Role of councillor more than just a stepping stone to Westminster or Holyrood

Liberal Democrat Louise Spence resigned just a week after winning a surprise victory in the Colinton and Fairmilehead by-election

The less said about Ms Spence and the Liberal Democrats the better, but it seems Marco Biagi, a former MSP and for two short years an Edinburgh city councillor, got an offer he couldn’t refuse from First Minister John Swinney and has swapped pounding the pavements of Oxgangs for a job dreaming up catchy new political messages for the beleaguered SNP government.

Biagi, a former MSP, obviously considers a special adviser role a more attractive proposition than continuing as a councillor until 2027. It certainly pays better – even a junior adviser earns around £60,000 a year, with the top dogs bringing in more than £100,000 each. A city councillor earns £21,345.

I don’t blame Biagi for changing jobs. I have done both. In a former life I was a city councillor, representing Wester Hailes and reaching the dizzy heights of deputy leader of the then majority Labour administration. And later, following a spell on this very newspaper, I was McConnell’s chief press officer during his tenure as First Minister. But I think it is a shame that the city council has lost Biagi’s expertise, just as it lost an enthusiastic transport chief when Scott Arthur moved to Westminster.

Local government is in crisis in Scotland. The Scottish parliament has sucked the life out of our councils, and in recent years the Scottish government has starved them of resources. Council leader Cammy Day pointed out only last week, when he launched the city’s online budget consultation, that Edinburgh has endured a decade of chronic underfunding, with councillors forced to make £400 million cuts.

And Councillor Day and his colleagues have to find an extra £30m savings next year, while at the same time protect vital local services and grow the city’s economy.

I have a long argued that the Capital needs an elected mayor, like London, but in the meantime we need high-calibre people to be councillors, and not just for a couple of years – or in the case of Louise Spence one week – until something better comes along.

Running a city with the complexity of Edinburgh is not for the faint-hearted, nor for anyone who wants to earn a fortune. But it can be a very rewarding job, even when you are having to make cuts enforced by central government. I still remember the satisfaction of resolving constituents’ housing problems and the thrill of bringing Harvey Nicols to the city – a decision that helped transform Edinburgh from a dull, pedestrian city to the lively, cosmopolitan place it is today.

I hope, in the run-up to the 2027 council elections, that the political parties choose the best possible candidates. People who are in it for the long haul, and who do not see being a councillor simply as a stepping stone to a more “glamorous” role in Westminster or Holyrood. Or a joke.