It wisnae me

Ewan's announcement to stand down as Leader has caught us all on the hop. No doubt we all wish him well in his new position and thank him, too, for his work over the last 2 years for Edinburgh Labour. There will be a competition to replace him. I hope it will be conducted with goodwill and camaraderie. Labour has found its stride as Opposition...we must not falter now.

I read the weekend press with some disbelief. Cardownie has a brass neck: for a man who doesn't send his own child to a local authority school it takes a bit of believing that he even cares what the kids get to eat, let alone whether it is served hot or cold. Then to say he was duped by the Liberals about its nutritional quality!!! I ask you...if I was called Jenny Dawe I'd be pretty peeved at the constant SNP whine of 'it wisnae me' ... The real culprit here is the Boy David...or maybe we should be calling him the Scarlet Pimpernel...we seek him here, we seek him there...obviously he doesn't understand what his officials tell him, nods a cut through and then when it blows up in his face he dives for cover, blaming everybody but himself. This laddie Beckett takes responsibility money precisely to do that...to take responsibility...and if he could fit it in, occasionally he could try turning up for meetings too.

Tonight's Granton School Parents Council was a prime example of how far education has fallen as a priority for the Administration...I will be brief: 9 classes (two of them to be taught by probationer teachers i.e. apprentices), class sizes of 24 up to 30 in one of the highest area of deprivation in the city ( no SNP 18 here), 20 new children identified as having behavioural problems requiring extra support - all denied by the Department, 18 formal exclusions - 1 of them permanent, 4 children receiving 'working together' support and 5 more on a waiting list...and no extra support at all.

What makes it tragic is that postcode EH51 has among the worst educational attainment in Scotland and on current evidence there will not be a scintilla of change for the better.

This is a failure of crisis proportions and it is time McLaren and her cronies recognised how far they have let things fall. I will be seeking an immediate meeting with the Director. The parents need some answers and so do I.