Regeneration plan for Seafield 'unrealistic' landowners say
The authority's latest 10-year development plan, running through to 2032, designates the 40-hectare area as a 'potential housing site' and a masterplan has now been drawn up. Alongside new properties, a school, GP surgery, shops and cafes, it shows a new waterfront park and promenade to connect with the one at Portobello.
Hundreds of new affordable homes at Seafield will 'help address the city's housing emergency' amid a record 5,000 homeless households in the capital, council planning convener James Dalgleish said last year.
Read more from our new investigation, The Future of Edinburgh:
However the ambitious project is unlikely to come to fruition for decades yet, largely due to a number of hurdles. Chief among them is landowners unwilling to sell up. The relocation of Lothian Buses' Marine Depot, at the east of the site, also poses a significant challenge.
'They don't necessarily want to move'
Iain Whyte, the Conservative councillor for Craigentinny-Duddingston, which includes Seafield, told The Herald: 'The biggest blocker, frankly, to anything happening there is the landowners of a significant chunk of it have tenants in place, a steady income, that suits their financial and business model and they don't want to change that.
'When they speak, they speak on behalf of some of the others that are there as well and I think that means this, if it's a plan that's going to work, you're probably talking 20 years before you see anything significantly change there.
'I just think the biggest problem the council has got is that it allocated that site for nearly 3,000 houses in its plan for the city, the 2030 City Plan for development, to try and find the housing numbers that are needed for the growing population.
'Doing things like that when there's no prospect of it being developed within the timescales they're talking about gives you an indication of why we're not meeting the housing numbers needed — and is the real reason, if any, why they're having to declare a housing emergency.'
He added: 'I don't know if anyone's ever asked Lothian Buses where they think they're going to move their depot to. Because I don't think it's easy for them. It's fine for the council to sit there and say 'oh well, car showrooms aren't a very good use of the land' but there's an awful lot more in there and they don't necessarily want to move.'
'Their land should not be considered for housing'
Council documents reveal some developers hold concerns about 'timescales and the difficulty of delivering a masterplan when such a small area of the plan is actually capable of coming forward in the short/medium term'.
They also show that Royal London, which owns Seafield Industrial Estate covering a large part of the proposed development site, 'do not support proposals for residential development on their site'.
In their response to a consultation on City Plan 2030, an agent representing the pensions and investment giant warned that the site 'does not present a realistic option for residential development'.
They said: 'The owner [...] has no intention of releasing the land for housing use over the Plan period and their land holding should not be considered for residential or urban area housing led mixed use.'
The response went on to say Royal London was not approached by the council prior to the land being identified for consideration for redevelopment. 'The identification of their land holding for this purpose is considered to be inappropriate,' it said.
Proposed redevelopment site at Seafield (Image: City of Edinburgh Council)
The estate, consisting of 18 fully let industrial units, has been under the company's ownership for over 25 years, is 'one of the larger complete industrial holdings' within their property fund.
The agent said 'significant capital investment' has been directed into the industrial units in recent years including 'acquisition of adjacent holdings, replacement roofs, cladding renewal, unit subdivision and road/service yard replacement ensuring the accommodation is fit for modern requirements'.
They added: 'Tenants undertake a range of business operations comprising urban industry, trades, distribution and local services which support their local market, of which a significant proportion comprises the established urban area of north east Edinburgh.
'The removal of an established employment area against a backdrop of limited industrial supply and constrained demand will only serve to exacerbate poverty rates in the local area.'
Royal London was contacted for comment.
Read more from The Future of Edinburgh series:
Councillor Whyte compared the plan to proposals for the local authority's ongoing regeneration of Granton Waterfront 'which we were talking about developing 30 years ago and is only now starting to come to fruition'.
He said: 'I think this will take a very long time indeed.'
Asked about the prospect of the council using Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) in a bid to accelerate work, he said: 'That would be incredibly expensive and the council doesn't have much money.
'We're in the top five most indebted councils in the UK, so would it make sense to go further into debt and have the interest payments to CPO land that private individuals and companies are making best use of in the market at the moment?'
However, he added it was 'useful to have a masterplan so you don't get piecemeal development along there'.
'Fabulous opportunity'
Cathy Maclean from Action Porty, the community group behind Scotland's first ever urban community land buy out in Portobello, agreed it would be 'quite a while before things get going' as 'a lot of the people who own those sites don't want to sell and have no plans to sell'.
But she stressed the site presented a 'fabulous opportunity' as there were so few capital cities with 'a brownfield site right on the beach to develop".
Seafield is currently mostly car showrooms and industrial units (Image: Google) She said more housing was badly needed and 'so much' had been built in Portobello in recent years 'with a dramatic loss of amenities at the same'.
This led Action Porty to successfully complete a community buyout of Portobello Old Parish Church after the Church of Scotland announced its intention to sell the property. It reopened as Bellfield, a community centre, in 2018.
Maclean said if the Seafield redevelopment ever goes ahead it would be 'welcome from Portobello as a sort of sister community, rather than particularly part of it,' however added: 'In practice it will become a part of Portobello because that's the way people are, they enjoy walking along the Prom.
'At some point it's all going to join up between Leith and right the way along Seahaven.'
'There has to be continuity between the two areas'
While Seafield's regeneration is clearly still a long-way off, some details in the masterplan are already raising eyebrows.
The council's visualisation of what the area could look like one day shows people enjoying the would-be promenade and leafy waterfront park.
'If you look at it it looks amazing,' said Kirsty Pattison, chair of Craigentinny and Meadowbank Community Council, whose boundary includes Seafield, 'but if you dig into the details and look at what the masterplanning is and the height of the buildings proposed, it doesn't correlate with that picture at all.'
A visualisation of the council's Seafield masterplan (Image: City of Edinburgh Council) She said in terms of the height of the buildings there is 'tension between what it's supposed to look like and what is actually being proposed'.
'What they're proposing, from the top of the prom if you're looking south-east it gives you expansive views of the beach and you can see Joppa. Some of that might be lost, so it's important to preserve this place.'
Ensuring the new neighbourhood is well connected with adjacent communities will be crucial, Ms Pattison said. 'We want to make sure there's improved landscape connections between Craigentinny and Seafield, because Seafield is part of our district.
'There has to be continuity between the two areas so we can preserve popular beach walks.
'There's a beach walk that connects Craigentinny to the western part of the beach and we want that put into the masterplan to make sure it's preserved. That is vital. People use it all the time - it's such a popular connection.'
'There's also issues around rising sea levels, it's all fine and well saying we're going to redevelop Seafield - but what are we going to put in place for flooding?'
Ms MacLean similarly raised concerns over the impact of climate change in the future. 'I don't think you can say any flood defences are going to be effective when you don't know what's coming,' she said.
'A lot of the standards these environmental consultants look at are based on what used to be called once in every 200 year chance of flooding. That's changed quite dramatically. Nobody really knows, if the truth be told.'
Edinburgh Council said the risk of coastal flooding 'is increasing due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion caused by climate change,' adding: 'This is a key consideration in the redevelopment of Seafield.'
Since initial engagement about the plans in 2023 'we have needed to take additional time to engage with a range of stakeholders,' it said. 'This is to ensure that places are developed along the coastline that are resilient in the face of climate change impacts'.
Read more:
Now, the authority is preparing a Coastal Change Adaptation Plan and said it will 'update the draft masterplan in line with the recommendations'.
The 'Seafield stench'
One of the biggest constraints historically associated with making the area residential has been the 'Seafield stench' from the waste water treatment plant to the west - the largest of its kind in Scotland.
Odours emitting from the works are a longstanding issue. Between 2022 and 2024 Scottish Water and Veolia invested over £10 million to add additional capacity and address concerns around the smells. However, the council said last year the issue 'has not been fully resolved at this time'.
It said: 'The Council, along with SEPA, carry out ongoing monitoring of odours relating to the Works. However, the council does not have the ability to force all odours to be stopped.
'Scottish Water has committed to developing a new facility to replace the Seafield facility after 2030. This should be considered alongside the timescales of the masterplan as it is likely to reduce the impact of odours around the facility.
'Odours relating to the Works are not a significant issue for the bulk of the masterplan area. However, if odours persist, this is likely to shape how development of the northernmost part of the area comes forward.'
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Inside the fightback against student flats in Edinburgh
This is a place as rich with history as it is character. In a past life it was frequented by highwaymen as the first stop and changeover point for the horse-drawn stagecoach to London, with its name referenced as far back as 1650. Over time, the village that occupied this crossroads has been absorbed into the growing sprawl of the capital. Cars replaced the humble wagon and tenements rose, laying the foundations for a new community. Impressively, the essence of its origins has remained. Now, that's fading slowly before the eyes of locals who feel defeated by developers. To this day, a pub still sits on the site once home to the coaching inn which gave this area its name, its single-story structure and double gable roof matching the original building's style. Soon, however, it will be gone. The Willow's windows are boarded up with metal sheets; inside, a pint hasn't been pulled for over a year. This watering hole, along with the Indian takeaway, disused recording studio and another pub next door to that, is destined for the bulldozers. In their place will rise seven storeys of student flats described as an 'imposing monolithic block'. Read more from our series, The Future of Edinburgh: So far, so typical for Edinburgh where the relentless expansion of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), against the backdrop of a 'housing emergency', ranks high on the list of peoples' peeves. However, at Jock's Lodge, this may just be the beginning of a wholesale transformation into a student village, some residents fear. Next door to the properties awaiting demolition, The Ball Room, a popular sports bar and pool hall which covers an even larger site, is being pursued by student housing developers, with a preliminary planning proposal sent to the council. Owners maintain there will be 'no change to our business for a very, very long time'. Slightly further along to the west and set back from the street is St Margaret's House, a 1970s office block that now houses community arts spaces. The prospect of this being replaced mostly by PBSA also looms large; planning permission has already been consented for its demolition to make way for 361 student beds and 107 flats for sale. The building was put up for sale earlier this year. Jock's Lodge (Image: The Herald) A growing sense of the community here being chipped away only deepened in February when the Church of Scotland announced it was going to close and sell Willowbrae Parish Church, which sits just off the junction. 'I think the pace and scale of change is obviously understandably really uncomfortable for a lot of people,' Danny Aston, SNP councillor for the area said. 'One of the things that's concerned me the most throughout all of these multiple applications has been that this area around Jock's Lodge is designated in the last local development plan, and the new one, as a 'local centre' which effectively means it's the closest thing to a high street this area has. Taken together these applications will really seriously undermine the value of this place for the community. 'This used to be somewhere where people came to meet up, have a drink, maybe have something to eat - and that's being greatly diminished. And I certainly wouldn't blame anyone on the other side of the road for feeling concerned about suddenly seven stories appearing in front of them, and the effect that will have on this really busy junction.' Martin O'Donnell, who lives just around the corner on Willowbrae Road, points out the closure of the pub has meant more than locals simply losing a place to have a drink. 'A lot of community groups met there, and it hosted public meetings,' he said. 'One of the main issues is the community having some facility to go to, be it shopping or hospitality. I would like to see more space in the development devoted for public amenities. 'If you come down Willowbrae you get a nice perspective of Jock's Lodge, the Willow pub and that's now going to be a huge block.' More from the Future of Edinburgh investigative series: The approved plans for a 191-bed block on the corner of Jock's Lodge and Smokey Brae were initially refused by councillors in 2023 after hundreds joined a local campaign opposing the development, arguing it would 'change the nature of the community'. However, this decision was overturned on appeal by the Scottish Government, in line with other similarly unpopular PBSA projects across the city that have gained consent. Other arguments made against the plans when they were considered in the City Chambers included that the building would be too tall and 'imposing', and as the site wasn't close to any university campuses it wasn't the 'right site for student accommodation'. Cllr Aston said at the meeting held two years ago: 'In the place of six commercial units – including the two pubs – there will only be one pub and the common room of the student accommodation which does not contribute to the local area.' This month he said there was now a 'question mark' over whether a bar and restaurant on the ground floor would still form part of the new development. 'I went to the planning committee and made the case on behalf of the community against the application,' he added. 'The committee agreed with me on that occasion, I think they made the right decision. I think the government reporter looked at it and made the wrong decision.' Kirsty Pattison from the Save Jock's Lodge campaign said: 'It does feel this area is completely under threat. I do get we need development, I understand that. I've grown up in this area. Cities change, but it just feels like we've been forgotten about for so long - Jock's Lodge, Craigentinny, Lochend have been forgotten about for so long. 'Now they're going to change the whole of Jock's Lodge, if all of it becomes student flats that's a material change. 'The church is going up for sale, that is a listed building so at least that can't be turned into PBSA.' She added discussions were ongoing about the possibility of pursuing a community buyout. Cllr Aston added: 'It's really important to protect the church. I've had conversations with local people who are really keen to make sure that it remains a space available to the community. 'There's been some quite positive developments which I can't unfortunately go into at this time, so it's really important and I am hopeful ultimately that it can remain open to the community in one way or another. A community buyout option is one of the options that's being discussed, but there are other options available.' The Edinburgh-based artist and activist known as Bonnie Prince Bob, who grew up at Jock's Lodge, said the council had 'allowed private developers to once again change the entire aesthetic of an area that's been the same way for a long time'. He said: 'I grew up here on the front street, at first glance it's not the most, you know, salubrious, inspiring area. It's a main thoroughfare - it's actually the main road to London. But it actually has a good community vibe. It's got a lot of charm, this area - there's a lot of people who have lived here for a long time. 'It's going to change. The Jock's Lodge pub has always been that single elevation pub on the corner. It's been a watering hole, a libation hole for a long, long time. When you approach this junction, whether it's from Smokey Brae, Willoebrae Road, whichever side you approach this junction from, it's going to change dramatically how that is. It's going to become much more closed in. Bonnie Prince Bob and Shaukat Ali (Image: The Herald) 'If you approach this junction, there's space - there's airspace. And I don't think people appreciate how important that is until that's gone. 'When that's gone you're suddenly faced with this imposing monolithic block. It's depressing, it changes the vibe entirely. I feel sorry for the people who live opposite it.' 'I believe this area does have a bit of charm, a bit of character at the moment and it will become this amorphous place. If you poll the people who live here, pretty much everybody is opposed to it.' Connor Robertson, an academic from Leith, told The Herald that the situation at Jock's Lodge is a perfect example of gentrification in action. He argued the proposed changes will push out local residents and businesses in favor of wealthier newcomers, eroding the area's traditional character and community ties. 'The universities themselves and other multinational conglomerates play an active role in gentrification of certain areas,' he said. Read more: 'There's a transient student population and there's a homogeneous, lukewarm, vacuous aesthetic to the whole place. There's nothing genuine or real or authentic to what parts of the city used to be and it all just ends up looking the same. 'With every single new or proposed PBSA block every one I speak to is like 'oh more student housing, when's there going to be enough student housing'. No one I know wants to have more. 'They've completely mismanaged the city, Edinburgh is another symbol of a wider global problem. Gentrification of areas that once were producers and now, the whole thing is based on consumption. And who can consume? The middle class can consume, so the working-class people are if not displaced then marginalised.' Properties on the west of The Willow were sold to developers by Shaukat Ali, who runs a corner shop across the road. He said student accommodation was not his preferred option for the site but 'no person ever came wanting to build houses'. He said: 'If there was an alternative, if there were different people who say 'we want to do this, we want to do that' I would go for something different. 'It's the council's fault and the government's fault. You can't blame that on people who want to make a lot of money. It's not my fault - it's the system that's wrong. 'If the council or the government said we'll buy this site - they had lots of time to do it - and will make it affordable housing. But they didn't want to do it.' Cllr Aston added: 'This shows us that the incentives that are stacked up in favour of developing purpose-built student accommodation are significant for developers. 'Some of the obligations that are placed on mainstream housing developments simply don't apply to student accommodation; there's much lower space standards in terms of the living arrangements for the students.' Edinburgh Council is in the process of drawing up new non-statutory planning guidance for student housing developers, which it says will 'seek to ensure the provision of good quality PBSA in appropriate locations whilst protecting the character of existing areas'. However, Councillor Aston said he wasn't getting his hopes up that it would have the desired effect. 'In the new city development plan the classification for PBSA is commercial, and I can understand some of the reasoning behind that. 'It's not treating it as housing because I think it's pretty clear it does belong in a different category from that. But, I'm concerned that potentially undermines some of the arguments that can clearly be made against applications like the one here at Jock's Lodge - that it's undermining the commercial heart of the community. If it's then possible to point at the most important piece of planning guidance, the City Plan, and say actually that categorises it as a commercial development, I have concerns about that.' In response to the growth of student accommodation, Leith Central Community Council (LCCC) recently called for a moratorium on further PBSA developments in Leith, highlighting the area as being home to a third of Edinburgh's PBSA beds (6332) and 67% of all the city's PBSA buildings. The approved plan for Jock's Lodge PBSA (Image: Allumno) In a statement the group said: '[We] oppose any new PBSA developments in the Leith area, citing the absence of a local university, the oversaturation of current PBSA's in Leith, and the pressing need for housing that serves long-term residents and diverse community needs. 'Leith is a vibrant, mixed community, and further PBSA developments risk upsetting this balance by increasing transient populations and reducing the availability of housing for families, key workers, and long-term residents.' Speaking to The Herald, LCCC chair Charlotte Encombe said: 'I'm not a planning expert but I can feel something in my bones when something is just not right. 'We have no problem with students, we're all very happy with students. But I think we really need to concentrate on getting affordable housing in the centre of Edinburgh. That is mainly the reason we've gone in quite hard. 'Enough is enough. All we do is PBSAs, PBSAs, PBSAs. 'It is a very profitable activity. It's just very difficult for a community council, a group of volunteers with mixed expertise, to try and stem this flood of more and more.' Cllr Aston said he believed a moratorium on new student accommodation blocks in areas already heavily concentrated with such developments is 'something we should very seriously consider'. He said: 'I suppose I would expect there not to be a shortage of communities that would put themselves forward. 'It would then be a matter for councillors to decide, if we were going to pursue that, which of those communities that felt they were oversaturated with student accommodation would be part of the moratorium. Or indeed, if we would look more widely than that.' Restrictions on PBSA are not unprecedented in Scotland. In Glasgow, new PBSA developments were effectively put on hold from 2019 to 2021 while the council engaged with various stakeholders to gather their views on student housing in the city, responding to concerns about an over-concentration of such provision. Following this consultation, the authority introduced new planning guidelines specifying that new student housing would no longer be supported in two areas: South Partick and Yorkhill, and Cowcaddens and Townhead. Read more: Meanwhile, The Cockburn Association, Edinburgh's heritage watchdog, warned last month that across Edinburgh, the "continued proliferation of PBSA" was "reshaping both the physical character of neighbourhoods and the daily life of the communities within them'. It said: 'From the tightly packed crescents of Marchmont and the Southside to the narrow streets of the Old Town and city fringe, developers are increasingly targeting former commercial premises, brownfield sites, and even viable historic buildings as opportunities for large-scale student accommodation.' Rather than 'relying on speculative delivery and developer-led policy formation,' it added, "it may be time to reassert a civic-led approach that places the needs of communities, students, and heritage on equal footing'.
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Mainstreaming of far-right ideas in UK politics shows why John Swinney was right to raise alarm
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Received wisdom at Westminster has it that the far-right has never made it into UK politics. Coupled with that theory is then the debate by the same commentators around what constitutes the 'far-right'. However using the measurement of policies pursued, which is, after all, the very essence of a political movement or party, the far-right has most certainly arrived in UK politics. UK parties, across the political spectrum, now embrace the hardest of hard Brexit, unthinkable even in the aftermath of the referendum in June 2016, and a policy that has done untold damage to the economy and our rights. We also had a government that promoted the sending of asylum seekers to Rwanda and MPs who openly campaign on leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which has underpinned our rights since the end of the Second World War. Were the UK to leave, it would be joining Russia and Belarus in doing so, hardly polite company. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Brexit, leaving the ECHR, and the Rwanda scheme are or were mainstream policy proposals in the UK yet they are policies that far-right parties elsewhere in Europe would baulk at. Even the hardest of hard-right parties in other parts of Europe such as the National Rally in France, the Vlaams Belaang in Belgium or Alternative fur Deutschland in Germany have abandoned plans to leave the EU, given the UK's Brexit debacle. John Swinney's stances on the EU, Donald Trump and migration, among others, have won plaudits (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images An attack on justice Yet despite these policy failures, the mainstreaming of the far-right has become all too common in our politics along with their tactics. Over the past few days alone, Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary, Robert Jenrick, attacked the Labour Attorney General for doing his job and defending his clients. His remarks were described by former Conservative Attorney General Dominic Grieve 'as a direct attack on our principles of justice'. As we saw in this week's Hamilton by-election, we in Scotland are certainly not immune. Nigel Farage's attack on Anas Sarwar, which he doubled down on when challenged by the press, should act as a warning to us all. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Such remarks are unacceptable and whereas I may have legitimate policy differences with the Scottish Labour leader, they should have no place in our political discourse. For all the heat of the campaign in the run-up to what was a hard-fought by-election, it was good to see SNP and Labour leaders call out these disgraceful comments. Zia Yusuf's resignation as chair of Reform on Thursday and his concerns around Reform in the Commons should also act as a warning. Calling out bigotry That is why the First Minister was right to bring together colleagues from across the political spectrum in a summit seeking to 'lock out' Reform from Holyrood earlier this year. John Swinney is right to call out their policies and the 'bigotry' that they represent and to call out Farage as 'an accomplice of the Russian agenda'. 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During the run-up to the Holyrood elections, there is an opportunity for all parties to set out their vision for Scotland. On the one hand, there is an inclusive, outward-looking and internationalist vision represented by John Swinney, on the other is Reform's inward and exclusive offering. I know which one I'm backing.
New Statesman
3 hours ago
- New Statesman
The eco-centrists want the Green Party back
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But their term is almost up; the party will hold a leadership election later this year. While Denyer has decided not to re-contest, Ramsay, who has been a Green Party politician since 2003 felt he isn't done yet. He is running once again to be co-leader of the party once again, with Chowns as his co-star. Chowns and Ramsay's pitch to Green Party members is simple: a vote for them is a vote for two experienced leaders, who already have a position inside parliament and a proven track-record of winning elections .'We're the only candidates in this [leadership] election who have won under first-past-the-post,' Ramsay told me, 'and we want to build on that success, it is about substance.' He added: 'Anyone can say that they want to be popular,' Ramsay said, 'we've shown how you actually do it.' Chowns agreed: 'The only way to change politics is by winning more seats in the system,' she said, 'and Adrian and I have shown how to do that. You build the biggest possible coalition of voters.' 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The election of an additional three Green MPs last year, was the culmination of this, or so he says. Polanski's wants to position the Greens as a left-wing mirror to Nigel Farage and Reform. In fact, when I spoke to him shortly after he launched his leadership bid in May, Polanski said he may even actually 'agree' with some of 'Nigel Farage's diagnosis of the problems' . Chowns and Ramsay think this is the wrong approach. 'We've already demonstrated how ecological ideas can be popular,' Chowns said. She added: 'I don't aspire for the Green Party to ape Reform in any way neither in its content, not its style…We can't out shout Reform.' Polanski is a member of the Greater London Assembly, but if he is elected he will sit outside the machinations of Westminster; an arrangement which could cause more trouble than it's worth. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe 'There are some major pitfalls that would need to be addressed here,' Ramsay said, 'journalists look to what's happening in parliament to see where each party stands on the issue of the day because parliament is the centre of British political debate.' Having a leader outside of Westminster could become particularly troublesome if there is a disagreement between the party's leadership and its MPs. In some ways, this has already happened. Polanski has said the UK should withdraw from NATO, a policy which neither Ramsay nor Chowns support. 'If on that day you had the leader, who was outside parliament, speaking for the party saying I want to leave NATO and then our foreign affairs spokesperson in Parliament saying that the Green party want to stay there and reform NATO, then who do you look to as giving the Green Party's position?' This could get messy. Members of other parties are looking at this race, curious about where it could leave the Green Party (one sympathetic Labour MP told me they thought it would be a 'disaster' and would alienate much of the party's more moderate base). Polanski did not inform Ramsay or Chowns of his intention to run before going public with his campaign. When I ask the pair how things will work if Polanski does win, Ramsay said: 'I think that's for Zack to set out… he's certainly had no conversations with the MPs about whether that would work or how he would make it work.' As I went to ask my next question, Ramsay shot back, 'he's made no attempt to talk to us about it at all.' Though Chowns and Ramsay's campaign may not have landed as loudly as Polanski's, they have election-winning credentials. As Ramsay said, it took time to build the 'broad coalitions' which have pushed the Green Party to where it currently sits. With polling for the leadership election opening in a matter of months, the pair may need to ramp up the volume in order to win the fight; it won't take much time for that 'broad coalition' to be unpicked. [See more: Did Zia Yusuf jump, or was he pushed?] Related
