Five things you need to know today
Hidden Door - another day of music and spoken word awaits, and details of a cabinet reshuffle announced from Bute House.
Cabinet reshuffle
First Minister John Swinney conducted a small-scale reshuffle on Wednesday appointing Màiri McAllan as Cabinet Secretary for Housing upon her return to government from maternity leave. Ms McAllan has responsibility for all aspects of housing policy, including heat in buildings. She takes the place of Paul McLennan who has requested to leave government.
This appointment will ensure government action is focused on tackling the housing emergency and providing energy efficient homes for the future – helping stimulate economic growth, deliver Net Zero commitments and tackle child poverty.
Gillian Martin has been appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, having held the portfolio during Ms McAllan’s maternity leave.
Following the death of Christina McKelvie in March, Maree Todd will become Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, while retaining her existing responsibility for Sport. Tom Arthur has been appointed as Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing.
Acting Minister for Climate Action Alasdair Allan will leave Government at the end of this week, having indicated that he only wished to serve on an interim basis.
Excluding the Law Officers, the overall size of government reduces to 23, down from 27 in May 2024.
Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP said: “The SNP are looking tired after 18 years in government and this reshuffle won’t change a thing.
“The SNP are responsible for a social care crisis, a housing emergency, a sluggish economy, NHS waits as long as John Swinney’s arm and universities and colleges teetering on the edge.
“Even if they changed every single minister, they still wouldn’t have the answers.”
In response to Wednesday’s reshuffle announcement by the First Minister, Karen Blackport, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of Bright Green Nature, said: “It’s shocking that, in the face of biodiversity and climate emergencies, the Scottish Government still has no nature minister. Sidelining nature is costing society dearly – we can see it on delays to marine protections, backtracking on beavers and abandoning a third national park.
“We call on the First Minister to stop dodging the fact that Scotland is one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries and give nature the political voice it urgently needs.
“We thank Dr Alasdair Allan for the energy and interest he brought to the role and our conversations with him, and wish him well as he returns to the back benches."
Planning application lodged
Morrison Construction on behalf of NHS Lothian have lodged a planning application for demolition of the Millbank Pavilion A and B on the Astley Ainslie Hospital site in Morningside. This is a non-listed building in a conservation area, but the building is in a state of disrepair and there is probably asbestos in it according to the applicants.
The site has been allocated for a "housing-led mixed use opportunity in the Council’s City Plan 2030, which was adopted on 7 November 2024".
Comments may be made until 20 June.
Hidden Door - day 2
Hidden Door began on Wednesday evening with an opening party after a gorgeously sunny day when the finishing touches were put to the former Paper Factory at Maybury.
Today the programme is entirely different from each other day. The lineup is below and tickets are available here.
Thursday 12 June
13:00 – Doors Open (free until 18:00)
13:00 – Reimagined Ruins (Interactive Exhibition, Room To Play, all day until 18:00)
18:00 – racecar (Music , Machine Room)
18:30 – We have all been here – now into the light (Performance , Locker Room)
18:30 – The Circle Unbound – Yuxi Jiang (Dance , Crane Shed)
18:30 – Accident Machine (Music , Jack Daniels Stage)
19:00 – Isabella Strange (Music , Machine Room)
19:40 – We have all been here… (Performance , Locker Room)
19:45 – The Circle Unbound – Yuxi Jiang (Dance , Crane Shed)
19:45 – SISTER MADDS (Music , Jack Daniels Stage)
20:00 – Charles Lang (Spoken Word , Long Room)
20:30 – Tina Sandwich (Music , Machine Room)
20:30 – Ghost in the Machine (Performance , Factory Floor)
21:15 – SPECTRAL (Performance , Crane Shed)
21:15 – Witch Fever (Music , Jack Daniels Stage)
21:30 – Hugh McMillan (Spoken Word , Long Room)
22:00 – Production Line of Dreams (Performance , Factory Floor)
22:00 – Sprints (Music , Machine Room)
01:00 – Close
Council Leader's Report
Each month the Council Leader pens a report for the full council meeting explaining what has been happening.
This month Cllr Meagher has highlighted improvements in attainment among school leavers, cleaner greener travel, and the impact of air pollution on humans.
The council leader has opened a Third Sector Support Review which is open until 22 July and which will examine what kind of support organisations get from the council. The council recently set aside £3.5 million for charities affected by the loss of grant funding. Anyone can have their say here.
Art exhibition in Morningside
Morningside Gallery has a new exhibition of work from Scott Naismith, a Scottish contemporary artist known for his innovative use of colour.
Hope opens in Morningside Gallery on Saturday 14 June, and includes 35 new paintings from the Glasgow-based artist, marking his twelfth solo exhibition with the Edinburgh gallery.
Naismith is an internationally exhibiting artist with a significant online following established via the popularity of his YouTube channel, which now has thousands of subscribers. His approach to painting draws upon a tremendous energy and positivity, which is reflected in the themes of hope and optimism that infuse his work.
This exhibition is a personal one for the artist. In February this year his mother passed away and through the grieving process he began to reflect on her influence, her positive spirit and energy, and the gift of hope that she gave him through her life. Scott’s paintings have always explored the concept of hope, and in particular hope over adversity. His paintings, with their strong contrasts - in palette choices and mark making - manifest his fundamental sense of hope and optimism, of light emerging through darkness.
In a career spanning 20 years Naismith’s painting style has evolved from a literal, more traditional depiction of the Scottish landscape and skies, to colour-drenched canvases which explore cloud cover and its effect on light and colour. The duality of darkness and light is an enduring and evocative metaphor, symbolising the tension between despair and hope, the unknown and the revealed, suffering and transcendence.
Eileadh Swan, director of Morningside Gallery said: “This is a very special exhibition and we’re really looking forward to welcoming Scott back to the gallery for his twelfth solo show with us. Within this new body of work Scott explores the opposition between light and darkness, dynamism and tranquility, and expresses it visually through the contrast between muted and saturated colour. These contrasts not only create visual drama within his paintings, but also speak deeply to the human condition and Scott hopes that the paintings within this exhibition will inspire and uplift.”
Based at Church Hill in Morningside, the gallery will display 35 new paintings for the exhibition, which can also be viewed online and toured as a virtual exhibition for anyone who can’t make it to Edinburgh.
The exhibition will run in the gallery from Saturday 14th June - Sunday 29th June.
