensing decisions, among other things. Leith was named as an example of one neighbourhood that could run its own affairs under the new scheme.

Not surprisingly, Edinburgh’s council leader, Cllr Jane Meagher, greeted the plans with a degree of scepticism, warning that it would effectively mean the abolition of Edinburgh City Council.

She is probably correct, but is that such a bad thing if it were replaced by a Greater Edinburgh Council with real powers on economic development, health and social care, education and transport, leaving community councils to deal with neighbourhood issues?

I have argued for this set-up in the past. I would go further than John Swinney, though, and have elected mayors with big budgets for each of the regional authorities. That won’t happen. The Scottish Government doesn’t want to deal with half-a-dozen Andy Burnhams. But hopefully the local councils will become a reality.

A friend moved to France a few years ago where she has just become a local councillor. Her village only has a population of around 1000, but under the French system, every community has its own council or “commune”, with powers and a budget.

The village’s only pub closed recently, so the commune established a pop-up bar to meet local demand.

I am not suggesting a future Leith council should be in the business of running pubs and restaurants, but if Edinburgh’s neighbourhoods had more autonomy, along the French model, I bet city life would be better.