Edinburgh Council elections: SNP victory will see the most progressive administration in city’s history – Tommy Sheppard MP

In less than a fortnight, you get to vote. So does everyone else in Scotland and many people across the UK. It’s local election time, but they won’t just be about who runs the council.

Some temporary cycle lanes will be replaced by permanent ones, but where they have not worked, they will be removed (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

Throughout Scotland, many people will vote for the SNP as an expression of their aspiration that we should take charge of our own affairs and become an independent country. Many others will vote against the SNP because they believe the opposite.

Throughout Britain, voters will use these elections to send a message to the Tories. Fed up with lies and hypocrisy, battered by higher bills and falling incomes, scunnered by an absence of decency and morality, it’s little wonder so many will use this ballot to pass judgement on the most right-wing UK Government in living memory.

But in the middle of all that, it’s also about who runs the council. And that really matters. How services are provided has a huge effect on our city and those that live in it. Not overnight, but certainly over a five-year term.

A commitment to keeping services in public hands, driving up wages, and using local labour can do much to tackle engrained poverty and inequality.

Active intervention in the housing market through public housebuilding, controlling rents, and tackling out-of-control holiday lets can help deal with Edinburgh’s accommodation crisis. Investment in improved recycling and a drive to reduce carbon in all operations mean the council can make a serious contribution to net-zero.

These are perspectives you’ll find in the Edinburgh SNP manifesto. I know because I’ve read it. You can see it at www.edinburghsnp.org. For my money it’s the most progressive set of proposals ever put forward by a party in the Capital with a realistic chance of implementing them.

Its ambition is to develop Edinburgh’s reputation as a leading European capital, ensure everyone who lives here benefits from growth and success, and build a cleaner, greener city where you can afford to live and easily get around.

Sadly, we’ve not had a serious debate about these proposals. Headline and social media comment focus mostly on transport. Tories make wild claims as we propose a commuter charge exclusively on non-residents driving into the city during rush hour. But this sensible measure will reduce traffic for those who live here, and no Edinburgher will ever pay the charge.

Likewise, much is said about the cycle routes expanded during Covid. But they were always temporary measures, rolled out at speed. A new SNP-led administration will review all of these routes.

Some will be replaced by permanent quality cycleways with a hard separation between bikes and cars for the entire length of the route, including junctions. Others will be removed altogether, where they haven’t worked. That’s the right approach, and I say that as a car owner.

But something is else remarkable about the SNP team standing for election. Councils, like everything else, used to be run by old white guys in suits. Not now. Fully half of our candidates are women, many are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, and they are nearly all a lot younger than me. Between them they represent the diverse energetic reality that is this amazing city’s population. You should vote for them on May 5.

Tommy Sheppard, SNP MP for Edinburgh East