Edinburgh Council manifesto

1.40.41am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 17th Apr 2007

Cllr. Jenny Dawe

Cllr. Jenny Dawe, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council, speaking on the launch of Winning a Bright New Future for Edinburgh with the Lib Dems …

Edinburgh is a great place to live, a fine city in which to work and a fantastic locality to visit. However, Edinburgh has been let down by a Council that is remote, impersonal and does not listen to what people want. Edinburgh needs a new Council worthy of its people.

At the last elections to the Council in 2003, Liberal Democrats were only a few hundred votes behind Labour but, because of the unfair voting system, ended up as the main opposition party with half the number of councillors that Labour had. Now, thanks to Liberal Democrat persistence, after 23 years of Labour rule, the introduction of a fair voting system for local council elections gives a real opportunity for political change in the City of Edinburgh Council. Political pundits predict that the Liberal Democrats will be in a prime position to lead that change. To do that, we need to elect as many Lib Dem Councillors as we possibly can.

Over the years in opposition, your Liberal Democrat councillors have worked hard to promote giving power to communities, to protecting the environment and to improving services for all. We have stood up time and again for our principles of fairness, openness and accountability. We have opposed the secrecy and arrogance that has been a mark of Labour's administration.

We know from listening to you what sort of Council and services you want. Our manifesto, Winning a Bright New Future for Edinburgh, promises to work with you to provide better services for all.

Follow the link on the left to read the full manifesto or for a mini-version of it.