'Yes Scotland' campaign street stall

Leith SNP will be hosting a 'Yes Scotland' campaign street stall on Saturday 10th November. Supporters will be meeting from 10.30am onwards to speak to shoppers and seek signatures on the Independence Declaration. 

Leith SNP Statement on SNP Defence Policy Debate at SNP National Conference, October 2012

On 19 September Leith SNP Branch agreed, by consensus not mandate, to send a full complement of delegates (6) to Party Conference to vote in favour of existing SNP defence policy. Having debated the proposal to retain NATO membership at several meetings the branch believes:

·         A newly independent Scotland will have a unique and crucial role to play in nuclear disarmament and international relations.

·         Our ability to disarm and remove Trident from Scotland and our policy to join the NATO affiliate group Partnership for Peace* are vital elements of our bid to persuade people to vote Yes in the Independence Referendum.

·         NATO membership is not compatible with disarming and removing Trident from Scotland. Leasing or selling part of Scotland to NATO or the RUK so that Trident can stay at Faslane is not an acceptable option.

·         Membership of the Partnership for Peace alongside nations such as Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland will allow Scotland to build an individual relationship with NATO, choosing our own priorities for cooperation. We will continue to work with our NATO allies as the 22 existing Partnership for Peace member countries do.

Hilary Brown, Secretary of Leith SNP said

‘Leith SNP is proud of the SNP’s ethical and practical defence policy of joining Partnership for Peace, a policy which will enable us to co-operate with our friends and allies in NATO when we choose, but which allows us to disengage from a military alliance based on the first strike use of nuclear weapons. We are also fully committed to the SNP’s policy of nuclear disarmament and it is clear from all that we have read and studied that NATO membership is not compatible with disarming and removing Trident from Scotland. Leasing or selling part of Scotland to NATO or the RUK so that Trident can stay at Faslane is not an acceptable option. We applaud the party for engaging in such a substantive and respectful debate on this crucial issue and we believe delegates should be clear on these points when they vote.’

For more details call Hilary Brown on 0131 555 2937 or Cllr Adam McVey on 0771 866 6456

*The Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a programme of practical bilateral cooperation between individual Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO. It allows partners to build up an individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for cooperation. (www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_50349.htm, September 2012)

Leith SNP on Facebook

Leith SNP have a new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leith-SNP/147117215354960?ref=hl for members, supporters and those just interested in what the SNP are doing in Leith. Please visit and like to keep up to date with the campaign for Independence in Leith.

Boardwalk Empire?

Rob Munn reports on a radical new proposal for the Water of Leith Basin


Pardon the title! I'm not likening the Shore to hit US TV show Boardwalk Empire but Sandport Boadwalk is the working title for a plan to change the Water of Leith basin as we know it.
Some years back a company called Water of Leith 2000 put forward plans for barges along the shore line originally I think the plan was to use them as houseboats. However the plans changed to office use and today the barges moored between Malmaison and the Ship on the Shore house a variety of offices.

Expansion of this scheme upstream through the inner basin and on to Bonnington weir at the Quilts had so far not materialised. Water of Leith 2000 put their property (the shoreline on both sides) up for sale by auction in 2009 but failed to find a single bidder.
Recently it was revealed that Water of Leith 2000 had changed into Bluefield International and some sort of new plan was in the offing. Friends of the Water of Leith Basin made contact and suggested that once they had some ideas to share they would be happy to host a presentation at one of their meetings. On 4th April as part of a General Meeting of FoWL.B a presentation was made of the proposal 'Sandport Boardwalk' by well known Edinburgh architect Malcolm Fraser. It was tentative - Malcolm had only got involved about a week before the meeting. He stressed that what was proposed would balance commercial use (that's the bit that will make the proposal economically viable) and public space (the boardwalk bit). There are no definite plans yet and planning permission will have to be sought and further detailed public consultation would be required.
There were concerns raised at the meeting regarding visual impact, the consequences of changing the Shore in this way, practicalities such as access and increased pressure on parking in the area. As the proposed structures would float as the barges do it was pointed out that the silting up of the inner basin could scupper the plans.
I feel the plans should be more fully fleshed out before being exposed to full public scrutiny and consultation. I certainly want to see more about what these structures would look like and how they might add to the Leith Shore. It may be that some of it will find support and some of it won't. Malcolm Fraser is a renowned architect and extremely capable of coming up with something interesting and challenging. I would welcome more detail to the plans and importantly more public debate on what local people and businesses would like to see.
The Friends of the Water of Leith Basin are to be thanked for organising this initial presentation on Bluefield's proposals.
Wider public consultation will I'm sure be lively.

Leith SNP to run two candidates in Council Elections

Leith SNP today announced they would be running two candidates in the Leith ward in May's Council elections. Sitting SNP Councillor Rob Munn said "The SNP has a solid vote in Leith and topped the 1st preference poll here in 2007's Council Elections. We have worked hard to build up SNP support ever since and it's a logical step to build on that support by putting forward a team of two candidates for the Council elections in May."

Rob Munn's running mate will be Adam McVey a 24 year old who works for Amnesty International and a Social Investment Trust. Adam said "Having lived in Leith for 2 years I am aware of the great efforts to make it a better place to live and work. I believe I can support those efforts and bring new ideas and commitment to the fore."

Cllr Munn added "I believe that the SNP are putting forward a strong team for these important elections with a balance of youth, experience and skills that will serve Leith well in the coming years."

Forth Energy dump Biomass plan

Leith SNP welcomes the news that Forth Energy have dumped their plans for a large scale biomass power plant in Leith docks.

Local Leith Councillor Rob Munn said; "This is welcome news. There has been a long campaign against this plan and I congratulate the local campaign group 'No Leith Biomass' for their efforts which have been rewarded today. This was an issue in which the local community were united from environmental groups, community councils, residents groups to individual citizens."

 Cllr Munn added "This was an issue that garnered a lot of comment, all of it against in my experience, from right across Leith and beyond. The basic premise of green power was unsustainable as the fuel for the plant would have had to be shipped in huge quantities from abroad. It seemed too that the economics behind the plan were to get large sums of public money in subsidy in return for providing electricity to the national grid. No firm use was ever put forward for using the substantial heat generated by the proposed plant. Leith is better off without this proposal which was bad for Leith and bad for Scotland."

The reason given by Forth Energy is that they want to develop the National Renewables Infrastructure  plans which would see Leith become a home for the manufacture of offshore renewables such as wind,wave and tidal devices as part of Scotland's low carbon future. Leith SNP broadly welcome the opportunities that will create for jobs and investment. It is important that there is an continuing dialogue with the local community to ensure that the lessons of the large scale biomass fiasco are learnt and that any new future for Leith Docks is one where the local community are fully consulted and can see a clear benefit from.

Your Scotland, Your Referendum

The Scottish Government have launched their consultation on the referendum on Scottish Independence https://t.co/EESeaX0w at a time when members are flocking to the SNP and polls show a shift towards independence. It's coming yet...