No way to choose person who will run the city for next three years

Labour councillor Lezley Cameron speaks during the debate on choosing the new leader at the City Chambers last ThursdayLabour councillor Lezley Cameron speaks during the debate on choosing the new leader at the City Chambers last Thursday
Labour councillor Lezley Cameron speaks during the debate on choosing the new leader at the City Chambers last Thursday
In an interview just after she was elected in 2022, Edinburgh’s new council leader, Jane Meagher, said she had a tendency to leave things to the last minute. She wasn’t wrong.

During last Thursday’s debate about who should replace Cammy Day as Edinburgh City Council leader, she had to be pushed into making a speech by her Labour colleague, Lezley Cameron.

Normally, you can’t stop ambitious politicians from talking about themselves, but it seems Councillor Meagher had not planned to tell her fellow councillors why they should vote for her until she was called out. It didn’t help that she was five thousand miles away in Tanzania, but her pitch when it finally came was hardly worth the wait. It was, at best, dull but worthy. “I am a consensus builder…willing to compromise,” she told the council via Zoom.

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She will need to be. Her Labour group is split. Councillor Margaret Graham, who I am growing to admire for her straight talking, described the council as being in turmoil and supported a move by the Tories to delay the vote on who should run the city until the new year. Leith representative Katrina Faccenda was even more scathing of her comrades, accusing them of dishonesty. “This is not politics, you are putting your own interests above the people,” she said before abstaining on the vote. Come to think of it, there was barely a word from any Labour councillor in praise of their new boss. A most unusual situation.

It may well be that her most ardent allies are actually in the 11-strong Liberal Democrat group. Their leader, Councillor Kevin Lang, is said to be a big fan. It’s even been suggested the price for his support for a minority Labour administration was that Jane Meagher was Labour’s choice for leader. Little wonder the Labour group is in turmoil then, if the Lib Dems got to choose their leader. Though if Kevin Lang – an expert in public relations – really does have that much influence, I am surprised he did not advise Councillor Meagher to break off her holiday in Africa and fly home for Thursday’s meeting.

The leader of Edinburgh City Council is not the same as being the chair of a tenants organisation or bridge club. Councillor Meagher is now responsible for a billion-pound-plus annual budget. She will represent the city on the national, and sometimes international stage. Her decisions will shape the city for decades to come. Yet she did not think she needed to change her holiday plans for what was effectively her job interview. Worse, she had to be goaded into turning on the camera on her laptop so she could say a few words.

This is no way to choose the person who will run the city for the next three years. I have no doubt Councillor Meagher is sincere when she says she is determined to deliver for Edinburgh, but the secretive manner of her elevation does not augur well. She may have been chosen behind closed doors by a tiny cabal, but she now has to govern in the open and for all the people. For Edinburgh’s sake, I hope she is up to the task.

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