CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
SRD - international development is pretty much entirely the responsibility of the UK Government. The Scottish Government's annual international development budget is £9m.
It's easy to look good when you have no responsibilities. I wouldn't read too much into any past performance.
@morningsider yes, I am researching/writing an article about it with a colleague who's written a PhD on it.
You suggesting he's just a pretty face?
I'd say he's handled a lot of nasty stuff in a mature fashion, not always typical of our politicians.
Yousef endorsed Brown for his deputy leadership bid, declining to stand himself. This is his reward for loyalty.
There's very little publicly available about his stance on transport issues. At least he is not Somerville, she would have been disastrous, even though she has more experience on transport issues.
From his MSP web site:
"Humza is an alumnus of the US State Department's prestigious International Visitor Learning Programme. His interests include tackling mental health stigma, poverty, civil liberties, issues affecting young people and international affairs. He enjoys riding his motorcycle, watching and playing football and spending time with his family.
He is married and lives in Glasgow."
"... and, dare I say it, good to have a city-based MSP?"
The 'Islands' part of his remit might not necessarily agree. Does seem an odd combo (no comment on him personally as I've no idea about his past performance etc).
Derek Mackay was Minister for "Transport and the Islands" too. I guess the islands are heavily dependent on transport, which may be the logic. Although that is undermined by the fact that people on the mainland are heavily dependent on transport too.
SRD - I'm not really suggesting anything. I would say he is an entirely unknown quantity as regards transport.
@Morningsider, have to agree. I suppose he will keep everyone guessing until the first big announcements.
Oh Yousaf writes columns for the (Glasgow) Evening Times and the Daily Record. Haven't found any mention of transport in either of them so far, just loyal SNP party line spiel...
Humza Yousaf
@HumzaYousaf
To continue theme...delighted as grandson of Pakistani bus conductor to be Minister for Transport & the Islands! Can't wait to get stuck in
Seems he is close to the seat of power too...
Humza Yousaf @HumzaYousaf May 17
Huge honour to co-sign @NicolaSturgeon nomination papers for FM. She's as cool as a cucumber, I was the nervous one!
Probably worth remembering that Humza Yousaf was widely tipped to become a Cabinet Secretary. Transport will probably be something of a disappointment. It is now clear that the post of Scottish transport minister has assumed the same position as that in the UK, of a stepping stone for up-and-coming politicians to prove their worth for a couple of years and then move on to greater things.
@Morningsider, indeed. He has apparently very few qualifications for the post, other than being a slick operator and in with the powerful people.
My personal prediction is it will be business as usual. He will stick to the direction set during the last government. This will just be spun to the media much better than previously. Yousaf seems to be well liked by the media, so his profile will increase.
He speaks a lot about social justice, tackling inequality, and so on. It will be interesting to see if any of that filters into the rhetoric about transport, especially when justifying new roads...
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He enjoys riding his motorcycle, watching and playing football and spending time with his family.
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So he knows about the problems of twowheeling, has youngish children(?) and is Active.
Promising...
This strikes me as a good assessment and why I think we're lucky to have him for Transport.
Of course, only time will tell what he actually does with it.
This sounds promising on Humza Yousaf
Yousaf is a highly talented minister of four years' experience. In that time he spearheaded Scotland's campaign to push climate justice up the political agenda both within the UK and internationally. Why not bump him up to secretary for the environment and climate change?
Hopefully none of those UK and international types asked the Minister whether Scotland had ever met any of its world leading climate change targets.
@Morningsider, indeed!
You have to hand it to the new minister, he's good at spin.
Expect a rash of incredibly positive propaganda stories about what a great job the Scottish government are doing on transport. That 10% shared aspiration for cycling by 2020 is a winner!
From PoP: http://pedalonparliament.org/all-change/
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Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP)
23/05/2016, 8:44 am
So, I've been away for a few days as I had an important question to ask. Delighted Jen said yes. Very happy. X
http://pic.twitter.com/IND22nVRa5
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John Finnie MSP (Highlands & Islands):
Justice
Transport, Tourism
Rural & Island Communities
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FM giving her state of the nation address:
"@BBCPhilipSim
Nicola Sturgeon is seeking consensus at Holyrood; outlines policies she'll explore from Green, Lib Dem and Labour manifestos"
Well, there is common ground in all parties about active travel.....
I see the new Minister is undergoing some serious house training by Transport Scotland:
http://scottishgovernment.presscentre.com/News/Transport-Minister-Gears-Up-for-Summer-24f5.aspx
"I see the new Minister is undergoing some serious house training by Transport Scotland"
Indeed -
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“The Scottish Government is investing billions in Scotland’s trunk road and motorway network to better link all of our cities by the end of the next decade. This type of work inevitably brings some disruption but the journey planning tools supported by Traffic Scotland are helping people plan effectively and are proving more popular than ever.”
I hope he has agreed to meet PoP soon...
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"@BBCPhilipSim
.@mgoldenmsp also gets in some cross-party consensus by offering to teach Kenneth Gibson to ride a bike (as long as there's "no backchat")"
Does Conservative MSP Maurice Golden ride a bike?
Yep. Business as usual. Playing stepping stones. The opening of the new Forth crossing will be a great photo op.
Don't expect Yousef to deviate one iota from the SNP manifesto. There'll be lots of populist rhetoric, but nothing of substance beyond existing commitments.
Labour's front bench team includes:
"Claudia Beamish takes on the environment, climate change and land reform brief, Rhoda Grant is the spokeswoman for rural economy and connectivity"
Rhoda will be handling the transport brief?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36379152
Neil Bibby will be Labour's "Shadow minister for transport and town centres":
http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/blog/entry/kez-unveils-her-new-front-bench-team
From the Scottish Labour web site:
Neil Bibby is a regional MSP for West Scotland.
Neil was born in Paisley and grew up in Renfrewshire where he attended local schools. The first member of his family to go to university Neil has a degree from the Unviersity of Glasgow.
In 2007 and at the age of 23, Neil was proud to be elected as Councillor for the community he grew up in (Johnstone North, Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch). Since being elected as a Councillor, Neil has campaigned against SNP/Lib Dem cuts to local schools and leisure services.
Neil is a former Chair of Young Labour UK and Chair of Scottish Labour Students.
From Wiki:
Before becoming elected to the Scottish Parliament he worked for Jim Murphy MP and Ken Macintosh MSP. He is currently the Scottish Labour Chief Whip and is a substitute member on the Welfare Reform Committee, as well as Co-Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Rail and the Deputy Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Visual Impairment.
Oh, and before we all get too optimistic, worth reminding ourselves of the SNP's transport priorities and commitments from its manifesto. Pressure from Greens and others might make some of these better and bolder...
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Delivering a Low Carbon Transport System
We are committed to increasing low-carbon transport and travel in Scotland and by 2020 we will deliver a Low Carbon Travel and Transport programme with £62.5 million investment to create low carbon infrastructure.
We will refresh the National Transport Strategy and review national and local guidance to ensure that communities have a say in influencing their transport needs to ensure people, goods and services can get around their community but also be connected to the rest of Scotland and beyond.
We will refresh the Switched On Scotland Electric Vehicle Roadmap which was first published in 2013.
Early in the next Parliament, we will take steps to ensure that a public sector operator is able to bid for a future rail contract and that there is a public sector body able to do so. We will use our new powers to enable this to happen.
We remain committed to investing in our rail infrastructure. By the end of 2016, we will have electrified the Edinburgh to Glasgow route and redeveloped Queen Street station and created the Edinburgh Gateway rail-tram interchange.
We will also invest in electrifying the Stirling-Dunblane- Alloa line, the Glasgow-Edinburgh-Shotts route, complete the redevelopment of Dundee station, support shorter and more frequent journeys between Aberdeen and Inverness, improve the Highland and Aberdeen mainlines and invest in redeveloped station hubs at Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Stirling and Motherwell.
From 2018, as a direct result of increased investment, rail passengers will be able to benefit from more seats, services and faster journey times. We will maintain the rail route to Stranraer, maintaining lower fares on the route, conduct a feasibility study into extending the Waverley route via Hawick to Carlisle and make progress on improvements to the East Coast mainline, including examining the case for a station at Reston in Berwickshire. We will also examine the case for an extension of the Stirling-Alloa rail line to Dunfermline by upgrading the existing Longannet freight line.
We will back local bus services by continuing to provide financial support for services as well as incentives for the take up of greener vehicles. We will bring forward a Transport Bill to improve bus services, enhance and improve the role of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner and wider road works regulation and to enable and enforce responsible parking.
In the first year of the new Parliament, we will introduce a Bill which will require all public vehicles carrying children to and from school to be fitted with seatbelts.
We will support community transport initiatives to train and qualify more minibus drivers.
Through the National Entitlement Card, Scotland’s older people and disabled people will continue to be able to travel for free on local or Scottish long distance buses.
Our national smart card plans are being rolled out across ScotRail, with systems ensuring that the same cards can be used on ScotRail and the Glasgow Subway. And we are working with bus and ferry companies to ensure that the Saltire national concessionary travel cards are usable across the entire transport network.
We have put in place record investment in cycling and walking and will continue to do so over the life of the next Parliament. We will implement our national walking strategy and we are determined to meet our vision of 10 per cent of everyday journeys being made by bike by 2020. We will review the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS) to explore what more we can do, including on extending cycling training “bikeability” schemes for the young. And we will work to improve the integration between active and public transport.
Making roads and communities less congested but well served is an important balance to achieve. Through the Freight Facilities Grant, we will continue to invest in projects which get goods and services to communities more efficiently. We will work to improve urban deliveries in particular.
I think NS said something about this yesterday. I presume the transport 'big idea' is still electric cars...
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The party will also create a new energy strategy to achieve its aims, which will take a “whole system view”, encompassing “demand reduction, energy efficiency, a balanced energy generation mix, a role for storage, and the requirement for a low-carbon transition in transport and heat use”.
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http://utilityweek.co.uk/news/snp-pledges-50-per-cent-co2-reduction-by-2020/1236592
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