Edinburgh care homes: Has Labour just pulled a fast one on its SNP coalition colleagues? – Steve Cardownie

Last month, under the heading “Party politics may decide future of care homes”, I wrote that the unanimous decision by Labour’s local government committee to oppose care home closures would exert pressure on Labour councillors to stymie the proposal and this, in turn, would pressurise the SNP group to follow suit.

Labour leader Cammy Day is opposed to plans to close five care homes in Edinburgh (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

Lo and behold, that is exactly what has transpired.

Last week, Councillor Cammy Day, leader of the Labour group at the City Chambers told this paper that “my group believes if we remove these care homes and put the residents in the remaining council care home places they will be full, which means anyone else who wants to access a council residential care home won’t have that option because they’re full. Labour is against closing public sector-run care homes and handing it over to the private sector, which is what would definitely happen here.”

This from the group which backed the proposal, along with their coalition partners in the SNP, that there should be full public consultation, with the details and timing due to be decided at a meeting on September 14.

As I predicted, the Labour group has jumped ship and left their SNP colleagues hung out to dry, much to the extreme annoyance of SNP councillor and group whip, George Gordon, who has accused the Labour group of underhand tactics.

He says that the SNP group was also more than likely to also oppose the closures but that the Labour group have, in an attempt to be seen by the public as saviours of the care homes, pulled a fast one! Such is politics!

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