STEVE CARDOWNIE'S defection to the SNP has been justified by some of the worst spin and hype I have ever seen. His central criticism of the Labour Party is his claim that we have failed to deliver. This cannot go unchallenged.

More than any part of the UK, Edinburgh has flourished with the success and investment our Labour Government has brought. In addition, the Leith area where he is a councillor has not only been turned around, but is flourishing with improvement taking place throughout the area.

Labour has delivered a record period of economic growth and investment in public services. In Edinburgh, that has meant jobs and improvements that we would never have seen in a million years of Tory government. With our council, our Scottish Parliament and a Westminster government working for, rather than against us, Edinburgh has led the urban renaissance in Britain, and has become Britain's best city.

For our schools, we have moved from a country that spent more on debt repayment than on education, to a position in which we are building and improving more schools than at any time in our thousand-year history. There are 15 new schools already built, and funding for eight more. There are more (properly paid) teachers as well as classroom assistants. We are providing a high-quality education for all not just some of our young people.

In a city with less than ten per cent of Scotland's population we have one third of our high schools in the top 50 performing state schools in Scotland.

With Labour, Edinburgh is a safer city. Crime has been falling, with violent crime down 20 per cent in the last two years. We are the first, and so far as I know, the only council to invest in extra police paid for from council tax. Forty-six additional officers to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. This represents a ten per cent increase in on-street policing, building on what are already record number of extra police. In recent surveys by Endsleigh Insurance Company, Edinburgh is the safest city in the UK for house-breakings and is one of the safest for car crime.

Other areas of public service have been improved. We now have more libraries, sports centres and parks than ever before. Indeed, we have created 300 acres of new parks. More parks were created in the last eight years than were created in the previous 25.

We have more trees than we had 100 years ago and have more trees than any other UK city except London which is many times our size. We have also bridged the funding gap and will be able to deliver the largest-ever investment in sports facilities to take place in Edinburgh with a new stadium, refurbished Commonwealth Pool, recently acquired Ratho Adventure Centre, and Scotland's largest community sports programme Future Sport.

Our tourism industry is the envy of Britain, with 77 per cent occupancy in our principal hotels last year, and the industry now supporting 25,000 jobs.

Our summer festivals have gone from strength to strength and the Fringe sells so many tickets that it is the equivalent of a Commonwealth Games crowd here in Edinburgh every year.

Hogmanay is one of the world's premier events, showcasing not just the beauty of the city and its castle, but the warm reception of a people who know how to party.

Eighty per cent of residents surveyed said that the winter festivals make the city a better place to live, and our Christmas events attract twice the participants of higher profile Hogmanay celebrations.

Our transport system has been transformed with a 27 per cent increase in bus patronage and over 100 million passenger journeys achieved in the last year. Our bus service is acknowledged as the best in the UK outside London, and it is worth remembering that in post-deregulation 1985, it cost £1 to travel from Penicuik into Edinburgh, and it still does today. We now have four new park-and-ride sites and three new railway stations at Edinburgh Park, Brunstane and Newcraighall. On roads maintenance, for too long our Achilles heel, we are spending a record £40 million to improve roads and footways.

Steve has left the fold, and in doing so he is undermining the very success he helped to achieve. I came into politics to achieve change, not simply to hold office. Such a defection will only serve to fuel the concern that with proportional representation will come also a breed of politicians intent on running the council, rather than on governing the city. There is a big difference between the two.

If Steve, or if anyone knows of a city in Britain that is better than Edinburgh, or where so much has been improved, I would welcome their comments.

This is the best city in Britain, and it has been made better and stronger by a successful economy and the investment Labour has delivered. We have won no less than ten Best City awards in the last few years. Steve can blame his defection on anything he likes, but everyone suspects his motives were personal rather than political. Labour has delivered, and it is a shame that Steve didn't feel he could do likewise.

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