One Helluva Apology
The Scottish government has saved Edinburgh City Council from complete disaster - even though the much-derided 'trams project' - has made monkeys out of the taxpayer.
Last week Labour and Tory councillors joined forces to stop the trams in their tracks at Haymarket - with the new 'service' racking up losses of £4 million a year - and passengers having to complete the journey into the city centre - under their own steam.
Some advert for Scotland.
But thankfully the Scottish government has stepped in to save these idiots from themselves - and end the pretence that any of them actually know what they are doing.
Local democracy, my arse - more like the Keystone Cops taking over the transport network.
Now the irony is that the SNP government never wanted to spend £500 million of public money - on Edinburgh's trams in the first place.
But Labour and Lib Dem MSPs ganged up in the Scottish Parliament and voted the scheme through - leaving the SNP minority government of the day no choice but to comply.
The budget originally allocated to the project has now all been used up - because of the council's incompetence and mismanagement.
The cost of getting the trams into the city centre - St Andrews Square - will run to an extra £300 million or so - which the council will have to borrow with council taxpayers picking up the tab.
Even then - at a cost of £800 million and counting - the trams will not go all the way to Newhaven - and all the disruption in Leith will have been in vain.
No wonder the citizens of Edinburgh are spitting mad - in days gone by they'd have marched on the City Chambers - pitchforks and torches in hand.
Putting the issue to a referendum wouldn't solve anything - because people are so angry they would just vote the whole thing down - and then there would be nothing at all to show for all these hundreds of millions of pounds.
So the First Minister has done the right thing - painful as it is for everyone involved - especially people living and working in Edinburgh.
What might sweeten this bitter pill is that the key councillors behind this disastrous chain of events - should announce that they are standing down at the next council elections in May 2012.
Because the councillors involved - and the MSPs who voted in the Scottish Parliament to give them £500 million of public money - owe the rest of us one helluva apology.
Last week Labour and Tory councillors joined forces to stop the trams in their tracks at Haymarket - with the new 'service' racking up losses of £4 million a year - and passengers having to complete the journey into the city centre - under their own steam.
Some advert for Scotland.
But thankfully the Scottish government has stepped in to save these idiots from themselves - and end the pretence that any of them actually know what they are doing.
Local democracy, my arse - more like the Keystone Cops taking over the transport network.
Now the irony is that the SNP government never wanted to spend £500 million of public money - on Edinburgh's trams in the first place.
But Labour and Lib Dem MSPs ganged up in the Scottish Parliament and voted the scheme through - leaving the SNP minority government of the day no choice but to comply.
The budget originally allocated to the project has now all been used up - because of the council's incompetence and mismanagement.
The cost of getting the trams into the city centre - St Andrews Square - will run to an extra £300 million or so - which the council will have to borrow with council taxpayers picking up the tab.
Even then - at a cost of £800 million and counting - the trams will not go all the way to Newhaven - and all the disruption in Leith will have been in vain.
No wonder the citizens of Edinburgh are spitting mad - in days gone by they'd have marched on the City Chambers - pitchforks and torches in hand.
Putting the issue to a referendum wouldn't solve anything - because people are so angry they would just vote the whole thing down - and then there would be nothing at all to show for all these hundreds of millions of pounds.
So the First Minister has done the right thing - painful as it is for everyone involved - especially people living and working in Edinburgh.
What might sweeten this bitter pill is that the key councillors behind this disastrous chain of events - should announce that they are standing down at the next council elections in May 2012.
Because the councillors involved - and the MSPs who voted in the Scottish Parliament to give them £500 million of public money - owe the rest of us one helluva apology.
