Why we shouldn't blame councils starved of cash by SNP for potholes and bin problems
SNP power-grabs have stripped local authorities of the funds they need to do their job
Last weekend I spent some time listening to and speaking with a group of residents from one of the communities in my constituency. It was a really positive conversation about how they want to achieve improvements for their area and community.
A lot of the things they were talking about should be easily fixed – potholes, bins, community facilities. However, everything costs money and that is something our councils don't have a lot of at the moment.
It isn't their fault. Over the past almost nine years as their MP, I have seen that situation deteriorate as more and more power was centralised at Holyrood and the role and effectiveness of the councils undermined by the SNP government.
They have been starved of the funding they need and then frequently been blamed by those in power for not doing things.
Edinburgh’s housing crisis
In Edinburgh, our country's capital, a city that’s valued as a world heritage site and should be a shining example to the world of what Scotland can achieve, is struggling to provide housing for its citizens.
It's not just an Edinburgh problem. As elected representatives, it is a heart-breaking position to be in when you try to help someone in the full knowledge that a positive outcome will take potentially years to come.
When I have been listening to the Holyrood hopefuls in this election, too many of them are, for me, ignoring the need to get the basics right. There are so many issues to address. Reforming the NHS, investing in our schools, building the right types of homes in the right places.
However alongside that, I would also ask them all to recognise that our communities are being starved of facilities and the funding that will provide them. It has felt for some time that some in power have perhaps felt the problems are too difficult to solve. That if we cut ourself off from our neighbours, everything will magically be better.
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One size does not fit all
Of course as a Liberal Democrat I have always believed that government works best when decision making is devolved as close to those directly affected as it can be.
But the centralisation we have seen over the past two decades has done exactly the opposite and failed our communities. We have a skills shortage, a housing emergency and the viability of rural communities is being constantly undermined by decisions being made centrally by people who don't understand that every area is unique. That you cannot solve everything with a one-size-fits-all approach.
And you can't govern effectively by blaming everyone else when the record amounts of cash you have at your disposal are not fixing the problems they are meant to.
My party, the Liberal Democrats, believe in the power of local government and trust it to deliver for our communities. Respect can achieve so much. Power grabbing has been proved to not be the answer.
After May, I hope my communities will not have to shout quite as loud to be listened to and that our councils will have a government that supports them.
Then meetings with residents can be more than ambitious. They can be celebrations of what has been achieved.
Christine Jardine is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West
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