Pilton Sucks dotCom

Norman Murray was the suprise choice as the Labour candidate for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh at next years Scottish Parlimentary elections. The selection meeting which took place at the Jewel miners club was attended by 132 members also had North Edinburghs own sweetheart Lesley Hinds. Lesley was beaten into third place after being touted as the great white hope,and a sure thing not only because of her high profile as Lord Provest, but also she is a woman and the political correct brigade would vote for her. Thank goodness common sense prevailed and the best candidate won.

So what now for Auntie Lesley,beaten into third place,she is forced to return in the short term to sunny Muirhouse which must stick in her throat,as she had set her heart on dumping the local punters for the heady hights of the Scottish Parliment. And to boot the selection meeting which includes some of her ward has taken place with empress Mcginnis and nowght to do with me Fitzpatrick being selected to represent the peoples party[thats a contradiction in terms]. So auntie Lesley could be out on her ear and might have to get a real job to earn a living. Maybe she could apply to join the z list celebs in the jungle where she could take part in a bush tucker trial, battleing snakes and creepy crawlies to earn a crust for her camp mates. Well she certainly has experience in fighting snakes and creepy crawlies just ask Mcginnis and Fitzpatrick.    

Well you lucky punters you will not have to wait much longer and lose to much more sleep,to find out if aunty Lesley with the colegate ring of confidence smile will get the nod in Edinburgh East and Mussleburgh. Aunty leslie has been pounding the streets of that constituency in her best high heeled shoes making sure her face is known and the members come out to the jewel miners club to cast their vote in her direction. It seems it is to close to call,but the thought of returning to Muirhouse as the councillor without winning the nomination spurs our Lesley on to higher things.

So as aunty Lesley tries to escape Muirhouse, what of her mate Betty lapdog Stevenson,what is to become of her,if and when her mentor disappears. Maybe she could gracefully retire and write her memoirs[shouldnt take to long then] or possibly ask councillor Mcginnis if she needs a new best friend to tell her everything that goes on and stab the community in the back. Our citizen of the year is being put out to grass by her buddy Lesley,possibly that might teach Betty to understand that politicians use people then dump them when they are no longer useful. Betty you have just been dumped.  

Well it would seem that Lizzie Mcginnis has finally got her way over the Lighthouse complex in Granton. A leaked letter[wonder who leaked it liz] Claimed late payments and after a string of warnings ,were served with an eviction notice.

But to the horror of councillor Mcginnis Swinging parties were also alledgedly to have taken place. Now a fine upstanding honest champion of the people and empire builder,not to mention friend of the developers,she we understand was not on the invitation list for any of these alledged parties.

So why the fuss could it be she is so desperate to keep her chums,the developers sweet that underhand tactics are employed to steal a community asset and let the developers have their wicked way. Could Councillor Mcginnis explain to us mere mortals why there are double standards being employed here. It is all right and morally correct to hold these kind of parties in a residential area -EAST CLAREMONT STREET- and they are not threatened with eviction-yet in a community landmark were the evidence of these going-ons is patchy to say the least,the wrath of the local councillor is fully employed in making sure they are put out and the way is left free for her mates the developers to move in.

We would also like to hear what Councillor Fitzpatrick has to say on the matter,or possibly he has first hand experience of these alledged parties and frisky goings on,or might he just stick to his tried and trusted method of excuse nowght to do with me.

Why does it seem like the bus service in Greater Pilton is not what it was.One local who has many years experience as an employee of LRT told us, this is about cutting back local sevices to the people,so when the tram comes along the private operator will not have any competition.

It is simply madness to cut and change the service,for as usual the most vunerable suffer.Donald also told us of the growing discontent with what the council are up to. Surely saviour and champion of the people Empress Mcginnis will come to the rescue. No chance,wonder why. She is firmly in the camp of the trammies and is not for moving. What about newly re-selected Bill Fitzpatrick,would he come alond on his white charger and rescue the peoples busses. Afraid not his earth shattering reply is as usual nowght to do with me.

So as our local toadies are not for looking after the peoples interests rather the interests of a private operator,what is the point of having them at all. Pilton Sucks is starting the election campaign right not. We would advise all those who will be voting to think very carefully about were to cast their vote,but be warned a vote for Mcginnis or Fitzpatrick will result in more of the same lies and deceit.

This community desperatly needs a change,we have to be rid of Mcginnis and Fitzpatrick who will not stand up for this community rather do it down or in Fitzpatricks case it is nowght to do with him. Yes indeed we might just have missed that bus and will have to wait forever for the next one.but these two have lost the plot the empress and her hand maiden or is it court jester.

We understand from a source close to Unison that as the ponderous process of trying to out bullying in the Council continues,more members of staff are beginning to realise that bullying has to stop,even if it does not affect them directly. Of course the opposite happens, once the bully has removed his intended target he moves to someone else. So directly it could affect you.

The ban bullying at work day on November 7th was quite succesful with staff all over the city spending a minute or two reflecting on what bullying does to people and the cowardly nature of it.

We are all aware of the deceitful nature of workplace bullying and the damage caused to victims,in some cases long term perhaps permanent damage which can result in costly and embaressing cival court cases.

Does the bully ever surface,not if he is protected or covered up for. But that is time limited and slowly but surely evidence will start to emerge,and when it does bullys should have no hiding place,and the injustices they have commited will be there for all to see.

Pay attention to uniting and working with people who differ with you. This should be borne in mind both by staff and their managers. We should all be able to work with those who have different views,and not resort to mindless bullying and the resulting consequences. 

Did you dear friends know about the common good account. No we hear you say,so let us try and enlighten you a little.

The Scottish parliament will hear this week of £1 billion of land and assets which belongs to the public which has vanished due to mismanagement and corruption over a long period of time.

Common good assets are property owned historically by the taxpayer and managed by the local authority.

The Waverley Market site is a common good asset something which our noble councillors forget to tell you or in Councillor Fitzpatricks case nowght to do with me.

The same Waverley Market site with a value of £40 million was transfered out of the Common Good Account by the council before being given to developers in a 250 year lease for the sum of ONE PENCE PER YEAR.

The council tells us it was a mistake,some bloody mistake. Who authorised this disaster and who okayed it. This is a scandal on a huge scale and heads must roll. Does the rev Aitken know of this?silly question we know but it must be asked and answered. Who else was involved in this shambles,and who are the developers who have done so well out of this deal.

Once again the public are made to look fools,as what seems to be either a major unthinkable error or corrupt practices at work. Which is it,we ask how can you make a £40 million mistake and then try to justify it. This council needs cleaned out and if it was councillors who were involved in this shambles,at the very least they should resign.If it was officials who cocked it up they must be sacked immediatly,to restore some confidence in what is fast becoming a bankrupt council.

We have dodgy dealings down at the waterfront development with councillor Mcginnis up to her neck in it along with nowght to do with me Fitzpatrick,the Greater Pilton public are lied to,they are kept in the dark as this most secretive of organisations go about their business with the blessing of Mcginnis and Fitzpatrick,and they will have the cheek to ask us to re-elect them in May next year. We would have to be sucicidal to do that.

Now we have another scandal involving this useless council,a scandal on a major scale,which culminates in the public once again being ripped off by those elected to look after their interests. No this is certainly not good enough,it is beyond comprehension that they thought they could get away with it,and nobody would find out. Complacency in the extreme.

The people of this city have a moral duty to get rid of these scoundrels and vagabonds who disguise themselves as protectors of the common good. Lies and cheating would be more like it.

It is anticipated that Edinburgh City council will give evidence at the next meeting of the local Government and transport committee on 21st November. Surely this evidence must be made public,as after all this time it really is for the common good.         

All is not well down waterfront way. It seems ,and our sister site Edinburgh sucks has all the dirt that Sheperd and Wedderburn the waterfront solicitors have declined to renew their contract and have explained in full detail to the interested parties,that is except the community,who are as usual kept in the dark about anything to do with the waterfront.

It seems bully Izatt has rubbed some more people up the wrong way.

Two questions. Does councillor Mcginnis know about this?and if she does what is she doing about it?

Ther is no point asking councillor Fitzpatrick,he would just come out with his usual answer nowght to do with me.

All is certainly not right down Waterfront way and the secrecy surrounding it does nothing to help their cause. It is clear as we have said before Councillor Mcginnis is in over her head and events are overtaking her,she should have been upfront with the community to start with instead of patronising them with false promises.

The latest sleaze surrounding this development is bad news and only further blackens the outlook for its future.Councillor Mcginnis should resign her positions with the waterfront,and throw herself on the mercy of the community,she has mislead.

It is time for real leadership,something that has been lacking for a long time.It may well be useful to blame others in the short term,but the reality is obvious,blame lies firmly at the door of empress Mcginnis,and nowght to do with me Fitzpatrick.The community trusted these two with fighting for local interest and maximum benifit from this development.

Instead what have we got. Not a lot to say there then.  

Over two million households are estimated to be struggling to pay council tax and consideration needs to be given to the negative impact of the tax on the governments MAKE WORK PAY This is according to a new report by the Warwick Institute for Empolyment Research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Council tax is the subject of an ongoing review but to date,there has been no attempt to identify how many or why households have problems paying it. Struggling to pay council tax-a new perspective on the debate about local taxation, is the UKs first study to explore the numbers and reasons behind non-payment. The report also looks at the relationship between council tax valuation bands and low income as well as the experiences of those who receive council tax benifit.

The research calculates that nearly three million summones for non-payment of council tax are issued each year. There are a number of reasons why people receive a summons but the research estimates that over two million households are struggling to pay.

Council tax is regressive ie it takes a larger share of income from those on lower and middle earnings than from those on higher incomes.Low income households are more affected because they are paying proportionately more than those on high incomes. Council tax accounts for 4.9% of gross income for the bottom fifth of households,3.7% for households in the second to bottom fifth and just 1.7% for those in the top fifth.

Many of those low income households receive benifits. However the report found that interviewees experience of council tax benifit focused not on take up,which in itself is poor,but at the low level of income at which people cease to be entitled,as well as administrative problems and the sheer complexity of the system.

Low income households in high value properties are exceptional. Consideration needs to be given to the position of the far larger numbers of low and middle income households who currently pay proportionately more tax.

Now there is a good job for MSP Chisholm try telling some of the low income earners in your consitiuency why they pay more than those that earn more. Then ask them for their vote.

Our Three new community councils all seem to be going along nicely,even Royston/Wardieburn which has the unfortunate luck of having councillor Mcginnis breathing down their necks.

You would think she would be pleased that they are at last out of the woods,but alas no,it would seem if our information is correct that she is seething she has lost control of the council as they attempt to find their own feet.

But never mind this story has a lot of mileage in it yet. And of course congratulations must also go to Royston/Wardieburn as they have secured a place on the Community council association executive, this after an election was forced upon this most conservative of organisations by Royston/Wardiburn community council chair Fred Marinello.

We have already warned Mr. Marinello that the knives may well be out for him after this success,as Liz wont tolerate anything that does not involve her. Tough luck then liz.

The same Mr Marinello seemed to make quite an impression at the recent council executive,according to one community member who was there,The video was the best bit He lit the place up.Another reason for Liz to be angry.

As for the other community councils it is steady as you go,and good progress being made. But it still looks like all the fun is down Royston Way.

Carry on the good work.

C.Murphy-Pilton Sucks .com     

You may have read in the Scotsman on Sunday about less than ethic activities at Howdenhall secure unit. We can report this is as our source put it the tip of the iceburg. We listened to what our source had to tell us and then did a spot of investigating for ourselves,what we found out made poor reading.

Falsified documents,abuse of clothing grant monies,false travel allowences claimed,and more sinister alledged cover up of sexual activities with regard to outside instructers and female clients. We think that a full inquirey must be launched into what goes on in these what seems less than secure units

We have a duty to protect vunerable youngsters that taxpayers pick up the tab for  and therefore the public must have full confidence in the people who run these units.

We are appalled at these allegations and once again Edinburghs secure units come under scrutiny,it cannot go on. If neccesary a full public inquirey into the running of these units must be conviened,under an outside stewardship and not as usual an internal whitewash. We watch with interest.