Edinburgh businesses must learn to bite – John McLellan

No names, no pack drill, but in a private briefing last week about Edinburgh’s current commercial landscape, there was dismay amongst senior business figures at what is seen as increasingly negative attitudes towards private enterprise.

Senior business figures are said to be unimpressed by the consultation carried out on the Tourist Tax. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The poor consultation on Tourism Tax and A-Board advertising ban, the fatal budget cut just handed to Marketing Edinburgh (publicly described by its chief executive John Donnelly this week as embarrassing), out-of-date planning policies, and high business rates were all cited as evidence that the city council places little value on the role of business.

With business rates almost doubling since 2010, and the likely addition of a workplace parking levy and administration costs for a Tourism Tax on top of increased burdens like the Apprenticeship Levy and compulsory pensions, it’s no surprise they feel under siege. But one of the strongest criticisms was reserved for themselves because it was recognised that business needed to have a much stronger voice to ram home the message that businesses were not just cash cows to be milked for pet political projects and without real wealth creation the city cannot function.

Given there is no shortage of business organisations in Edinburgh it might seem like a strange criticism, but when business concerns are so easily dismissed it must have more than a kernel of truth. Maybe it’s up to the memberships to ask what pressure their representatives are bringing to bear?

As someone who runs a trade organisation myself, the Scottish Newspaper Society, I know the members expect more than a few events.

Holy Corner pub plot by Watsonian FPs

Word reaches me from a recent licensing committee that a dastardly plot by a network of Old School types to establish a new base for their elitist activities has been exposed.

It concerns the old Bank of Scotland branch at Holy Corner, soon to be the latest pub and restaurant in the burgeoning Signature Pubs empire founded by Nic Wood, son of North Sea oil services billionaire Sir Ian Wood. But no, you poor fools, don’t you realise it’s all a front for that dangerous bunch of reactionary subversives, known internationally as Watsonians?

Well at least that seemed to be the suggestion by Edinburgh SNP councillor David Key who claimed that many of the supporters for its licence application were former pupils of his old school. Up Les Gilet Maroons . . . the revolution will not be privatised . . .

XV of one, XI of the other

Author Irvine Welsh sparked the usual class war rubbish about attitudes towards football and rugby supporters and while it’s true there are plenty of irritating, irrigated rugby supporters who think it’s hilarious to bellow “Sweet Caroline” in a packed tram, that’s preferable to foot-stomping sectarianism in the Glasgow underground.

Which is why there was a complaint about a piper playing The Sash and no-one was laughing at the idiot at the Dublin Aviva last season who spent the entire Ireland v Scotland match shouting “Mon the Celtic…”

By contrast, a colleague was ejected from the famous 4-4 Tynecastle derby for shouting “Mon the Hibs”. For his own safety ...