Edinburgh council: Another by-election in Colinton/Fairmilehead as SNP councillor Marco Biagi quits

Voters in Clinton/Fairmilehead were at the polls just five days ago to choose a successor to former council transport convener Scott Arthur following his election as Labour MP for Edinburgh South West. But now they face another contest, likely to be early in the new year.

Marco Biagi was elected SNP councillor for Colinton/Fairmilehead in 2022

Cllr Biagi - a former MSP and Scottish Government minister - was elected as one of the three councillors for Colinton/Fairmilehead at the last council elections in 2022. But now he has been appointed as a Scottish Government special adviser working on political positioning and messaging.

SNP group leader Simita Kumar said: “Cllr Marco Biagi has made a decision to step down from the council to take up a new position with the Scottish Government. While I am sad by Marco’s departure from the SNP Group in Edinburgh, I am equally thrilled for him as he embarks on this new chapter in his career.

“Marco has been an integral part of Team SNP, offering unwavering support and dedication, not just to the group but to me personally. His contributions have left a lasting impact, and he will be greatly missed.”

Cllr Kumar said she understood the frustration which residents of Colinton/Fairmilehead would feel in light of the recent by-election. She said: “Marco has always prioritised his constituents, and I know he would have adjusted the timing if it were possible.”

Colinton/Fairmilehead Tory councillor Jason Rust said: "This is incredibly unfortunate timing and a further cost to the taxpayer after last week's by-election in my ward. Perhaps the SNP could have taken this into account. Electors will no doubt be weary at travelling to the polls yet again in such a short space of time."

The Lib Dems scored a surprise victory in last Thursday’s by-election, with their candidate Louise Spence defeating Labour's Sheila Gilmore by 3,751 votes to 2,055 in the final count.

The result meant the Lib Dems strengthened their position as the second biggest party at the City Chambers with 14 councillors. The SNP is the biggest group, with 18 seats before Cllr Biagi's resignation, while Labour - which runs the council as a minority administration - now has 11, the Greens have 10, Tories nine and there is one independent.

The newly-enlarged Liberal Democrat group met on Monday evening to discuss their next steps amid calls from the SNP for Labour to “stand aside”. But they did not reach any conclusions and plan to meet again.

After the meeting, group leader Kevin Lang said: “The new larger Lib Dem council group held a constructive meeting tonight where it considered the outcome of the by-election and the impact of the result on the make up of the council. Members agreed that further group discussions were needed before decisions are taken.”