Edinburgh short-changed by £147 million in Scottish Government funding since 2014, claims Labour
Labour calls for more power and funding to move from Holyrood to communities
Edinburgh has been short-changed by £147 million since 2014, Labour has claimed after a new analysis of Scottish Government funding.
The party said if local government funding in Scotland had kept pace with the block grant which Scotland receives from Westminster, Scottish councils as a whole would be £2 billion better off.
And when the figures from the House of Commons Library were broken down to show how each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities had fared, Edinburgh had lost out more than anywhere else.
Scottish Labour said it wanted more power and funding to be pushed out of Holyrood and into local communities.
And Ian Murray, MP for Edinburgh South and Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, said the latest analysis underlined the case for increased power and funding for the Capital.
Mr Murray said: “Edinburgh is Scotland's worst-funded local authority, receiving less funding per resident than every other council in the country. Everyone knows a road with a pothole that needs fixed, a school that needs more support for children with additional support needs, or a high street that needs local investment.
“Instead of empowering local communities and opening up politics and decision making to communities here, the SNP has chosen to hoard power and money in Holyrood and deprive areas of funding which would have made a real difference to the lives of local people."
Labour said the block grant grew by 20.3 per cent in real terms between 2013/14 and 2025/26. The Scotland-wide £2 billion funding gap was established by comparing the amount which each authority was allocated in 2025/26 with an amount 20.3 per cent higher in real terms than the 2013/14 allocation. For Edinburgh, the figure worked out at £147m.
Mr Johnson said: “Too much money and control is centralised in Scotland, we need to reverse that and push funding and powers out of Holyrood and into local communities."
In response, Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that despite a “challenging” financial settlement, the 2026/27 Budget provided Scotland’s councils with record funding of almost £15.7 billion, including £1.1 billion for Edinburgh.
She said: “In the face of high inflation and the impacts of global challenges on our economy, we are prioritising investment in frontline services and supporting those in need. Scotland continues to provide the most comprehensive package of cost-of-living support in the UK, and this year alone we will invest £160 million to mitigate shortcomings in the UK welfare systems.
“I have written to the UK government to urge action on the cost of living in the upcoming Budget, to reverse damaging welfare policies. I have also called on the Prime Minister to demonstrate his commitment to devolution by providing us with the fiscal powers and commensurate funding to support investment and growth.”
The Scottish Government also said the forecast block grant from Westminster for 2027/28 was more than one per cent lower in real terms than for 2026/27.