Scottish Labour council leader joins condemnation of Keir Starmer's summit snub

A LABOUR council chief has joined in criticism of Keir Starmer’s exclusion of Scottish local authorities from a regional investment summit.

The UK Government was warned that snubbing Scottish cities put them at a commercial disadvantage compared with their English counterparts who have been invited to the new Council of the Nations and Regions.

The inaugural meeting has been mired in controversy because while the leaders of some English local authorities, Scotland’s councils have been excluded.

And the PM’s new “envoy to the nations and regions”, Sue Gray, who Starmer fired as his chief of staff at the start of this week, will not attend as she is said to be taking a break between jobs.

Edinburgh’s Labour council chief Cammy Day (below) has signed a letter to Starmer calling for “immediate consideration of parity of representation” for Scottish councils, The Times reports.

(Image: Edinburgh City Council) The letter said: “We are concerned that our absence from the summit could place Scotland and its cities at an explicit commercial disadvantage to our city peers in England particularly if the government should continue to engage the English city mayors in similar events.”

The summit includes the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the 12 English combined authority mayors, which have no direct equivalent in Scotland.

It comes after Glasgow’s SNP council leader Susan Aitken (below) earlier this week accused Labour of having “shut the door” on Scotland’s biggest city.

(Image: NQ)

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which represents all 32 Scottish councils, also criticised the exclusion of Scottish local government this week, saying in a statement the organisation was seeking dialogue on “how local government is better represented in these discussions going forward”.

Labour have argued the exclusion of Scottish local authority leaders made their case that Scotland should adopt parts of the local government system in England, which has beefed-up regional local authorities.

Kenneth Gibson (below), who convenes Holyrood’s Finance Committee, said: “The Prime Minister’s honeymoon in Downing Street must be the shortest in history – as now even senior Labour figures are calling out his judgement to ignore Scotland’s civic leaders at key events.

(Image: Scottish Parliament)

“It’s hard to overstate the potential damage the Prime Minister’s decision could have on Scotland, with even Edinburgh Council’s Labour leader acknowledging the Prime Minister is putting our towns and cities at an ‘explicit commercial disadvantage’ to English counterparts.

“Scotland’s civic leaders are key to the future prosperity and regeneration of our nation. For the Prime Minister to shut them out – even when on their doorstep – says it all about the Prime Minister’s plan to have Scotland at the heart of his new Westminster government.”