THE Brunton theatre has a long and proud history. Opened in 1971 by the Queen Mother and named after John Brunton, the founder of the Brunton Wireworks, it has, rightly, become the beating heart of the Honest Toun. As such, it is much loved and well used.

The discovery of RAAC has been devastating but the Brunton Theatre Trust have picked themselves up, dusted down and the show goes on. There will be hurdles to overcome. However, if the political will is to keep The Brunton in Musselburgh then the council, as custodian of the Common Good, will have to find a way.

There’s some well-kent faces who have performed there too such as Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane, Barbara Dickson, James McAvoy, Janey Godley and Hue and Cry. After 14 years of crippling austerity, culture and the arts are more important than ever to the town of Musselburgh, not least because the theatre attracts visitors and, by extension, money and investment into the most deprived area in the county.

This is an opportunity for the Labour councillors in administration within the council to show that they can deliver the change their party promised pre-election. They must encourage their Westminster colleagues to reverse the Tories’ austerity and invest in our communities.

East Lothian councillors will be presented with a paper during October which will lay out the estimated costs for dealing with the RAAC issues. We are all aware that there are huge pressures on our budgets at both national and local level in Scotland. What better time for our new Labour UK Government to show their commitment to that promised change?

They could choose to reverse the cuts to Scotland’s capital budget. It’s down by £170 million for 2024/25 and predicted to be slashed by another 16 per cent in real terms between now and 2028/29 as a result of the cash freeze in the UK Government, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

If they choose not to do this, then that is also a political choice and a clear indication of their priorities.