A LABOUR councillor tore into her own party’s administration in Edinburgh insisting it had “failed” to deliver for the people of the city since 2022.
The minority administration – which is propped up by the LibDems and Tories – has clung onto power in the capital despite a scandal surrounding their former leader Cammy Day.
Allegations he sent sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees led to his suspension from Labour and his resignation as council leader, with elected members meeting on Thursday to decide who should replace him.
An SNP/Green bid to lead the council was defeated by 32 votes to 28 as the LibDems and the Tories opted once again to prop up a depleting Labour group, which now only has 10 councillors out of a possible 63.
Labour councillor Katrina Faccenda abstained in the vote and prior to this gave an impassioned speech tearing into how the Labour administration and its Unionist partners had “failed”, adding they had “turned a blind eye to dishonesty”.
She accused the groups of putting their own interests ahead of residents.
As part of her speech, Faccenda said in the chamber: “We have failed in the last two and a half years.
“Now there’s not enough time in here today to go through the many ways in which we have failed, the ways we have failed to actively promote core Labour values of principles, the way we have turned a blind eye to dishonesty – and that does also apply to the other two parties who have propped up the Labour administration.
Must Watch: Labour failed Edinburgh together with their coalition of chaos colleagues in Lib Dems and Tories says Labour cllr @KatrinaFaccenda :point_down:#Edinburgh pic.twitter.com/p4PLxIMYPy
— Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) December 20, 2024
“You have turned a blind eye to someone who has stood up and told something that was not true in this chamber and you have put it down to politics.
“Well, fellow councillors, this is not politics. You are putting your own interests above those of the people of Edinburgh.”
Labour councillor Jane Meagher is now the new council leader, but the vote to put her in post was branded “farcical”.
While she dialled in from Tanzania in east Africa, Day also dialled in remotely to take part in the vote with his camera off, before promptly leaving the meeting after it had concluded.
Faccenda called Day an “absolute disgrace” on Twitter/X for his conduct.
It was also pointed out that Day’s screen still said he was council leader when he dialled into the meeting, which one councillor said she found “offensive”.
The new administration has since been labelled a “super minority” mocking the tiny number of councillors Labour are leading the local authority with.
Early on in the meeting, deputy council leader Mandy Watt was asked to explain when the Labour group first knew of the allegations Day was facing.
She said she first found out at a Christmas party in the City Chambers on December 6, when she was shown a newspaper headline by Green councillor Chas Booth.
She said she was “absolutely stunned” by the news adding she had no prior knowledge of the accusations.
