Sun is going down on city’s SNP council group - Kevin Lang

What has Elton John got that Edinburgh’s SNP council group doesn’t? I accept this might not be the sentence you expect to read in the Edinburgh Evening News but please bear with me.

Elton John closes out the Glastonbury Festival on Sunday in what was billed as his final UK performance

To start, did you see it? Elton, closing out Glastonbury? Sure, his voice isn’t what it used to be. Yes, his near 80 year-old body meant he came on stage with a kind of swagger John Wayne would be proud of. But he still had it; the spark, the performance, the impact. If that really was his last live performance in the UK then what a way to go out.

So, back to my question. What has Elton John got that Edinburgh’s SNP council group doesn’t? Answer? The self-awareness to know when to call it a day.

We had a full council meeting just before the long summer recess. A motion appeared on the order paper, proposing changes to the SNP’s membership of council committees. “At last!” I thought, “they’re breaking with the past and looking to the future”.

Alas no, I was very much wrong. Yes, there was some adjustment, some tinkering. However, the main leading SNP spokespeople were all to remain in place, again, for another year. All in all, it had more “carry on” than a Kenneth Williams film.

I’ve said in this column before how amazed I am that Edinburgh SNP councillors stick with the same lot who lost them control of the council last year. I thought the sudden decision of a sixth SNP councillor to leave their group in as many years might provoke change. Not a chance. Surely the landslide loss of the SNP seat in the Corstorphine/Murrayfield by-election to the Liberal Democrats might sharpen minds. But no.

Instead, many SNP councillors who were such dominant forces in the last council term remain glued to their front bench roles. This, despite a flatness, a gloom even in their demeanour. At times when they speak, they make bitterness into such a fine art, they should be eligible for a lottery grant.

I get that it isn’t easy. Some clearly still struggle with the fact they were removed from office last year. It must be particularly tough when their party colleagues still run Glasgow, and Aberdeen, and Dundee, and Stirling. The national situation facing their party must be taking its toll too.

I’ve said before how it all contrasts with some of the talent within the rest of the SNP ranks, particularly amongst some of their newer members. I don’t always agree with them but there’s some real zing there; fresh ideas, compelling speakers. But it’s interesting how they’re still kept tucked away on the backbenches.

If there was something special about Elton’s show at Glastonbury, it was how he used his swan song platform to bring out new and emerging talent. As he chose to bow out, there was a warmth and generosity in wanting to showcase the future of his business. Not so for the SNP leadership in Edinburgh. Their song is more “Don’t let the sun go down on me” rather than “Rocket Man”. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for them to say goodbye to their yellow brick road.

Kevin Lang is the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on City of Edinburgh Council