There are few occasions Edinburgh councillors are in full and genuine agreement, but Thursday’s emotional tributes to the late Val Walker, the Labour councillor who died suddenly last month, was one of them.

But after a fittingly sombre start to the monthly full council meeting, with tributes to Pope Francis thrown in for good measure, it was back to normal, and if ever I need reminding why it was a good idea not to seek re-election to Edinburgh Council, I just need to glance at the meeting agenda and marvel at the creativity of some councillors to find as much guff as possible to drive opponents demented at the sheer inanity of it all.

The formal business on Thursday was largely straightforward procedural stuff; appointing councillors to this committee or that ─ which quickly killed off consensus ─ agreeing how much of a pay rise they should award themselves (for some, £25k a year represents a generous hourly rate for not reading agenda papers), rubber-stamping the appointment of a chair for the visitor levy forum, and, well, that was it. But then there was the usual slew of councillors’ motions, eighteen of them, and 31 amendments to ensure the meeting couldn’t be concluded without mudslinging.

Read more John McLellan

Pick of the bunch must be Green councillor Dan Heap’s bid to get the council to ban flypasts like the RAF fighters which zoom over the Tattoo or Murrayfield, much to the delight of the crowds, but apparently they traumatise people who may have fled here from some war-torn corner of the world.

Maybe there is some statistical evidence for........

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