Leith Chooses – a treasure trove of good practice

Leith Chooses shows us community-led participatory budgeting at its best. People who care about the kind of community they live in, working with public bodies and elected representatives to create a process where everyone in the community can vote on how to best invest public funds.

Leith Chooses is a treasure trove of good practice for good PB; a clear purpose, a genuine partnership of equals, a positive action approach to widen participation, a thoughtfully designed process that learns year-on-year, a local community having a fun and accessible democratic event while acting to realise national policy priorities. 

And on 1st February we saw the results, another vibrant and celebratory event, with over 900 people from the Leith community engaging with each other and with the issues and themes that matter there. On the weekend of a major Brexit stage-post, Leith witnessed a more participatory form of local democracy, bringing the community together to make a real difference.

All this is made possible by a massive commitment from a steering group of residents, community and city councillors and council workers. Meeting every Wednesday night to plan and deliberate on the issues that matter in Leith and informed by dialogue with the community, they prioritised two aims for a £44,000 fund; to fight loneliness and isolation and to fight hunger and food poverty.  Twenty community projects stepped forward to fit the bill; with some offering community-led action to meet both aims. 

The Leith Chooses steering group are deeply reflective. They evaluate each year’s PB process, voting experience and the vote itself, considering hundreds of pieces of information and feedback. What’s most important is that they listen to that feedback, learn, change and improve. 

Learning from voting events surfaced evidence that ethnic minority groups were being overlooked. In 2019 Leith Chooses introduced a booster vote system, where voters, in addition to their two votes, could choose to cast a third booster vote for projects supporting some of Leith’s ethnic minority votes. This was evaluated, supported and continued in 2020. 

Mitra Rostami who works at Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council held a stall at the event and gave boost votes a thumbs up. “I like the boost vote and I like that the steering group thought about it and took the approach”. In 2017 ELREC had received from funding through Leith Chooses for a ‘No hate here’ project delivering training to teachers and social workers, leaving a legacy that is still felt now. 

Jackie Whale loved the ethos behind Leith Chooses, “this is a great idea. It’s so well run and inclusive and allows people in Leith to feel they’re part of decision making. We boosted our vote and I thought that was such a good idea. I love that everyone age 8 and over can vote”.

In 2019 Leith Chooses felt very busy, almost too busy for some voters to feel comfortably able to navigate and make informed choices. Some feedback asked for a quiet period and more help for citizens with hidden as well as visible disabilities. 

This year, Leith Chooses again took action and opened an hour early for a quiet voting period, a ‘gentle voter registration’ area was available for a ‘bit less bustle and quieter craic’. Jim Scanlon, a long-time Leith Links volunteer was on duty here, he explained “the quiet room can make things a bit easier. We can help with registering, accompanying round the stalls or help with reading – whatever people need”.

Think national, act local 

Leith’s focus on fighting loneliness and isolation ties in with Scotland’s national strategy  which recommends PB as a driving force to help people feel connected to each other, bringing a sense of ownership while we build better social connections where all parts of community can benefit, especially those most at risk of being marginalised. Leith shows us that both the process of PB, bringing people together in a large local celebratory event, and the decisions reached on how to best invest public money, can both make a positive difference in people’s lives.

Similarly, Scotland has grappled with Public Sector Equality duties for years now, and how they can be used positively to advance equality by encouraging people to participate in public life. Leith Chooses shows what this can look like in practice, taking decisions that were previously made behind closed doors and turning them into a vibrant community event built on a thoughtful process.

All this really matters because great national strategies and duties only make a difference in people’s lives when they are given life in our communities. Leith Chooses shows us why we should trust communities to lead the way. 

Leith Chooses – at a glance

Leith Chooses is a partnership between community members, Community Councils of Leith, City of Edinburgh Council and Leith Community Education Centre where voting events are held.

Dispersing £44,000 of public money, anyone can vote if they are 8 years old or over, and live, work, study or volunteer regularly in Leith. Voting events take a market stall approach. Each voter can cast two votes to different projects and may cast an additional boost vote for projects meeting a criteria.  

Voting rules, eligibility and the boundaries of Leith are displayed clearly at the voting event. In addition, these are available online and in social media , as is information about current projects bidding for funds, videos showing achievements of previously funded projects and the overall purpose is agreed by the steering group and communicated to the community and potential bidding projects. 

Find out more at www.leithchooses.net