Edinburgh's other face

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Above: Glasgow. Edinburgh's 'outer city' is just as bad. THE debate in Socialist Organiser over the fate of the local government left has rightly been overshadowed by our coverage of the fightback in Liverpool. But it is worth drawing out some of the lessons of the failure of other councils to follow Liverpool's stand.

Liverpool City Council Labour Group has had one huge advantage over the other left wing councils in Britain — it had a clear-cut policy on what it was going to do to confront the government from the start.

The councils, like Islington, which refused to adopt a clear strategy of controntation have, instead, muddled along and increasingly become simply 'managers' of the system. That has led to Islington, along with other left councils in London, being drawn into disputes with its workers and turning on many of its supporters. Islington has tried to take back the first flat-rate pay scheme for DLO workers, refused to negotiate with its low-paid nursery workers, refused planning permission for a women's centre under pressure from the press, raised council rents, etc., etc., etc.

And most of the left on the council went along with this, leaving only a handful of councillors serious about the type of policies and the spirit of resistance they started out with..

Sadly for us, one of the key figures in this retreat was for many years an SO supporter -Alan Clinton, the Council's chief whip. The other SO supporter among the counciliors, Pat Longman, played a prominent role in the resistance to the retreat.

Alter nearly 20 years of involvement in revolutionary socialist politics, Alan reacted to the confusion and retreat around him on the council by succumbing to it — and joined the chorus of tired "realists"

He has supported rent and rate rises and opposed the DLO workers' struggle to keep their flat-rate pay system. At our last Edinburgh District Labour Party will advocate a rent freeze and a programme of increased service and council house building in the May This was decided by a 2-1 majority at the District Party meeting, but a sizeable number of the Labour Group councillors supported defeated resolution which urged the party to campaign on a policy of raising rents by a minimal amount to improve services.

Supporters of this point of view ranged from • Labour "traditionalists" to those who did not think that the Labour Party had strong enough support to confront central government. -It was pointed out that a minimal rent increase couldn't pay for improved services. The cost of upgrading Edinburgh's housing schemes would be enormous.

Council housing in many parts of this Tory controlled "Festival City" is in an extremely bad state.

Rents are among the highest in Scotland, the level of service is publicly acknowledged to be abysmally low, and the proud capital of Scotland boats the highest council tenant eviction rate in the country.

Inner city deprivation common among English cities is turned on its head in tourist-conscious Edinburgh where the beautiful view of Edinburgh Castle at the heart of the city stands in marked contrast to the boarded up windows in the sprawling housing estates which cover the outskirts of Edinburgh.

The criteria which Oxfam use to designate a third worldpoverty area havebeen met in the Niddrie/Craigmillar council estate which lies to the East of the City and now houses two Oxfam workers who live and work in the area!

The Tory controlled council have fostered the image of Edinburgh as an international cultural centre while deliberately hiding the other face of the city which gave birth to the author of Jekyll and Hyde.

The "dossers" Edinburgh's down and outs, are arrested on sight during the Edinbur ch Festival if they venture into the "wrong places". . The Council has consistently refused to grant licences for an "alternative" tour of Edinburgh aimed at enlightening the gentlefolk with bulging wallets as to the state of council housing in Edinburgh.

Enormous sums of money are required even to bring a vast number of council housing schemes up to a reasonable standard.

On the day following the District Party meeting, Labour councillors vainly attempted to get the Tory controlled housing committee to demand a large central government grant to carry out essential work on the city's Orlet built houses.

The Tories have carried through government policy and sold off council houses in desirable areas and coupled it with homesteading in some of the undesirable areas over the past few years.

Some environmental improvements are now being made to some council schemes, reportedly financed from council house sales. The council's maintenance, not surprisingly in this true blue council, is mostly done by private contractors.

The lengthy catalogue of maltreatment of tenants by the Tories is very prominent in tenants' minds. But the level of activity by the various tenants' groups varies.

The Labour Party will therefore have to take heed of the words of District Councillor Alex Wood who said, when moving the Fin. ance Paper, "this campaign must not just be half a dozen or so councillors and almost no-one else. It must involve every member of the Labour The District Labour Party has until the May election and beyond to next year's rent fixing date to build the campaign.