Edinburgh Labour is coming under increasing pressure from its rank and file to resign from the city council administration, after councillors voted through a budget which crossed 'red lines' on compulsory redundancies.
Local members and activists have accused them of a "failure of leadership" and called on them to step down over a disastrous budget meeting where their spending plans were defeated and a councillor resigned in anger over the process.
In an unexpected turn of events, the minority administration's budget fell at the first hurdle due to tactical voting deployed by Green councillors, which then saw Liberal Democrat proposals approved by 32 votes against 29 for the joint SNP, Green motion at the marathon session at the City Chambers on Thursday (February 23).
READ MORE: Edinburgh council budget: Everything you need to know and how it will impact you
The authority's ruling group - now made up of just 12 out of 63 councillors - has come under fire for backing the Lib Dems, whose plans included ending the no compulsory redundancy policy and privatising waste and cleansing services - both of which Labour pledged to protect in its 2022 Edinburgh Council manifesto.
The party's West Edinburgh branch agreed that Labour city councillors should "resign the administration" at a meeting on Sunday (February 26).
The emergency motion, passed unanimously, said: "Edinburgh Western Constituency Labour Party (CLP) expresses sincere disappointment in the Edinburgh Labour Group’s failure to pass a budget to protect jobs and keep vital services in-house."
It noted the Labour group "failed to engage effectively with all parties prior to the City of Edinburgh Council budget meeting...which resulted in the administration budget falling after the first round of voting.
"This failure of leadership led to the Liberal Democrat budget being approved and passed by a majority of councillors."
However Cammy Day, leader of the council and the Labour group, has said he is "still keen to lead the capital city" and gave assurances the commitment to no compulsory redundancies and keeping services in-house would not be scrapped.
Members of the western branch said they were "seriously concerned" about the agreed £1.1 million savings which they added "have now been adopted as official council policy to the severe detriment of public sector workers across the city."
They continued: "The CLP condemns the decision to cut jobs and outsource vital services."
Furthermore, the motion claimed that Councillor Day previously told Labour's Local Government Committee the group would resign the administration "if it came to compulsory redundancies."
It added: "The CLP asks the Edinburgh Labour leader to reflect on these comments and reminds the group that the Labour Party was formed out of trade union movement to give working people their own political voice.
"The CLP also notes that the provision of outsourcing and the withdrawal of the no compulsory redundancy policy goes against manifesto commitments on which Labour councillors were elected in May 2022.
"The CLP calls on Edinburgh Labour Group to resign the administration."
Councillor Ross McKenzie, who resigned from the Labour group mid-meeting on Thursday, said the administration budget was "designed to confuse and mislead" and that he had been "isolated from the budget process."
Meanwhile Labour councillor Katrina Faccenda, who had to leave the chambers prior to the vote due to a personal emergency, has also called on the council leader to stand down - declaring the group needs "new leadership and a new direction."
She wrote on Twitter: "Poor political judgement and lack of leadership brought them to a point of voting for a budget with a clause about removing our biggest red line “no compulsory redundancies” and other clauses considering outsourcing and privatisation. Faced with a binary choice they got it wrong.
"No doubt some will try to blame the “gaming” which saw the Labour motion go out at stage one. But that doesn’t excuse getting it wrong. No doubt the priorities of some will be to make deals to save their jobs/extra payments.
"The way forward for Labour and to repair the damage made to our relationship with trade unions is a fresh start."
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