Only one route for Cammy Day to take after allegations arose - Steve Cardownie

Cammy Day’s decision to quit as Edinburgh council leader has led to a potential new power struggle at City Chambers

Once the allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” was seized upon by the media there could only be one outcome, particularly when one of the Ukrainian refugees who had been contacted by Councillor Day made a very telling statement.

They said that “From the very beginning when I arrived in Scotland, I was open to finding new friends and I was by myself in the country. After the trauma of the war I felt lonely and also a stranger in a new country.

"When Cammy Day first wrote to me from several social medias, I was surprised that a person of such a high position was interested in me and then I saw him a couple of times at pro-Ukrainian events.”

Going on to say, “I tried to ignore all his hints about sex or meeting up because I was afraid of his influence and just tried to be polite to avoid any conflict.”

Once this hit the press Councillor Day’s days looked numbered. The refugee in question specifically referred to “a person of such a high position" and that gets to the root of the problem.

Councillor Day, as Edinburgh City Council Leader, must have realised that this could materialise into a question of his misuse of power and if not, he should have.

We have yet to hear from Councillor Day in regard to the specific allegations and we may never do so, but there seems to be sufficient substance to them in that he has decided to step down from his position.

For me, the main point is that he used his position to further his personal goals and that he targeted vulnerable individuals who were new to this country and who might have been too afraid to rebuff his alleged advances.

Now the City Council has to wrestle with the problem of what comes next.

Councillor Day has not resigned as a councillor but has been suspended by the Labour Party so cannot participate in council matters as a member of the Labour Group, meaning a further reduction in their numbers, albeit potentially temporarily.

With only ten out of 63 councillors, will they continue to enjoy the backing of the Lib Dems and Tories (to thwart the ambitions of the SNP and Greens) or has the nail that they hung their “jaiket “on become even more shoogly?

Councillor Mandy Watt has taken over as Labour Group Leader and the assumption is that she would then be elected to Leader of the Council but it might not be as straightforward as that.

Her ability to successfully head up such a disparate, motley crew up in the High Street has been questioned, but if the Lib Dems once more refuse to step up to the plate she is likely to be given the chance.

This might also present an opportunity for the SNP Group, who have a new leader, to make the case that, as the largest group on the council, they should be given the opportunity to fill the position.

They will no doubt attempt to do so, but it is still likely to be out of their reach given the stated opposition to such a scenario from some of the other groups.