A LABOUR councillor and Labour MP have got into a public spat over the future leadership of Edinburgh City Council.
Labour’s minority administration in the capital is on the ropes after council leader Cammy Day was suspended from the party following accusations of him sending sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees.
It means the Labour group in Edinburgh now have only 10 councillors – less than a sixth of the chamber. SNP councillor Danny Aston told The National last week a continuation of the "discredited and weak" administration is unacceptable.
The Labour administration has been propped up by the Tories and LibDems since the election 2022, despite the SNP being the largest party group.
The future of the council is likely to depend on what the LibDems now decide to do, as the largest Unionist group.
Day announced his resignation from his role as leader of the council last week. All city councillors will meet next week to decide the new leadership of the authority.
The debate seems to have sparked a public argument between Labour Edinbugh South West MP Scott Arthur and Labour councillor Margaret Graham on Twitter/X.
As part of the back and forth, Graham suggested the Labour group do not “have the moral authority anymore” to decide on what happens going forward and told Arthur to “keep quiet”.
In the original post, Arthur said the LibDems would need to decide whether they support the SNP or his party.
He said: “The LibDems in Edinburgh will have to choose between backing a Labour Leader or paving the way for the SNP to take over the council.
But Councillor Graham hit back in a thread and told him to “keep quiet”.
“There is a time for some politicians to keep quiet. This is one of them. If this is your analysis,” she said.
The Lib-Dems in Edinburgh will have to choose between backing a Labour Leader or paving the way for the SNP to take over the Council. Edinburgh needs a leadership that will work cross-party to put our capital first, and only Labour will do that. https://t.co/YFjLOdfJRm
— Dr Scott Arthur MP (Edinburgh South West) 🌍🌈🌹 (@DrScottArthurMP) December 14, 2024
Arthur questioned Graham on which part of his post she “disagreed with” to which she replied “well basically all of it”.
Arthur went on: “So you don't think Labour would work ‘cross-party to put our capital first’?
Graham told Arthur that Labour “do not have the moral authority to do that anymore” and should have “a bit more respect” for the people of Edinburgh.
Arthur then said: “I didn't mention ‘moral authority’. You didn't answer my question.”
Graham then said: “So let's be clear. Working cross party is the inevitability of the current party structure in the city. All parties have been working this way since 2022. It is not unique to Labour.”
While no group has an outright majority on the council, SNP group leader Simita Kumar said it is “undemocratic” for Labour to be leading the local authority, especially with key decisions on the budget and tourist tax on the horizon.
The SNP – who have 17 councillors – would still need support from another group beyond the Greens if they were to take control.
The Greens have 10 councillors, the LibDems have 13 and the Tories have nine, with two seats currently vacant and the other occupied by independent Ross McKenzie.
