Ex-Provost mulls Holyrood move

FORMER Lord Provost Eric Milligan is poised to make a comeback to high-level politics, by bidding to become an MSP.

The long-serving Labour councillor said he was considering putting his name forward to fight the Edinburgh Pentlands seat at next year's Scottish Parliament elections.

Labour is expected to begin the process of choosing a candidate for the seat, currently held by former Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie, in the next few weeks.

Cllr Milligan said it was boundary changes, confirmed only last week, which had sparked his interest in Holyrood.

He said: "In recent years the Stenhouse area, which is the central part of the electoral division I have represented over all these years, has been in a different constituency from where I live.

"But there has been an adjustment to the boundaries and the new seat includes most of the Stenhouse area.

"That has prompted a number of people to say I should put my name forward. So I'm giving serious thought to it.

"It has changed the dynamics for me."

Cllr Milligan has not been noted inside the Labour Party for his enthusiasm for devolution, but he insisted that should not affect any bid he might make for a seat at Holyrood.

He said: "In all my years in politics, I have been a very pragmatic person.

"I readily accept if you were looking in the Labour Party for those closest to the SNP and their drive for an independent state, my name would not be at the top of the list.

"But I recognise that, more than ten years into the Scottish Parliament, it is a reality. It's not going to vote to remove itself from office.

"The Scottish Parliament has the responsibility for shaping the legislative framework under which we live and I'm as entitled as anyone else in the political game to consider whether I could make a contribution to that."

Cllr Milligan spent 13 years as the Capital's civic head.

He was first elected a councillor in 1974 and was finance convener on Lothian Regional Council in the early 1980s when it threatened to defy the Thatcher government over spending cuts.

He became convener of Lothian Region in 1990, serving for six years until the move to single-tier local government.

He then completed two consecutive terms as Edinburgh's Lord Provost – the only person in the post's 700-year history to do so – and only stood down in 2003 when fellow Labour councillors made it clear they would not support him going for a record-breaking third term.

Others are also expected to be interested in fighting Pentlands for Labour. Ricky Henderson, the party's finance spokesman and a councillor in the area for the past 11 years, has already put his name forward.

He said: "I've mentioned it to a few colleagues, discussed it with my family and I'm going to give it a go. I hope I've got a reputation as a worker and a campaigner."