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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Should Keith Brown resign?
(21 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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"Wrong kind of campaign", following "wrong kind of snow". A transport minister's lot is not a happy one. I'd be happy to see someone else in the role, but not with a great deal of confidence that it would change much within Transport Scotland.
Posted 11 years ago # -
He should probably be replaced.
But he seems to be doing what the Scottish Government wants done - 'better transport - good for the economy'.
Should he resign over the NWC?
I have never been comfortable with 'responsibility goes to the top' when some minor cog makes a 'mistake' and the person at the top can't reasonably be expected to know about it or have been aware that a decision they made could result in a particular consequence.
In this case the trail from KB to Cycling Scotland via Transport Scotland isn't exactly long.
There has been speculation that KB said 'devise a campaign that gets road users to be nice - in a balanced way'.
The precise details will be interesting to see.
More crucial will be whether he saw the final campaign before it went public.
Even more crucial is what he does next.
Ignoring the fuss would be a mistake.
Backing the campaign is what he should do for those who did the work - if it's what he told them to do. Of course this would mean facing down all those who disagree - but if he still thinks the campaign is 'right', then he should.
Withdrawing the campaign could be seen as brave - or giving in to an 'irrelevant' minority. If he did it would be interesting to hear how much he takes responsibility and how much he blames the arms length operatives.
Sticking his head in the sand might help his chances for now. Will his colleagues notice and think that was the right thing to do?
Posted 11 years ago # -
"Sticking his head in the sand might help his chances for now. Will his colleagues notice and think that was the right thing to do?"
If enough of us write to his colleagues, they might demand that he do something - as you suggest, both options would have some justification.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Hmmm. A copy of the open letter went to his office and Alex Salmond's. Keith's returned an 'out of office' reply...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Unlikely that he would resign over 'nothing' which is how it feels from our perspective I mean being treated as if we were nothing.
Also unlikely that he will engage with critics. We are at risk of being portrayed as fringe players on this one.
Alternatively we are the only people interested enough to keep it all going, a cunning ploy by the team behind NWC?
Posted 11 years ago # -
'We' may be only people mentioning it on Twitter and sundry blogs (and complaints to the ASA), but ads are still appearing on billboards and in newspapers and remain on the back of buses.
It remains to be seen if 'we' curtail the campaign in any way, but raising objections is worthwhile.
It's just a shame that some organisations seem to be too embarrassed to admit they have been misled into backing it.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The SNP came to office with some bright rhetoric about becoming a scandinavian styled nation. Disappointing that this political and cultural vision has amounted to nothing. Bluntly depressing realpolitik is the order of the day. We get what we deserve, and the cherry on top is a permanently glaikit-looking transport minister for motorways.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Insto, aye but the gritting (or lack of) inconvenienced drivers*. Clearly if you do that, the press is up in arms and heads roll. I mean, we're only talking about a bunch of surly cyclists here. Pah! That's nothing. KB farts in our general direction.
* - Lothian Buses still running that winter, grit or no grit, if I recall.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Until the SNP need the greens to keep them in power, we won't see much change out of this lot. That's my feeling, anyway
Posted 11 years ago # -
"Until the SNP need the greens to keep them in power"
Might be some truth in that.
BUT it's current Gov policy (aspiration - or whatever) to have 10% of trips etc.
AND Fairer, Greener, Smarter, blah.
'We' just shouldn't have to be doing all this....
Posted 11 years ago # -
"
Dominic Hinde (@DominicMHinde)
19/08/2013 17:07
@Aprilcumming @AlisonJohnstone @patrickharvie @scotgov I can't wait for Keith Brown to grow out of being transport minister."
Posted 11 years ago # -
It seems to me that Keith Brown's indifference to cycling is entirely consistent with SNP policy. We need a Scottish Boris.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The good thing about calling for Keith Brown to lose his job is that it could at least focus responsibility where it belongs - with the minister - rather than allow it to be misdirected to the poor person working the twitter feed and blog, to the ad agency, to Cycling Scotland or any of the naives who put their name to it. Keith Brown is the minister in Scotland's government with devolved responsibility for transport. He should be held to account for everything within, and everyone acting under, his portfolio.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I think he should resign for the A9, Aberdeen Bypass and new Forth Bridge.
But realistically he is just implementing some of the policies he believes voters elected his party to do.
I would be surprised if he actually saw the TV ads before the public or the final versions of the various other ads.
Don't forget this
"
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said the wording of the ads had been decided based on focus groups run by Cycling Scotland and its creative agency, Newhaven.The spokeswoman said: “Key messages were also developed in partnership with an experienced cycle tutor.”
"
So even if he saw the 'final products' he would of course be relying on the 'experts' who should know what they are talking about AND have delivered to meet the original brief.
It seems unlikely that he actually wrote the original brief.
Perhaps he should resign for imagining that it was possible to convince 'everyone' to be #nice for less than £1/2m?
Perhaps he should resign for taking the money from the Active Travel budget?
Posted 11 years ago # -
There are non-cycling reasons too ...
Posted 11 years ago # -
His predecessor resigned because it snowed and the BBC blamed him for it.
Posted 11 years ago # -
But whether he saw the ads or not irrelevant. Relying on experts is not relevant. He is responsible. You can delegate authority but not responsibility.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Somehow I don't think KB's the resigning on principle type. He'll only go if he's pushed by someone higher up the chain of command. What chance is there of that happening this side of the referendum?
Posted 11 years ago # -
No doubt. But it might help if everyone at least frothed about the NiceWayCode in the right direction now that we've all had our fill of sniping at the twitter feed.
Posted 11 years ago #
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