"Taylor Swift tax"
In 2024, I uncovered that £40,000 was spent on unrecovered costs in connection to the the Taylor Swift concerts at Murrayfield Stadium in 2024, and on the back of that, I got the Council to commit maximum cost recovery.
Since then, almost £400,000 has been recovered from events by Oasis, Robbie Williams, and others, going into public services, not the pockets of millionaire and billionaire entertainers and management companies.
Free tickets expansion
Edinburgh prides itself as a city of culture. This can't be true when so many people are locked out because of high ticket prices. One of the first campaigns I launched soon after I was elected was to expand the number of free tickets to paid-for events. Thousands of free tickets are now given out to events such as Hogmanay.
A fairer Edinburgh
These are examples of the work I have done to make Edinburgh as a whole fairer
Fairer cultural funding
In August 2026, there was a major row between the Council and cultural organisations over funding. The Council wanted to offer an 11.5% increase in funding, but many organisations felt this was too little given rising costs.
The SNP and Lib Dems wanted to offer a 25% increase paid out of reducing the new Innovate funding scheme, meant for organisations not currently cultural partners of the Council.
I argued this was unacceptable, and instead found £575,000 from unspent budgets to provide the 25% extra without sacrificing any Innovate funding. This will go a long way to supporting arts and culture in our city.
Preserving the right to protest
This year, the Council raised the project of having new rules to regulate protest. This would have resulted in an applications procest to be able to hold a protest, which often need to be arranged quickly. This could have been disastrous for those protesting against climate change and fascism, for example. The Council also did not rule out charging a fee. Whilst other parties were happy to wave the plans through, I took a stand in bringing a proposal to block the plans, which was successful.
Lifesaving training in schools
I got the Council to back the Pulse of Life campaign to expand CPR training in schools, founded by a pupil in Invercylde who lost both parents to heart attacks. The Council is now working to ensure more students are offered training in this vital skills.
Anti migration raids
Following Green Councils in England, I have helped us make the first steps towards being an anti-raids Council. My successful motion means that the Council will do all they can to help are friends and relatives targeted by racist Home Office raids, and do nothing that could facilitate them.