AN ACTIVIST has torn into Edinburgh Council for treating people from working-class communities in the city “as an afterthought” following the closure of a museum.
The People's Story Museum on the Royal Mile charts the day-to-day experiences of ordinary citizens in the capital from the late 18th century to today, and has been mothballed due to the council trying to save money.
In a council meeting today to discuss the museum’s fate activist, Jim Slaven, slammed the Labour led local authority for “shutting the door” on the working-class people in the city and destroying its local history.
Slaven spoke fiercely at the culture and communities committee debate on why the museum plays an important historical and cultural role in the city.
Making the point that the council didn’t meet with local communities prior to the closure he said: “We're not working with them. We just got to shut it.
“Just shut the door, shut the doors before the committee is even there.
“It's an absolute disgrace, and it says everything about how our working class people are treated, as an afterthought, disrespected.
“People internalise that.
“What do you think you are doing to the soul of the city, to the culture, to the fabric of it?
“You’re destroying it.”
The People's Story Museum’s closure comes against the backdrop of a projected £26.7 million overspend by the council in the current year.
Closing the museum is only expected to save around £205,000 – which is less than 1% of the forecasted budget deficit.
Slaven went on to say that the “community's histories are in that museum” and that it’s not just working classes either.
He pointed out that immigrants, industrial and cultural histories of the local communities are also on display and that the council needs to work with them to invest in the museum rather than closing it down.
“I've been to a lot of these working-class history museums and similar projects, galleries and that which focus on working-class stuff around the world.
“I know a lot of these people and how they work, and some of them are brilliant projects.
“They cannot believe that’s shut [The People's Story Museum].”
He then went on to warn the local authorities that people would be willing to fund the museum to keep it open, but not while Edinburgh Council was at the helm.
“People would definitely be prepared to say ‘right we will help’”, Slaven said.
He then added after being interrupted: “They would definitely put investment into this building, but they've been very clear with me.
“The political problems have to be sorted out first because nobody's going to plough investment into a building that's run by Edinburgh Council, because what is going to happen to it?”
