That's politics...

As holidays go, it was grand. Sun shone, apartment excellent - I spent a lot of time on the balcony reworking a novel I have been working on for a couple of years - I enjoyed myself. There was the occasional irritating moment -when friends phoned to alert me to the Evening News article on WEL.

I've now had the chance to read the articles - indeed someone kindly posted them as comments on this blogsite. Needless to say I don't agree with the interpretation and Cllrs Cardownie's and Morris' comments are, in some instances, adolescent - but I guess that's politics ...

The key things to remember are all the hospitality events and the single foreign trip I made were all reported to and approved by the Board: events, like the rugby and sponsorship of the Jazz Festival were intended to promote the company postively to key organisations & individuals as well as to a wider audience and are certainly not uncommon (councillors get invited to that kind of thing all the time and I'm sure Cllr Cardownie has enjoyed more than his fair share of such events...maybe not Cllr Morris yet since she's relatively new) and since councillors of all parties usually formed part of the guest list it wasn't as if anybody was being secretive.

In fact, Cllr Cardownie was frequently invited, usually said yes, then failed to turn up...presumably something more important turned up.

Hospitality and foreign trips are difficult areas for those in public life: usually they afford the opportunity for the kind of less formal networking that 'oils the wheels' or, in the case of visits abroad, good sources of learning but they are undoubtedly easy targets for criticism.

There are 3 choices really: you can make the 'safe' decision not to participate in any such events - in which case you are cutting yourself off from other sources of information and are working from the basis that there is nothing to learn from other places and other people: do this, and you certainly won't invite any negative public comment but I don't think you'll achieve much either. Or you can go to all and any such trips or occasions (I have known several councillors who adopt this approach) and you will enjoy your time in public life but will need to grow a thick skin to immunise yourself from the criticism you attract. Or you can do what I do, which is choose carefully which events you think you'll learn most from and for which you're prepared to accept the public stick when it (as it surely will) comes.

I learned a lot from the Boston trip. Most importantly I learned that all waterfront regeneration projects have a government building as an anchor and a bait for other investors. That's why I led the WEL Board to accept the offer from the Scottish Executive to locate a major national institution at the Gateway site (despite some headaches about making the plan stack up). When this is formally announced, along with the major benefits it will bring in terms of visitor numbers to Granton, it will be Cllr Cardownie and Cllr Morris who take the credit ...and I guess that's politics too.