Despite the lack of response, Edinburgh City Council still plans to auction the unsigned guitar strap for charity. The total expenditure for the failed gesture was documented as coming from the council’s marketing budget.
Taylor Swift may have sung about “Love Stories,” but this one was far from a fairytale ending for the Lord Provost.
The incident comes at a time when Edinburgh City Council faces mounting challenges. Labour leads the council with just 10 of 63 seats, and council leader Cammy Day recently resigned following a scandal involving explicit messages sent to Ukrainian refugees.
While the custom tartan guitar straps remain unused, the episode has highlighted the disconnect between city officials and their constituents, leaving taxpayers questioning the priorities of Edinburgh’s leadership.
A Gift Gone Unnoticed
The bespoke tartan guitar straps, costing taxpayers £500 each, were part of a £1,200 hamper that also included locally sourced items such as Edinburgh Gin, Lind & Lime Gin, and a selection of whiskies.
In April, Aldridge even wrote to the events team at Murrayfield, requesting a civic reception for Swift at the City Chambers-a request that also went unanswered.
Lord Provost Aldridge hoped the singer would wear one of the straps on stage at Murrayfield Stadium and sign the other for a charity auction. However, Swift opted for her signature plain black strap and declined to sign or acknowledge the gift.
Independent Edinburgh councillor Ross McKenzie quipped, “The Provost may have been ghosted by Taylor Swift, but there are plenty of people in the area I represent who’d love to meet him to discuss unsanitary accommodation and inadequate care packages.”