Politics

Edinburgh council will ask John Swinney to close a loophole which allows short-term lets to operate without planning permission. Picture: Scott Louden

Council to ask John Swinney to close loophole on short-term lets

Edinburgh council blamed for 'serious failure' on gully clearances

Scott Arthur has secured a debate in the Commons on the future of cancer research in the UK

'Cancer research boost would benefit economy as well as health'

West Lothian's Lawrence Fitzpatrick, East Lothian's Norman Hampshire and Midlothian's Kelly Parry

Lothian council leaders on plans for reorganisation

Greens want Edinburgh to observe World Car-Free Day every year

Greens propose car-free day for Grand Depart of Tour de France

Green councillor Chas Booth says councils should have the power to introduce congestion charging. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.

Edinburgh council will be asked to lobby for congestion charge powers

Owners in Westfield Court welcomed the council's decision despite continued uncertainty

Flat-owners in troubled Westfield Court welcome council decision

Jane Meagher says the partnership could achieve ‘a huge amount’ with extra powers

Edinburgh city region bids for more powers

The 7-7-7 bus lane trial will run for 18 months between London Road and Milton Road East

Bus lane trial restrictions 'not as draconian as people make out'

The council will argue Edinburgh needs its own local authority (Jane Barlow/PA)

Edinburgh will bid to survive local government shake-up

Westfield Court has been plagued with problems for years

Councillors vote to look at repairing flats earmarked for demolition

Kemi Badenoch, Andy Burnham and John Swinney were all talking about Scotland's future last week

Analysis Three leaders reveal their differing priorities

Amanda Bland will now sit as an independent MSP

West Lothian Reform UK MSP resigns from party to sit as independent

Westfield Court was built as Edinburgh's first municipal housing block in 1952

Westfield Court owners fear they will be left in limbo for years

Illegal e-bikes are a major public concern

Edinburgh MP to lead Commons debate on problem of illegal e-bikes

Many of the sacked staff worked at Rockstar North in Holyrood Road

Rockstar Games president 'did not scream at anyone', tribunal told
Games company executive denies it is anti-union
Neil Pooran, Press Association Scotland News Editor

Kelly Parry hopes there will be some clarity 'sooner rather than later'

'Council shake-up could deter would-be candidates for 2027 elections'

Objectors said the hotel would bring more traffic onto an already busy road

Go-ahead for former masonic lodge to become hotel

Former Rockstar Games employees holding a rally

Rockstar Games denies sackings were act of 'revenge' against union

The EICC has hosted several previous prestigious international gatherings

Edinburgh to host G20 finance summit next year

Pressures on community policing are increasing

New calls for Edinburgh and Lothians to get 'fairer' police numbers

Ian Murray and Daniel Johnson say the latest figures underline the case for Edinburgh to have more powers and better funding

Edinburgh short-changed by £147 million since 2014, claims Labour

Education convener James Dalgleish

Education convener James Dalgleish cleared by Standards Commission

Neil Cuthbert hopes for cross-party support

Edinburgh referendum call on local government shake-up

Westfield Court now has crash decks in case of falling cladding

New blow for flat owners in troubled Westfield Court

Cllr Connor McManus

Mounjaro makers under fire over ‘monopoly’ of brand

Green Party leader Zack Polanski was defeated in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Analysis Changing political fortunes for Greens ahead of council elections
Scottish Greens likely to suffer as result of Zack Polanski’s drop in popularity
Ian Swanson

The Scottish Government says it is monitoring what happens in Nottingham

Edinburgh MSP says balaclava harassment 'cannot be allowed to go on'

St Margaret's House on London Road in Meadowbank.

Council pledges help for St Margaret's House artists facing eviction

Green Party MSP, Q Manivannan is sworn in during the first meeting of the new Scottish Parliament on May 14, 2026 in Edinburgh, Scotland (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Q Manivannan allowed to continue working in UK after visa extended

People often find young men in balaclavas riding around on bikes intimidating,says Miles Briggs

Tories call for city centre balaclava ban to stem antisocial behaviour

Four Green councillors are standing down next May

Four Green councillors to stand down at 2027 council elections

Alex Cole-Hamilton and Christine Jardine

Scottish Lib Dem leader denies manoeuvring against Edinburgh MP

Edinburgh has 'huge unmet demand' for allotments.
Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto

City's allotment waiting list almost 6,000 and more joining every week

Miles Briggs at Penumbra's Edinburgh Crisis Centre with Shaun Macaulay-Davidson, left, and chief executive Mike Burns, right.

Mental health crisis centre could close because of funding cuts

Katrina Faccenda has won her appeal against being barred from standing for Labour in next year’s elections

Leith Labour councillor wins appeal against election ban

Edinburgh council faces abolition under Scottish Government plans to shake up local government

Analysis Council shake-up plans get more complicated as clock ticks on talks

Katrina Faccenda is appealing against the decision to block her

Labour councillor appeals against election ban

Wardie Bay is a popular swimming beach - when the water is clean. Picture: SEPA

Ministers urged to 'finally clean up' Capital's sewage-plagued waters

West Lothian civic centre is home to the council, the sheriff court, the health and social care partnership and the police

Call for civic centre as base for police and other public services

Councils have been sidelined in the Scottish Government's local government reform process, says Cllr Stephen Jenkinson

Council shake-up plans 'amateurish' and 'doomed to fail'

Crowds gather at the Corstorphine Fair 2026 on Saturday, June 6, at St Margaret's Park.

Holyrood looks into hurdles facing organisers of community fairs

Katrina Faccenda - Labour

Decision to block Labour councillor from standing again 'vindictive'

MSPs were told that areas like Fife and Scottish Borders do not want to become part of an Edinburgh region

'Fife and Borders don't want to be in the same region as Edinburgh'

Katrina Faccenda, left, and Conor Savage have been blocked from standing again

Two Labour councillors blocked by party from standing next year

Jane Meagher has branded the Scottish Government's approach as 'an insult to democracy'

City chief accuses Scottish Government of 'insult to local democracy'

The council features prominently in daily life. Picture: Ian Georgeson.

Analysis More questions than answers as Edinburgh council faces the axe

Christine Jardine, Kevin Lang and Alex Cole-Hamilton

MP Christine Jardine to quit amid claims of being told she's 'too old'

Leith’s original town hall, built in 1828, later became the port’s police station

Semi-independence for Leith a welcome move - if it really happens

Lorna Slater says there are stairwells where there is nothing but short-term lets

Plea to Scottish Government to close loophole on short-term lets

Dunbar's Belhaven Beach is a popular destination for surfers. Pic: contributed

Call for legally binding targets to end sewage discharges into sea

With new regional and community authorities, Edinburgh council could cease to exist

Edinburgh council faces 'abolition' under shake-up proposals

Michael Marra was elected as new Scottish Labour leader on Saturday

Analysis Michael Marra brings fresh energy to 'hardest job in British politics'

Leith was an independent burgh until 1920

Leith could get its own council under local authority shake up

The proposal is for the area underneath North Bridge, opposite the station entrance, to become the new taxi rank.

Plan for new taxi rank at Market Street entrance to Waverley Station

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