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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Steph Brawn

SNP and Greens launch bid to take over Edinburgh City Council

SNP and Green councillors have launched a bid to lead Edinburgh City Council, promising a "fresh start" for the city.

It comes after Cammy Day was suspended by Labour and resigned as council leader amid claims he sent sexual messages to refugees.

For the past two and a half years, the council has been led by a Labour group which has now shrunk to only 10 councillors out of 63, with two seats currently vacant. The minority administration has been propped up by the LibDems and Conservatives. 

The SNP, with 17 councillors, and the LibDems, with 13, are both larger groups while the Greens have the same number as Labour and the Tories are just behind with nine.  

Councillors are set to meet on Thursday to decide the future leadership of the local authority. 

It has now been confirmed the SNP and Green groups will aim to lead the administration in a move they say will bring "ambition, vision and stability" to the capital.

The two parties’ agreement would see the SNP’s Simita Kumar become council leader, with the Greens’ Susan Rae and Chas Booth being joint depute leaders. The various committee convenorships would be divided between the two groups, the SNP group have said.

Given that together the groups do not have a majority, the parties have said they intend to seek cross-party agreement on key issues affecting the city by means of a "beefed-up leadership forum" involving the other groups.

SNP group leader Kumar said: “I am proud to put forward this progressive and bold programme for administration, which will restore ambition, vision and stability to our city.

"I look forward to turning our shared values with the Greens into actions that will improve the lives of Edinburgh’s residents.

“The positive agreement we are putting forward with the Greens stands in stark contrast to Labour who have been rocked by serious allegations of misconduct and fraud in recent weeks.

(Image: SNP) "This follows on from their two and a half years of weak, rudderless and incompetent tenure, where they have been dancing to the tune of the Tories and LibDems.

“Public trust in the council is at an all-time low. We will work tirelessly to repair that damage."

Alongside allegations Day sent sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees, there have since been reports he is facing a council probe into being an "unregistered landlord".

Over the weekend, Edinburgh Labour MP Scott Arthur got into a spat on social media with Labour councillor Margaret Graham over the future of the council, with Graham saying Arthur should "keep quiet".

She suggested the Labour group do not “have the moral authority anymore” to decide on what happens going forward. 

Kumar added the SNP and Greens would take "bold action" needed to solve Edinburgh's housing emergency and use a new proposed tourist tax to benefit the city's communities.

Greens co-leader Rae said: “Over the past weeks it has become increasingly clear that Labour have lost the democratic and moral mandate to lead Scotland’s capital city.

"Despite this, they seem to believe their blighted administration has the moral authority to carry the responsibility of running the city they have let down so badly. Edinburgh deserves a fresh start to take us in to 2025.

"This means an administration that has the vision and capacity to steer the city through the challenges facing us, from tackling the social care crisis to preparing for future extreme weather events caused by climate change, and nobody else is in a position to step up and offer that leadership.

“No political party relishes the opportunity to take over from a failing administration in the middle of a council term, but we are pleased to have continued our constructive working relationship with the SNP and last night received overwhelming endorsement from Edinburgh Green branch members to pursue this course of action."

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