Canvassing update

With less than three weeks to go to polling, I've now been canvassing for three weeks. Response on the doorsteps has been magnificent, though I'm still in my 'core' areas. That will change next week when I move into opposition territory. However, even in those areas I've already been doorknocking with questionnaires a year ago and the reception then was surprisingly good.

Labour are canvassing like there's no tomorrow (maybe there isn't for them) - certainly a lot more than in past years, so it looks like they recognise they are in real danger of losing a seat here. However, the impression I get from people they've canvassed is that with two councillors, it's a bit late to start talking to their constituents now. I'm also getting a lot of non too complimentary comments about Derek Milligan on the doorsteps. I do wonder if the tide is turning on him.

SNP leaflet advising people to spoil their vote

The SNP campaign is a dog's breakfast. Leaflets appeared late - and instruct people to vote for their candidates with two 'X's. Even discounting this, they haven't directed people to split their first preference votes between the two candidates, which will result in Bob Constable getting nearly all of them and Thomas Munro going out early on in the count.

Anyway, I must get on. More doors to knock on ...

Missing the bus

On Monday, First Bus announced the closure of its Dalkeith depot, the withdrawal of nearly all of its services in Midlothian and the loss of up to 200 jobs.

There had been rumblings of service cutbacks in an earlier statement but I don't think anyone locally was expecting anything on this scale. The job losses are a particularly hard blow in the current economic climate, but I'm sure many more people face the risk of not being able to get to their work and have no alternative except perhaps to take two or more journeys via Cameron Toll or the city centre using a Lothian bus service - if indeed their community will now be served at all.

And this is why the cuts will hit so hard. Faced with unbeatable competition on routes run by publicly owned Lothian, First has retreated to cross county routes and those which connect communities not served directly by buses going to and from the city - the 141/142 being the main route, but others such as the 92A which currently provides the only direct link between Bonnyrigg and Gorebridge.

I have a certain sympathy for First's predicament - public transport has been a low on the SNP Scottish Government's priority list and bus operators like First will not run services at a loss over a prolonged period. However, First is not entirely blameless.

In 2008 I travelled to Falkirk to meet with Paul Thomas, Managing Director of First Scotland East. This followed critical comments I had made in the local press about First's apparent lack of a strategy in Midlothian. Our meeting was cordial, but I put across a number of points which although accepted at the time, were sadly not taken on board (if you forgive the pun).

Firstly, I said that passengers need to know that a service they intend to take when applying for a job will still be around in a few months' or years' time. Apart from the 141, First has continually re-routed, removed and introduced services - initially in a predatory manner designed to take passengers from Lothian routes. The ill-fated X77 ran in competition to Lothian's 31 for a while - but who wanted to take a decrepit, cold, dimly lit boneshaker when a 31 would be due along shortly? And that was another thing - running the X77 (and others) two minutes ahead of the Lothian service was, to say the least, cynical.

Another issue was frequency. At the time, the only direct link from where I live to Dalkeith or Straiton was the hourly 141. I could time my journey to leave, but if I missed the return there was an hour wait, and with First's refusal to join the Bus Tracker system, how do I know if I've missed it or it's running ten minutes late (in 2008 he said First were negotiating to join Bus Tracker).

If a bus runs every 15 minutes or less, then people will risk taking the journey. Any more and they may prefer, as I did, to travel to Dalkeith or Straiton via Cameron Toll on Lothian.

Fares are another issue. I understand that bus operations need to be financially viable. For a while, First undercut Lothian's fares on on X77 and 86A but not on those where there was no competition. Given the stark contrast in fares in places like East Lothian and Aberdeenshire, where First has a monopoly, what would have happened to those fares should Lothian have removed the 31 or 3? I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one.

Some local communities are already organising to try to reverse the decision. Personally I think it's a waste of time. My experience of speaking with the bus companies, and I've also met Lothian's Operations Manager Bill Campbell a number of times, is to suggest viable routes and extensions to existing routes, then to publicise any new ones or changes in the community, as I have done through our community council's newsletter.

Of course it would help if the Scottish Government showed a bit of vision and put resources into stimulating demand and investment - not just giving money to bus companies, but giving local councils resources to build more bus shelters, bus lanes and install tracker systems. However, with priorities like building new bridges and motorways, it will have little money left over for preparing for the time when either oil costs so much or congestion such a problem that people will be looking for alternatives.

You could even say the Scottish Government has missed the bus on this - we certainly will in six weeks' time.

Bonnyrigg candidates announced

Nominations have now closed and for those with an ear to the ground, the ballot form for the Bonnyrigg ward will hold no surprises. Once again the Lib Dems are not standing and this time none of the socialists or anti-cuts candidates are present.

Jackie Aitchison, as expected, has resigned from the Labour Party to stand as an independent. This is no surprise, given how he has been treated, and it will be interesting to see how much his personal vote holds up. More interesting will be what he says and does during the campaign, and should he fail to be re-elected, where his lower preferences go. His resignation also means that Labour goes into the election without holding an overall majority on the council.

For the SNP, sitting councillor Bob Constable, being above his little known running mate Thomas Munro on the ballot form, I would expect Bob to be re-elected early on in the count. In 2007, Bob received 400 surplus votes and was comfortably elected on the first round of counting. That won't happen this time and Munro will naturally pick up most of Bob's eventual surplus if he can avoid an early exit.

The Conservative candidate Emma Cummings is from Gorebridge and completely unknown in the ward. I am surprised local Tory stalwarts Marnie and Bill Crawford are not standing this time, or at least finding someone a bit more local to fly the flag. However, given a complete lack of activity from the Tories here over the last five years, they must know they have two chances of success - fat and slim - and perhaps it's a case of giving future hopefuls a bit of electioneering experience. Who knows?

The Labour ticket, however, is much more interesting. Sitting councillor and council leader Derek Milligan must fancy his chances now he's above his running mate on the ballot form (I could say more, but space doesn't allow...). Louie Milliken is very much a newcomer and, surprisingly for Labour in what used to be a stronghold for the party, has had little involvement as far as I'm aware, in the community.

Labour looks likely to lose one of its two seats in Bonnyrigg this time. Derek Milligan is the marmite of Bonnyrigg politics - you either love him or hate him, and his name has certainly cropped up a few times on the doorsteps, without my prompting, I should add! The spread of first preferences between these two candidates will be interesting to say the least; however, I do expect alphabetical order to play the biggest hand and Derek will get back in.

So my guess is Bob Constable will be elected early on, followed by Derek Milligan. Without Labour backing, I can't see Jackie surviving. Which means the final place will be between myself, Thomas Munro and Louie Milliken. In local elections, visibility and community activity over a period of time count for much more and personality over party label also plays a part. Turnout will be lower, which will probably hit the Labour vote more than most, and these elections - being separated from the Holyrood vote which took place on the same day last time - will not be clouded by national issues.

On that basis, therefore, I have grounds for a good deal of optimism. However, there's all to play for and I'll be taking nothing for granted over the next few weeks.

Knock knock - diary of a canvasser

With five weeks to go, nominations close today for the local elections on 3rd May.

Canvassing is now well underway and I've knocked on around 400 doors in the Bonnyrigg ward. Although so far I've mainly been covering areas where we traditionally pick up support, the response has been amazing. Yesterday while out leafletting, someone came up to me saying he wanted to vote for me but will be going on holiday on 2nd May. I popped round with a couple of postal vote application forms and while chatting, someone else cycled past and stopped to say he and his wife will be giving me their first preference votes after I'd spoken to them on the doorstep the previous day.

I also now have a few people who have offered to display a Vote Green window poster - important as the council has now banned lamppost placards.

If elected, there'll be no time for a rest - I have a growing list of issues people have spoken to me about and I've taken their contact details and will be taking up their cases immediately.

There's a lot of hard work to do over the next five weeks. A three member ward is hard for Greens to break into and there is still a lot of what I call 'tribal' voters - those who vote Labour or SNP by habit and for no other reason. However, most of those seem happy to give me a second or third preference, which could give me a crucial boost once one of the two Labour or SNP candidates is elected and their running mate eliminated during the count. Getting enough first preferences is the priority though, to stay in the count and pick up those transfers.

Five years ago I only canvassed 40% of the ward - those areas where we are most likely to pick up support. This time I'm adding on a few areas where we need to break into the Lab/SNP vote, and yesterday I was in one such street. The result was very encouraging, including the offer of a window poster and a warm reception on most doorsteps.

People want change. The consistent message I'm getting is that the councillors they have are not worth voting for, but they only vote for one lot because they dislike the other lot even more. That makes my job of persuading people to vote for us much easier, of course, but it makes me even more determined to prove that Green councillors are different. Without the tribal vote, Greens have to work hard to get elected, and we have to work hard to get re-elected; and that can only be good for those we hope to represent.

Campaign gets underway

Only 40 days to go and for me, that marks the start of the election campaign proper. Nomination papers are in, election newsletter deliveries started and canvassing sheets printing off as I write.

Tomorrow I start canvassing in the leafy lanes of Lasswade. I was down that way a few days ago delivering newsletters and already got caught up in conversations with people I met - some of whom I already know.

It seems that every street I go down there's someone I know, and over the last few days I've already logged three people I've promised to get back in touch with if elected, to help with issues they are interested in - and doorknocking hasn't even started!

So far there seems little evidence of activity from other parties. Labour has delivered two newsletters - both claiming the credit for new infrastructure provided by the Scottish Government or NHS Lothian, so I'll be interested to see how the SNP campaign reacts to this!

I've also heard that the two Labour candidates have been knocking on doors in Polton. I hope they continue as one  of them once confided to me that he didn't like doorknocking as it tends to alienate as much support as it attracts. In his case, understandable.

In 2007, we were the main recipients of voter transfers in the Bonnyrigg ward. However, a worrying number of votes did not transfer through to the last round of counting. This could be for the legitimate reason that the voters had no preference beyond those they expressed, or it could be because people don't fully understand how the system works.

One questionnaire I had returned said the voter (who had voted Lib Dem previously) wouldn't vote for us because we're too small a party - a bit ironic as the Lib Dems have fewer MSPs than we did at our high water mark and in 2007 we came fourth in this 3-member ward and the Lib Dems didn't stand.

Hence the need for me to speak to people individually. If people want a Green councillor, then they should vote for one with their first preference, and if we're not elected, their vote simply transfers to their second preference. A simple message I will be putting to people over the next five weeks.

Taxpayers' cash and political footballs

I am more intrigued by people's reactions to what is going on at Rangers Football Club than the eyewatering revelations which emanate from Ibrox on an almost daily basis. 

My immediate and continuing reaction is simple. I pay my taxes on time and so should they. If I didn't then I would have no-one else to blame and certainly would not expect the likes of Alex Salmond to plead with HMRC on my behalf. If this means the end for them, then tough. However, there are many who do not share my view. But if Rangers, or any other club for that matter, is so precious that it shouldn't be allowed to fail, then sorry, the safeguards should have been built into the way it was run to prevent it from ever happening.

As with Rangers, so with RBS, Greece, or any other institution for that matter. Failure, default and liquidation are as much a fact of life as death and taxes, and should be just as inevitable for those who deserve it.

The same sentiments expressed towards Rangers were expressed by some members of the public towards Bonnyrigg Rose when an investigation by Midlothian Council found that it did not have 'visibility' of  £26,000 of Midlothian taxpayers' money which had been granted to the club.

When I highlighted this, instead of people being indignant that taxpayers had been diddled of their contributions, I was accused by some of attacking the club. As with Rangers, Bonnyrigg Rose refused to open their books to scrutiny to clear matters up. I was  accused of threatening the viability of the club by asking what Midlothian Council is going to do about recovering taxpayers' money. Excuse me, but if the club is too important to fail, then those who run the club should have been better monitored and mechanisms put in place to ensure it couldn't get into the kind of mess it now finds itself in.

Whether it's £100 million from HMRC or £26,000 from Midlothian Council, the disappearance of taxpayers' money is not a victimless crime. However, unlike HMRC, Midlothian Council has done nothing to recover the missing money - despite its own audit report recommending a completion date of 31 May 2011 for doing so. Perhaps Midlothian Council is not as strapped for cash as has been claimed.

Dial M for Machiavelli

Things are certainly heating up in the letters page of the Midlothian Advertiser as we head towards the local elections in May, and my old adversary, Councillor Milligan has clearly been hard at work behind the scenes.

Unfortunately for him, I do have my moles in the Midlothian Labour Party and I am well aware of what's going on. The letters, written by his close associates, all bear the hall marks of issues he's fond of complaining to his comrades about. Whether it's my involvement as a community councillor, the town's Twinning Association or the community council newsletter, all his favourite grouses appear in most of the letters. One of this week's letters even suggests the Council's Audit Committee might take an interest in the fact the twinning association merged with the community council. I suspect the the Audit Committee has enough to be going on with over the Bonnyrigg Rose car park saga than concern itself with this - after all, unlike with the car park, no public money has been lost.

It's a pity the Sherwood Management Committee has been dragged into all of this. Having met with the committee I was under the impression the matter of the Bonnyrigg Primary snagging problems had been resolved. Do these people realise they have to work with councillors of all colours, not just the ones they favour? The partisan views expressed (in a highly unprofessional manner) by a body which receives grant funding may attract the attention of, er, Midlothian Council's Audit Committee.

News has just reached me, however, of something altogether underhand, and which is further proof of the threat Councillor Milligan regards I pose to his chances of re-election in May. On Sunday, the candidate selection meeting was held for Labour candidates in the Bonnyrigg ward. There are currently two Labour councillors, Derek Milligan and Jackie Aitchison. Jackie's problem is his name begins with A and Milligan's with M, and it seems that most people who trundle into the polling booths in Bonnyrigg and want to vote Labour don't bother more than looking down the list and voting '1', '2' against Labour candidates. Bad news for Derek!

So 6 months ago (according to my Labour mole), he and another Labour activist, Louie Milliken, recruited friends and family ahead of the deadline to ensure they would be eligible to vote in the selection process. You can guess the rest - Aitchison out, Milliken in, and the problem is solved.

It's not for me to interfere in the internal workings of the Labour Party, but to date, sitting councillors are normally only deselected if they've been particularly bad boys or girls and in all my years in Bonnyrigg, I don't see that Jackie has done anything bad.

What happens next will be interesting. When your cupboard is crammed with skeletons you need to be careful about how you treat those who hold the keys.