Euro Elections... coming your way 4th June!

In a few weeks you will be able to vote for your MEP in the Europen Elections. To find out what the European Parliament does, click here

Labour's MEPs David Martin & Catherine Stihler have been touring scotland speaking to local people, and hearing some of the issues affecting them, and how Europe works..

Make your vote count on 4th June 2009

Expenses!

Well, the 'expenses' for all of Edinburgh's 58 Local Councillors - for the year ending 31st March 2009 - are published late this afternoon and you can see all the details for the 'Edinburgh Labour' Group of 15 Councillors by going .

You can see the complete list for all Parties by going here (2008-09 may not be there for an hour or two). If you're not certain which Councillor belongs to which Party , then you can find out here.

You'll see from the 'Edinburgh Labour' table, that almost all our Group of 15 are on the basic annual salary of £15,838 - the exceptions being Ewan Aitken and Andrew Burns, who have variously spent parts of 2008/09 as Group Leader which is regarded as a Senior Councillor post and for which the full annual salary is just over £24,000.

Salaries aside, the total of additional expenses claimed by our complete Group of 15 Councillors for the whole of 2008/09 is £9,797.

I'll briefly explain some of the column headings in the 'Edinburgh Labour' table for these additional expenses:

• mileage expenses - this relates to daily travel costs: principally 'mileage allowance' for car travel.
• taxis - for taxis fares related to Council work.
• subsistence expenses - 'accommodation costs' at any conferences attended.
• telephone and ICT expenses - telephone calls made for work purposes: principally 'home-telephone' costs.
• other allowances and expenses - this relates, in the main, to the £444 for an annual bus pass. As you'll see, most 'Edinburgh Labour' Councillors use this as their primary mode of travel. This column also includes any 'conference fees' and overseas travel.

As mentioned above, this totals £9,797 for our complete Group of 15 Councillors for the whole of 2008/09

I will always be open abou any pulic expenses I incurr, and you will be able to see other councillors claims by clicking; contrast it with what the other 43 Edinburgh Councillors have claimed

Any questions or queries, please get in touch

cammy.day@edinburgh.gov.uk or call 0131 529 3281

No funding, No Buses, now.. no trams!!!

Im a wee bit late in updating my blog site, so heres a few wee snippets!

Im sure you will now have heard, that here in Forth Ward, not only have the SNP/Lib Dem council cut nearly £800,000 from the local budget, not only have the subsidised bus routes to this side of the city been dumped!, but last month, the SNP/Lib dem shower, voted to 'suspend' progressing line 1b - the part to the north of the city including the waterfront link!

Telford College, Scottish Gas, Housing Developments, all created along the route - to benefit from a state of the art transport system, failed, failed and failed again!

what next!