| Neil McIntosh | Editor of The Scotsman |
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Hello from The Scotsman. It would be easy to mock our councils, and by extension the work of our councils, to write them off as a larger-scale, but still parochial and under-powered version of the warring parish council immortalised by the now-notorious “you do not have the authority, Jackie Weaver” clip that went viral in 2021. But that would be to overlook the vital role our councils play in our daily lives: from the vital matter of our children’s education to dealing with the bins, from the physical shape of our communities determined through planning to the intellectual shape via the libraries they run. Councils really do matter, and today and tomorrow The Scotsman will have much of its news focus firmly on them, as Scotland’s new council landscape takes shape after yesterday’s elections. Scotsman.com has a full results service, along with plenty of analysis from big counts in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh (you can watch a replay of our live video coverage from lunchtime, here). And in tomorrow’s Saturday Scotsman, we’ll have every result from across the country and verdicts from multiple angles on where our towns, cities and nation have been left as a result of our votes. Looking ahead to tomorrow, I’d urge you not to miss Janet Christie’s cracking interview with Steve Coogan, who still looks back fondly on the excitement of winning a Perrier award in Edinburgh 30 years ago. He’s back in Scotland with his Alan Partridge tour; it’s an entertaining and illuminating read. Elsewhere in the magazine you’ll find tips on keeping your skin in tip-top condition, Gaby Soutar’s latest restaurant review, alongside this week’s survey of books, film, music and art. It’ll be all you need to get your weekend off to a great start. And, of course, our subscribers have access to every word we say and write. Thank you for your support, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Best wishes, Neil McIntosh Editor, The Scotsman |