The past year has been a new challenge for my team and me, as I was first elected to parliament and then made a Scottish Government minister in a short period of time. Each month I write a report for the branch which summarises my work and updates with my office you can find them here: https://www.edinburghgreens.org.uk/msp-and-councillor-reports/

• July/ August 2021

Most of the month was spent in cooperation talks with the Scottish Government. We hosted a number of events that were open to party members and have continued to do so in the months that have followed. One of the benefits of being a global movement is that it allowed us to have constructive talks with our friends from the New Zealand Greens and other Green parties from around the world, who were keen to share their experiences of being in government.

• September 2021

I was appointed as Scotland’s first ever Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity following the historic vote within our party to enter government at the EGM. This month included a lot of meetings with stakeholders across the government and industry that helped me to understand the structures of government and further my understanding of my portfolio.

• October 2021

In my Ministerial capacity I announced a review into incineration, which has since reported back and recommended an end to planning permission for new incinerators in Scotland. I will be responding to the report on behalf of the Scottish Government in the weeks ahead, but it was a very rigorous piece of work and one I was proud to commission.

I met with the then Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development, Jenny Gilruth, to discuss how we can improve the accessibility and nature of Holyrood Park. This followed meetings with constituents, car-free campaigners and our fantastic Edinburgh councillors who have been pushing for improvements to be made. This meeting has resulted in a longer engagement with Historic Environment Trust, which I hope to update the branch about in the months ahead.

• November/ December 2021

I was very proud to announce the Scottish Government’s plan for transforming gender identity services. This laid out our plans to put trans people at the heart of decisions about their healthcare while reducing waiting times to bring them in line with national standards.

Although a positive COVID test meant that I was unable to attend the first week of COP events in person, I did get the chance to visit stalls and exhibitions in the “blue zone”. I gave a speech at the WWF event and met people who are working hard to protect animals and their inhabitants around the world.

In my role as a Minister, I was delighted to announce a £55 million nature restoration fund to tackle biodiversity loss and rewild our green spaces. I got the opportunity to meet with a lot of interesting people during COP at the Green Hub which the Party organised in Glasgow. While there, I met with fellow Green Ministers from around the world, activists from countries on the front line of Climate Change and so many other amazing people.

I also visited Linlithgow and Dunbar to meet with local candidates and discuss their campaigns for the local elections.

• January 2022

I was proud to announce a £12.5 million investment to protect our species, woodlands, rivers and seas. This builds on a £5 million fund that we launched in November and is part of the biggest investment in nature restoration that any Scottish Government has ever made.

We committed to funding 54 projects across the country, from cities to towns and villages. This includes support for the Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust to improve biodiversity in Edinburgh’s urban parks and for Edinburgh City Council to build a coastal meadow network.

I was also delighted to see the introduction of free bus travel for everyone aged 21 or under, this was a key part of the cooperation agreement that we negotiated with the Scottish Government.

• February 2022

I joined and spoke at protests outside Parliament and the Russian Consulate. Unfortunately the powers of the Scottish Parliament are very limited, but I worked with the Scottish Government as well as my Green MSP colleagues and councillors to call for visa restrictions to be lifted and ensure that Scotland did as much as we could.

As part of the Bute House agreement, the Scottish Government published the Gender Recognition Act reform. This will allow self-identification for trans people and will remove some of the bureaucracy and trauma from the existing system.

• March 2022

In my Ministerial role, I launched the Scottish Government’s new anti-food waste campaign. This was launched at the Ripple in Restalrig, a community organisation that provides vital services to some of the most deprived communities in our city.

I was also very proud to announce the steps that we are taking to ban the destruction of unsold goods and make sure they make it into the hands of those that need them. This will be part of the Circular Economy Bill that I will be taking through Parliament.

March also marked six months since we entered government. It was a good time to reflect on what we have achieved in that time. It has been a busy time, with free bus travel for everyone under 22, a record investment in active travel and biodiversity, £145 million for additional teachers and support staff, the doubling of the Scottish child payment, and a ban on many of the worst single-use plastics. I am also hopeful about the longer-term changes we are delivering, including GRA reform and better rights for tenants, including rent controls.

• April/ May/ June 2022

Over the election period I spent time campaigning with target candidates across the region and nationally. It was great to see so many new faces elected as Green councillors in the Lothian region, taking our Edinburgh Councillor group to 10 and the addition of the Scottish Greens first ever councillor in East Lothian Council. We saw growth in West Lothian as well despite falling short in Linlithgow.

I was delighted to see so many Young Greens and women elected into our Edinburgh group. I look forward to spending the next 5 years working with them to make the Lothian region fairer and greener. I have already met with some of our new councillors and have plans to meet them all as a group regularly in weeks and months to come.

• Looking ahead

Over the next few months my team and I are going to be working with branches on local projects to push forward the Green agenda and increase recognition of the party within communities. In West Lothian we will be working to clean up Linlithgow Loch. East Lothian we will be campaigning for a nature based flood defence rather than the proposed concrete option and in Edinburgh we will continue our work on Holyrood Park.

The months ahead will be very busy for my ministerial portfolio with the conciliation for the Circular Economy Bill, more beaver translocations, the Biodiversity Strategy to be published in the autumn and the further progress towards naming Scotland's next national park. You can keep up to date with my work on social media or in my monthly reports to branches.

The Edinburgh branch finances continue to be in a healthy position – despite having been through two consecutive years of big elections. This is due to the careful planning and budgeting of the campaign teams, as well as the ongoing generosity of our branch members through crowdfunders, regular giving, and larger one-off election donations.

As I am not re-standing as Treasurer this year, this will be my final report. If you would like further information on anything raised, please email questions to treasurer.edin@scottishgreenparty.org.uk.

Local Council Elections 2022

As has become the norm, the finances for the 2022 council election were recorded on a separate budget from the ongoing branch figures. The total spend on the election was £27,000 (including donations in kind).

In the planning stage of the campaign, the branch committee agreed that up to £6000 of branch reserves would be available to supplement fundraising for the council elections. This decision took into account the branch reserves policy that required reserves for two years’ branch running costs to remain in the bank, the healthy bank balance going into the election campaign, and the principle that election campaign spending – on campaigns with significant chance of returning elected representatives - is a valuable use of reserves.

In the end, the total branch reserves used was just under £3000. Given the success of the campaign, which resulted in the increase of the Edinburgh Council Green Group to 10 councillors, I believe this was a good use of branch reserves.

Special thanks must go to our Election Agent Alan Duggan for the huge amount of work that he undertook in ensuring accurate spending returns were submitted in good time. Thanks also to Fraser May for his tireless help with the campaign budget, Steve West for his meticulous printed materials record-keeping, as well as everyone involved on the core campaign team, local teams and branch committee for their help in managing and tracking expenses, and for running such a fantastic and enjoyable campaign.

Ongoing impact of Covid-19 and general finances

The ongoing impact of Covid-19, along with the focus on election campaigning, has meant that branch spending has been relatively low in the first half of 2022. However, as we look ahead to the second half of the year, it is with optimism that we will be able to return to in person meetings and events. This will mean an increase in spending (on room hire etc.) but also a greater opportunity for fundraising.

The projection, leaving aside the election-related income and spending, is that we will have a small branch budget surplus at the end of 2022.

National and Sub-branch Capitations

In 2021, following the recommendations from the SGP Capitations Working Group, the SGP National Council agreed to bring in a new Capitations model. Although one capitations payment has been made in this time, I am concerned that the new process will not lead to regular capitations payments. As someone who was on the Capitations Working Group, and worked on the new model, I am disappointed that the new process is still not fully operational. I hope to raise and revisit this issue with the SGP Finance and Fundraising Committee over the coming months (albeit not as branch Treasurer).

The process for implementing sub-branch capitations began but was then stalled, largely by a lack of capacity due to election activity. An outgoing task will be to restart these conversations with representatives from sub-branches, as well as with the incoming branch Treasurer, Co-Conveners and Local Teams Officers.

Branch standing orders

As always, a massive thanks to everyone who has a standing order to the Edinburgh branch bank account – this remains the primary means with which branch activities can be guaranteed. If you are in a position to give a regular amount to the branch each month, please complete this form (or email treasurer.edin@scottishgreens.org.uk) and the incoming Edinburgh Branch Treasurer will be in touch to discuss how to set one up.

Looking ahead

With no immediate elections on the horizon - and having come through two expensive elections while retaining a healthy bank balance – now may be the time for the branch to spend time and resources on strengthening capacity and widening active membership.

One opportunity might be to allocate an amount to be used for a participatory budget project – allowing for local teams and sub-branches to have greater input in the spending of the branch budget. Another discussion that may be worthwhile is whether there is more that the Edinburgh branch can do to provide one-off support to other branches (and / or the national party) who might be struggling financially following the election campaign periods.

However, these are not my decisions to make. After five years as the Edinburgh Greens branch treasurer, it is time for me to move on. Over the years of my involvement with the branch committee, I have been incredibly impressed by the energy and expertise of those who volunteer with the branch – as well as the respect and good humour brought to meetings. Looking at the candidates for the upcoming committee, it is evident that this is still very much the case and that the immediate future of the branch is in good hands.

Bank reconciliation (1 Jan – 31 Dec 2022)

Bank account 1 Jan 2021 £29,587.11

Total receipts in 2021 (branch only) £7,678.20

Total receipts in 2021 (incl. elections) £26,402.47

Total payments in 2021 (branch only) £4,779.81

Total payments in 2021 (incl. elections) £29,036.97

Net surplus / deficit (branch only) £2,898.39

Net surplus / deficit (incl. elections) £-2,634.50

Bank account on 31 Dec 2021 £26,952.61

Bank reconciliation (1 Jan – 19 June 2022)

Bank account 1 Jan 2022 £26,952.61

Total receipts 1 Jan – 19 Jun 2022 (branch only) £2,533.96

Total receipts 1 Jan – 19 Jun 2022 (incl. elections) £26,287.51

Total payments 1 Jan – 19 Jun 2022 (branch only) £1,281.79

Total payments 1 Jan – 19 Jun 2022 (incl. elections) £27,353.70

Net surplus / deficit as at 19 Jun (branch only) £1,252.17

Net surplus / deficit as at 19 Jun (incl. elections) -£1,066.19

Bank account on 19 Jun 2022 £25,886.42

Becky Luff

Edinburgh Branch Treasurer

19^th June 2022

This Green group year started with our AGM in June 2021 when Claire Miller and Steve Burgess succeeded Melanie Main and Alex Staniforth as Green group co-conveners. There was also a minor reshuffle of portfolios between councillors with Susan Rae taking over housing lead, Chas Booth moving to culture & communities and Alex Staniforth replacing Mary Campbell on planning.

The council went into recess at the end of June until early August and then resumed its meetings online.

Notable issues in August included a concerted campaign against spaces for people cycle provision introduced during lockdown, where Claire Miller worked with local supporters of the temporary segregated cycle lanes on Lanark road that were in danger of being scrapped.

At Finance committee Gavin Corbett led on support for a co-housing bid for the council-owned Comiston farmhouse. Unfortunately councillors from all other parties backed a higher commercial bid.

In September, Edinburgh Council continued to meet online. At Full council, with the latest UN IPCC report being described as a "code red for humanity", Steve Burgess challenged the council leader that the council's approach to the climate emergency needed a greater sense of urgency as advocated by Edinburgh's Climate Commission.

In the week before the United Nations COP 26 negotiations in Scotland, Edinburgh’s Green councillors again led on the climate emergency at the council meeting, with Green co-convener Claire Miller raising the national embarrassment of the climate-busting UK government budget and challenging the council leader over the council's questionable record on cutting climate changing pollution. Greens also formally proposed that the councils pension fund should rapidly divest from fossil fuel companies but this was once again voted down by all other political parties.

On planning committee, Chas Booth also pushed for the council to rule out climate busting airport expansion from the forthcoming city plan and pressed hard to make the plan a better fit with the city's net zero ambitions.

October also saw Cllr Gavin Corbett's last council meeting as he stepped down to take up a Scottish Government post working with the two new Green ministers, after over nine years of dedicated work as a Green councillor.

Following the UN COP 26 meeting in early November, Green councillors highlighted the failures of the UK government and the need for cities like Edinburgh to forge ahead with their plans to reduce climate-changing pollution.

Claire Miller also led on the Green group approach to the independent enquiry led by Susan Tanner QC into serious abuse perpetrated by a former Council employee which resulted in a suite of recommendations to ensure that lessons are learned and that changes to practices will mean that such abuse can't remain hidden or unchallenged ever again.

In Education, Mary Campbell met with the new head of education children and families to discuss Green group priorities particularly expanding outdoor learning, climate education, and inclusion.

At Full council, Alex Staniforth successfully proposed that tenants rights should be at the heart of any improvement to standards for Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

In the new year, 2022, thoughts began to turn to the forthcoming council budget and the next council election in May. In Education, Mary Campbell proposed better support for school staff and recognition of the difficult circumstances they were operating under as a result of lockdown. Steve Burgess was successful in getting council agreement to sign up to the global "Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation Treaty" campaign.

In February, Alex Staniforth led on producing a Green group budget for 'Climate and Social justice'.

Only the SNP–Labour coalition budget secured enough votes to pass but Green councillors lobbied hard to prioritise funding for action on the climate emergency and helping those most in need with the cost of living crisis.

In March, Edinburgh Council started winding down its political decision-making prior to the pre-election period in April before the council election on the 5 May.

At its last Full council meeting, the significant contribution to the council over the last five years by councillors Melanie Main and Mary Campbell, the two Green councillors who were standing down at the election, was highlighted during the meeting.

The Council then went into the pre-election campaign period in April and on May 6 election results were announced at the EICC.

After a hard fought election campaign by volunteers and staff of the Edinburgh Green party, Greens were successful in electing a record 10 Green councillors in Edinburgh. This included councillors in two wards that were previously not held – Kayleigh O’Neill in Forth ward and Dan Heap in Sighthill – Gorgie ward. Jule Bandel was also successful in winning back Inverleith ward.

The only disappointment was that Gavin Corbett's tight 3-member ward, Fountainbridge–Craiglockhart, was not held despite Megan McHaney attracting 20% of first preference votes. Alys Mumford in Portobello – Craigmiller and Ben Parker in Morningside made up the five new faces in the Green group, joining continuing councillors Claire Miller, Susan Rae, Alex Staniforth, Chas Booth and Steve Burgess.

Following the election, after speaking with most parties it became clear to the Green group of councillors that, given the Labour group could not enter any formal arrangement with any other party, that the most beneficial possible outcome for the city would be an SNP-Green minority coalition. Green councillors, supported by the negotiating support group from the Edinburgh branch then worked hard to draft a coalition agreement with the SNP.

After overwhelming approval by the individual members of the Edinburgh Greens, this coalition agreement was brought to the Edinburgh council meeting on the 26 May. However it was defeated by a proposal to form a majority Labour–LibDem–Conservative administration.

At June's policy and sustainability committee meeting, interim Green group co-convener, Steve Burgess questioned the new Council Leader, Labour's Cammy Day, about the lack of a political program for the new administration. It remains to be seen if anything will come forward to the first business meeting of the new Council at the end of June.

Meanwhile the new Green group on Edinburgh Council pledged to push for action on the priorities of transport, housing, poverty and inclusion, and the climate emergency along with other progressive policies in the Green manifesto and the SNP-Green coalition agreement.

An early win, in the absence of a policy program from the Lab-Lib–Con administration, was a joint SNP-Green initiative to propose that officers marshal council resources and report on the two priorities of poverty and inclusion and climate emergency in the lead up to the council budget in February.

As ever, there was far too much Green councillor activity over the year to report fully here, particularly the work by Green councillors in their wards – you can find the full monthly reports for the year here:

https://www.edinburghgreens.org.uk/msp-and-councillor-reports/

Annual Report 2022 (July 2021 to June 2022)

The past year has been an incredibly busy and an incredibly successful one for the Branch. Despite the ongoing challenges of online working and adapting our activities as we emerged from COVID-19 restrictions, the committee has done an amazing job of coordinating and supporting our members to achieve our best ever local election result, and lots more besides. We would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has played a part in this success.

Local Election 2022

The focus for the Branch Committee over the past year has been the Council Election, particularly for our Election Campaign Team, ably led by Kate and Fraser. Our enthusiastic campaign consisted of thousands of hours of volunteers by hundreds of branch members. We want to thank and pay tribute to our candidates, core campaign organisers, local team campaign managers and activists who helped in any capacity - we wouldn’t have been able to do it without local members’ efforts!

One of the largest elements of work in the campaign was producing the manifesto, which was led by Yasmin and Helen. With help from councillors, candidates and members from across the branch, this excellent piece of work provided the basis for the negotiations group to speak with other parties after the election, with much of our manifesto eventually making its way into the coalition agreement with the SNP.

All the time spent canvassing, delivering leaflets, putting up posters, transporting A-boards, stuffing envelopes, social media, donating money and many other tasks paid off with our most successful local election to date. We elected a record 10 councillors in Edinburgh, including our first ever councillors in Sighthill/Gorgie and Forth, and regained a councillor in Inverleith. We also saw a significant gain in votes in West Lothian, and narrowly missed out on electing our first councillor in Linlithgow.

Overall, many elements of the campaign were particularly successful, with a supportive atmosphere amongst candidates and activists. We have held debrief meetings with candidates, local teams, staff and the core campaign team, and are in the process of drawing together lessons learned for future campaigns.

Branch events and meetings

This year we kept all of our meetings online as COVID restrictions and concerns continued to make this the safest and most accessible format. However, some local teams and sub-branches started to hold small meetings or outdoor events, in line with government guidelines.

This year our branch events calendar was really varied - thanks to Ben and to everyone else who contributed to organising these.

● Our first event of the year in July focused on Radical Democracy, with some excellent external speakers and a chance for members to hear about different approaches to democracy, including an introduction to citizens’ assemblies and participatory budgeting.

● In September we spent time on Party matters - preparing for Autumn Conference, hearing an update from Lorna Slater on her MSP work and new role as Minister, and discussing Branch priorities to help inform our work plan

● A month before COP26 our meeting focused on this crucial event with a range of external speakers and member Q&A, allowing people to hear activists aspirations for this event and how to get involved themselves

● In November, a group of Edinburgh members joined the mass climate march in Glasgow as part of COP26 - helping to take our Green message to world leaders

● 2022 started with a new members’ welcome event in January

● An Election launch in February which was a chance for members to meet our fantastic council candidates

● In March we were able to launch our Manifesto in an event that not only showcased this inspirational platform for our campaign but also allowed members to express a view on the highest priorities for them

● At the end of May we held the important meeting to vote on a cooperation agreement with the SNP, which was overwhelmly approved by the branch membership

Membership and local teams

As of June 2022, the number of SGP members in the Branch was 1996, including 152 in West Lothian, which represents an impressive 19% increase on last year. Our Branch work plan set a target of 2000 members by the end of the year, which may yet be met by the date of the AGM.

Local team support this year has focused on providing activists with the skills, training and tools to run a successful election campaign. We also provided support to establish and develop local teams in target wards with lower numbers of members, and encouraging supportive joint working between local teams. Thanks to Kate for all her work to support members in this way.

Communications

This is a big aspect of the committee’s work that has been largely delivered by a small number of people. The quality and frequency of communications from the branch is high and a particular thanks is due to Harriet, Alison and Steve for their work on this - our website, social media and printed materials have played a big part in the election success.

Thanks also to our policy officers Yasmin and Helen for working with our elected councillors and MSP to submit and share monthly reports on their work with Edinburgh Branch members.

Elected Representatives and Committee Working Group

At the AGM last June, a motion was passed asking the committee to set up a working group to review the relationship between the branch and elected reps and to draw up proposals for change, if required.

A group was established and one meeting held in January, with some useful initial discussions. Unfortunately, the demands of the election campaign significantly reduced capacity to work on this and the group did not continue to meet or reach the point of drawing up proposals for change. We know this will disappoint some members but feel that the implications of this have been mitigated considerably by the following actions:

● Lorna Slater attending branch meetings twice to update members and answer questions

● Having a direct line of communication between the Branch Co-cos and Lorna

● Regular attendance at Branch and Committee meetings by Councillors

● Close working between Branch and Councillors on the post-election negotiations

● An aspiration to work jointly on future campaigning activity between Councillors and Branch has been captured in our work plan

We would therefore like to suggest that we do not try to re-establish this working group but instead, ensure that continuing to strengthen and improve our working relationship between MSP, Councillors and Branch is a core part of the Branch committee’s role in 2022/23.

Other Committee Business

Other committee activities over the past year have included:

● Representing the Edinburgh Branch at all National Council meetings ● Holding two workshops to develop our Branch work plan and priorities for the short and medium term

● Carrying out a restructure of the Branch committee for the 2022 internal elections, with the aim of making roles more manageable and attractive to a greater number of members

● Creation of a negotiation support group of committee and branch members to support the new Councillor Group during post election negotiations

South Edinburgh Greens (SEG) Annual Report June 2021-22

Introduction

SEG is a sub branch formed of two wards in the south of Edinburgh stretching from Bruntsfield Links to the Pentlands. Morningside has c.200 members and Colinton/Fairmilehead c.50.

Morningside has had a Green councillor since 2007 (Alison Johnstone 2007-12, Melanie Main 2012-22, Ben Parker 2022-). https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=2657

Helen McCabe stood as the Green candidate in Colinton/Fairmilehead in 2022.

Morningside has four councillors in total (currently Green, Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative). Colinton/Fairmilehead has three (currently Labour, SNP, Conservative).

SEG Activity 2021- 22

Setting up SEG

In May 2021 Ben Parker (then 2022 candidate for the target ward of Morningside) proposed that a sub branch be formed with the name South Edinburgh Greens. An EGM was held for members of both wards on 10th June 2021. Members voted in favour of the proposal with the aims of working together to consolidate and strengthen the Green presence in Morningside (including re-electing a Green councillor in 2022); and developing Colinton/Fairmilehead with a view to it eventually becoming a target ward. The office bearers elected were:

Frances Guy and Emma Willson - Co-convenors

Susan Logie and Helen McCabe - Co-membership secretaries.

A new south.edinburgh@scottishgreens.org.uk address was set up. A SEG folder was created on the shared Google Drive. All documents, spreadsheets and other files are saved there.

Communication with SEG members

During the year the team aimed to develop SEG and run the 2022 election campaign simultaneously, with both activities feeding into each other.

We sent c.55 generic emails to members on our mailing list. (This was a very high volume of emails as it was an election year!). We also sent between three and five texts to members via BulkSMS (the number of texts received varied according to where the member lived). We did two phone banking sessions, calling approximately 75% of Morningside members who allow phone contact. In addition we managed the SEG email Inbox and contacted specific members individually by email, phone or text where practical.

In order to raise our profile and network, we encouraged members to tell us about other organisations they are involved with locally. Information about events run by ‘green friendly’ groups (for example: Critical Mass, Climate Coalition, Bruntsfield Net Zero, Friends of the Earth) was included in SEG emails where possible.

Alison Neathey (SEEG) designed a SEG Welcome Letter for new members. Steve West (SEEG) created a SEG email template for Forest.

We encouraged members to attend meetings and events, participate in election campaign activities, and follow Ben Parker and SEG on Twitter and the branch on social media.

• @benparker18 (now @cllrbenparker)

• @southedingreens (temporary account for the election campaign, now closed)

We created a temporary ‘SEG Election Team’ WhatsApp group in November 2021 for active members and supporters.

SEG Monthly Meetings 2021-22

We had a combination of zoom and in person meetings depending on Covid restrictions:

Thursday 8th July 2021 - Zoom

No August meeting (summer holidays)

Thursday 9th September 2021 - Drinks at Summerhall

Thursday 14th October 2021 - Zoom

Thursday 11th November 2021- Zoom

No December meeting (winter holidays)

Thursday 13th January 2022 - Zoom

Thursday 10th February 2022 - Eric Liddell Centre

Thursday 10th March 2022 - Eric Liddell Centre

Thursday 14th April 2022 - Eric Liddell Centre

Saturday 14th May 2022 - Celebratory picnic on Bruntsfield Links

Thursday 9th June - AGM - Eric Liddell Centre

2022 Election Campaign

We started planning the Morningside 2022 election campaign in June 2021. Emma Willson became Campaign Manager. We didn’t campaign in Colinton/Fairmilehead (or deliver Green News) as it was a non-target ward. A number of members attended national and branch training sessions (including John Palmer’s Doras training).

We created local content for Green News in Morningside and printed two editions.

• Autumn 2021 Green News - c.10,000 delivered

• Spring 2022 Green News - c.14,000 delivered

During the year campaign activities included social elements where possible, for example meeting at cafes before and after canvassing, Action Days, and ‘folding letters and stuffing envelopes sessions’.

We organised two ‘Action Days’ for Autumn 2021 Green News delivery. We invited members, and specifically Scottish Young Green members, to come along to support Ben as a Young Green candidate. One of our aims is to have a diverse membership, including people from all age groups. The campaign really benefited from having more young people involved, especially during canvassing.

Action Days and evening canvassing sessions continued in the Spring, pandemic permitting.

In total we canvassed c.550 people in our five Greenest polling districts.

In addition to Green News, we delivered:

• c.9000 campaign leaflets

• c.2000 canvassing cards

• c.3000 letters to first time voters, postal voters, G1 voters

• c.6000 eve of poll cards

We distributed c. 200 posters to members (by hand and by post). Plus another c. 50 to supporters.

On polling day we had A boards at all 10 polling places in Morningside ward. Members stood outside our top five with rosettes during peak voting times, and we delivered GOTV letters to G1s we had identified from canvassing.

Throughout the campaign (and the year) we were lucky to have office bearers and members who were prepared to help out in many different ways, including two committed organisers and two very engaged and dynamic ward candidates.

Ben Parker was elected on first preference votes.

Green Walks

The aims were: to provide enjoyable events for members; to give people a chance to meet Ben Parker (as Morningside candidate for 2022); and to build up goodwill and numbers of active members in advance of the election campaign. All Green members, families, friends, supporters, and dogs were welcome. We organised eight walks:

Saturday 31st July 2021 - Bruntsfield Links/The Meadows

Sunday 15th August 2021 - Blackford Hill/Pond

Sunday 29th August 2021 - Hermitage of Braid

Saturday 11th September 2021 - Polwarth/Canal

Sunday 3rd October 2021 - Astley Ainslie (with SEEG team)

Sunday 17th October 2021 - Mortonhall (Colinton/Fairmilehead)

Sunday 28th November 2021 - Gardens of the Old Town (with City Centre team)

Sunday 13th March 2022 - The Quiet Route: Bruntsfield Links to Hermitage of Braid

The City Centre local team arranged for Sue Fuller to guide us around the ‘Gardens of the Old Town’. SEEG arranged for Maggie Carson of the Astley Ainslie Community Trust to guide us around the NHS site which is under threat of inappropriate development. Walks around Portobello/Craigmillar and Leith had to be postponed until next year due to Covid.

Liaison with the Branch 2021-22

Susan Logie and Emma Willson acted as SEG Co-reps during the year, attending branch meetings and following activity on Slack. A number of SEG members were officers on the branch committee: Harriet Hall, Helen McCabe, Kate Nevens, and Ben Parker. Frances Guy and Helen McCabe assisted with post-election Council negotiations.

We organised the November 2021 branch online meeting (with the help of branch Co-convenor Zoe Clelland). This was a COP26 event and included guest speakers: Frank Hebineza (Global Green Green MP in the Rwandan Parliament ), Lottie van Grieken (RSPB Scotland), Emily Blackmore (Stirling University). 2022 Drumbrae/Gyle council candidate Anne Scott hosted the event. Frances Guy chaired the Q&A.

We suggested local teams organise inter-branch Green Walks - to help members from across the branch get to know one another, socialise, and explore the city. The City Centre ward walk went ahead, but the idea was mainly put on hold due to the pandemic and the election campaign.

We took an Edinburgh Greens banner to the COP26 demo in Glasgow on Saturday 6th November, to join up with SGP members from the branch and across Scotland.

SEG-SEEG had an informal Green presence (SGP flag and impromptu members’ picnic) at the Meadows Festival on Sunday 5th June 2022.

Membership numbers

Membership numbers were 198 for Morningside and 44 for Colinton/Fairmilehead in June 2021. At the time of the 2022 AGM on 9th June, we have 207 in Morningside and 50 in Colinton/Fairmilehead.

Finances

SEG did not have a budget (or a Treasurer) for 2021-22. We decided to keep things simple and either ask the branch for reimbursement, or ask suppliers to invoice the branch directly. Election campaign leaflets, letters and posters were covered by the branch. Members contributed to election crowdfunders and covered miscellaneous costs (i.e. refreshments, stationary, stamps, transport). We received funds from the branch for:

Bulk SMS £69.00

Eric Liddell Centre meeting room (4 sessions @ £52.00) £208.00

Coffee £35.30

Paper/printing/ink £37.92

Total = £350.22

2022-23

New style team

The first SEG AGM was held on Thursday 9th June 2022 at the Eric Liddell Centre. At the AGM we gave thanks to Melanie Main, retiring Councillor for Morningside and Susan Logie who stepped down as Membership secretary after five years. The new office bearers elected for 2022-23 are:

Helen McCabe and Leo Levontine - Co-convenors

Emma Willson - Vice-convenor

In addition to the three ‘office bearers’ (as required by the standing orders), we plan to have a small group of members who are prepared to be additional ‘Organisers’. Together they will form an active team who can support each other to run SEG, and support our councillor.

Future plans

1. Build up membership in Colinton/Fairmilehead and prepare the ground for the council elections in 2027 (ideally it would be a target ward).

2. Join in with branch-wide campaigning activity to help deliver Green policy (including action in our wards).

3. Build relationships with other progressive groups in our communities as far as possible.

4. Continue the Green Walks in our area (and around the city) - and develop new ideas for other kinds of events that would appeal to a wide range of people.

5. Try to broaden and diversify our membership.

This report covers South East Edinburgh Greens' (SEEG) activities over the period June 2021 to June 2022.

Edinburgh 2022

The focus of our activity this year has been the 2022 Edinburgh Council Elections.

We were confident that Steve Burgess was secure for Southside-Newington (SN) and so we decided to focus our efforts on John Nichol in Liberton Gilmerton (LG), particularly through canvassing. Although we realised that winning a seat in LG was highly unlikely, we were aiming to build the vote up for a win in 2027.

In the end we surpassed our expectations and came within 150 votes of winning a seat in LG, and came a comfortable second in SN. The LG campaign also helped to build up the team in that ward enormously.

Below are some numbers for canvassing and deliveries.

Liberton-Gilmerton

We canvassed 556 people in the whole ward from 1 October 2021, and dropped in 'We called today' canvassing cards along the way.

In LG we delivered around:

• 4,250 autumn newsletters

• 2,500 'We called today' canvassing cards

• 5,800 spring newsletters

• 6,600 candidate leaflets

• 3,900 eve of poll cards

We also delivered around 100 window posters to supporters and members and put out A-boards at 9 polling stations. We stuffed over 600 envelopes with 'warm' letters for postal delivery.

Southside-Newington

In SN we delivered around:

• 13,000 autumn newsletters

• 10,000 spring newsletters

• 10,500 candidate leaflets

• 230 'warm' letters

• 5,500 eve of poll cards

We also delivered 200 window posters to supporters and members and put out A-boards at 8 polling stations.

Helping other wards

Our volunteers helped out with deliveries and canvassing in Inverleith ward, and we supported Forth ward with data entry and producing canvassing sheets. We also did some envelope-stuffing for Linlithgow and Sighthill-Gorgie.

Fundraising and Finances

Again no capitation income was forthcoming this year. However, with Covid restrictions still ongoing, we did not need this for meeting room hire and event expenses. Next year we plan to resume in-person meetings, and so we hope that capitation income will return.

We decided to have another Auction of Promises in Nov/Dec 2021 as an election fundraiser, and have been raising funds through crowd-buying.

Auction of Promises

Building on our experience of the first auction of promises, we streamlined the process by setting up and running the auction on Edinburgh Greens website. The selection of promises was even more impressive than in the first year, and included chocolate tasting, sailing lessons and room-painting (see end of report for full list).

We raised £657 – well up from £270 raised in 2020. The auction had a good social aspect to it as well giving people the opportunity to meet the people behind the promises and bids.

Next year, the branch have agreed to take the auction over to make it a wider and bigger event.

Crowd-buying

For a couple of years, SEEG member John Palmer has been running a crowd buying initiative for friends and other members as a fundraising initiative. He noticed that a group of farmers in Spain had organised to sell their produce direct to consumers. They all work on very organic, ecological and sustainable principles. They sell in larger quantities, so John organised with friends to buy co-operatively and then divvied up and delivered the fruit to the buyers.

This financial year the initiative raised £300 for Edinburgh Greens, and crowd buyers also donated £300 of crowd-farming fruit to food banks in Poland for Ukrainian refugees. The idea has attracted the attention of the Eco-committee of Mayfield Church, who have asked John to give a presentation.

Membership

Our membership has increased from 220 to 233 members in our two council wards.

Meetings and Socials

Meetings

Our monthly sub-branch meetings have been focussed on the practical detail of running a branch and consequently haven't been encouraging members to attend. So, we decided to change the agenda and start the meeting with a topic, leaving the business matters until the end. So far we've had:

• Reflections on COP26 – a group discussion

• Sheriffhall Roundabout plans, with Cllr Claire Miller

• 20 Minute Neighbourhoods and Cameron Toll, with Cllr Chas Booth

• Tree Protection, with Ellie Mills, Midlothian Council Tree Officer

We also had a surprise visit from Ariane Burgess MSP. She spoke about Scottish Greens in Holyrood and in co-operation with the Scottish Government, and the National Planning Framework.

We now have a Slack workspace for discussion and decision-making in between meetings.

We plan to return to in-person meetings in July at the Charteris Centre.

Social events

Following the both the Holyrood and Edinburgh elections, we had a thank-you social for volunteers at The Salisbury Arms. These were a great success.

We've also had a couple of successful joint events with South Edinburgh Greens:

• Astley Ainslie tree tour - Maggie Carson from the Astley Ainslie Community Trust gave a very engaging tour and we had a bring-to-share picnic in the grounds

• Meadows Festival picnic – in lieu of our usual stall which we didn't have time to prepare for this year, SEEG and SEG hosted a picnic with Scottish Greens flag flying

Appendix 1 - The Promises

Thanks to all who promised and bid in the Auction of Promises:

• Exploring Edinburgh’s Volcano – a guided tour for two

• Hand Woven Double Loop Snood

• Jameson Black Barrel Irish Whiskey

• Knitted Tea Cosy

• Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt Scotch Whisky

• Pacari chocolate gift set

• Pacari Chocolate Tasting for four households

• Paint a Room

• Peace Lily

• Peeriegal Tote Bag

• Positive News Subscription

• Grow your own Raspberries

• Three sets of Reusable Gift Wraps

• Sailing Lesson and/or Sailing Trip

• Three pots of Money Plant Cuttings

Appendix 2 – Office Bearers 2022-23

The following people were elected as office bearers at our AGM on 9 June 2022:

• Ola Olsinova – Co-Convenor

• Guy Johnson – Co-Convenor

• Branch Committee Representative – Breck MacGregor

• John Palmer – Minutes Secretary

• Steve West – Membership Secretary

• Alison Neathey – Admin Secretary*

• Caroline Barr – Social Secretary*

*new roles

Report to Edinburgh Branch June 2022 AGM

By Mariusz Cebulski (outgoing co-convenor)

Meetings

The Leith and Leith Walk sub-branch have continued to meet monthly online, but for this AGM the group successfully tried to run a hybrid meeting i.e. with members being able to join online or in person.

The 2022 sub-branch AGM was held online and face to face at the Leith Community Centre on 09/06/2022, it was attended by eleven members. At the AGM it was confirmed that following members will take up roles in the sub-branch:

∙ Mariusz Cebulski will continue as convenor and take up role of co-liaison to the Edinburgh branch.

∙ Ian McCormick will continue as membership secretary (Ian was elected after last AGM).

∙ Dirk Nols will take the role of ordinary member.

∙ Damian Sefton will take the role of ordinary member.

∙ James Paton will take the role of secretary and co-liaison to the Edinburgh branch.

Finances and Membership

Finance

The sub-branch main expenditure was booking of Leith Walk Police Box for setting up a campaign stall for Local Elections (£50) which was reimbursed as part of the campaign budget. Next biggest spend was the booking of Leith Community Centre for the first hybrid meeting (£15).

Membership Update

August 2020 – 278

September 2020 - 305

January 2021 – 299

April 2021 – 311

May 2021 – 346

June 2022 – 390

Elections

Local Elections

Members from across the sub-branch supported our two councillors – Susan Rae and Chas Booth as well as neighbouring Forth ward candidate Kayleigh O’Neil in the Local Elections to City Council.

The campaign was very active with weekly canvassing sessions, setting up stalls and material delivery (newsletters, letters to first time voters, campaign cards and eve of poll cards) and window poster campaign. The sub-branch has sent volunteers to Forth ward to support our candidate there.

Within the wards the sub-branch also coordinated A-Boards on election day.

The results were very good, with Chas and Susan gaining a bigger percentage of the vote than in the last elections, and the party gained it’s first councillor in Forth.

Other activities

Monthly green discussions – the branch has setup a monthly online meeting to discuss various topics, chosen by branch members.

Councillor Update

Councillors discussed the current atmosphere in the City Council after the formation of Labour minority administration supported by Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.

While disappointing with the result of the vote to form an administration, councillors are not giving up and will continue to serve the city and pass green legislation where possible.

Our experienced councillors are also training and showing the ropes to the newer members of the party in the City Chambers.

Plans for the upcoming year

● Continue to meet monthly with more hybrid meetings and in different spots.

● Increase membership and member engagement.

● Organise more events, both social gatherings and local campaigns. For any further details please contact leith.leithwalk@scottishgreens.org.uk

In the Standing Orders:

Amend Section 6.2.1 to read “These amendments must be confirmed by the next Scottish Green Party Standing Orders Committee meeting, failing which any such change/s shall cease to apply.”

In the Standing Orders:

Amend Section 2.3 to read:

2.3.1 Branch Committee membership consists of:

• Office bearers and other official posts

• Representatives of any representative groups with an organised presence in Edinburgh

• Representatives of the Councillor Group (as ex-officio members)

2.3.2 Branch Committee Sub-groups consist of:

• Relevant office bearers

• Ordinary members

• Sub-Branch representatives where appropriate

• Co-opted members.

2.3.3 Those elected to public office for the Scottish Green Party may not also hold an elected position on the Committee.

2.3.4 Office bearers and other official posts shall have a job description which must be available to all Branch members.

In the Standing Orders:

Amend Section 2.2 to read: “The Branch Committee’s responsibilities, which may, where appropriate, be delegated to sub-committees, include:

(2.2.1 to 2.2.10 as per current standing orders)

In the Standing Orders:

Amend section 1.4.16 to read: “Where practicable, arrangements may be made for a Branch member who is absent from a Branch Meeting at the time of the vote, to vote by proxy, or by email.”

In the Constitution:

Amend section 3.4 to read:

“Membership Administration

3.4 One Branch officer must be nominated to process membership changes, updates, and services. To this end the nominated Branch officer will liaise with Sub-branches, Local Teams and the SGP Executive as required.”

In the Constitution:

Amend section 2.9 to read: “At each AGM, the Branch will elect two Co-Convenors (at least one of whom must be a woman) and a Treasurer. The Branch shall inform the SGP Party Office of all new post holders within two weeks of their election. This shall equally apply to any changes in office bearers throughout the year, for example resignations.”

Delete section 3.2 (Vice-Convenor)

To agree that the branch’s approval of the ‘City of Edinburgh Council Coalition Agreement between the Edinburgh Scottish National Party and the Edinburgh Green Party’ on 24 May 2022 remains valid, and can be enacted if necessary before 24 May 2023 without requiring a repeated branch vote, provided no changes are made to it.