Why Edinburgh council will remain under Labour control following Cammy Day resignation

The party is now down to just 10 councillors out of 63 - but the signs are it will have the support of the Lib Dems and Tories in the crucial vote to decide the new council leader, which should be enough to guarantee a win.

Labour's new group leader Jane Meagher, a retired community worker, was only elected a councillor at the last elections in 2022 but she was handed the important housing portfolio as soon as she arrived at the City Chambers. She is seen by the opposition parties as sensible, experienced and able to work across party lines.

Edinburgh City Chambers are expected to remain under Labour control. Picture: Neil Hanna | TSPL

Some opposition politicians - and even some in Labour - argue it’s neither feasible nor fair to form the administration with just 10 out of the 63 seats on the council.

But the Single Transferable Vote system means no party has anywhere near a majority - the biggest party, the SNP, only has 17; the Lib Dems 13; Labour and the Greens 10 each; the Tories nine; there are two independents; and two vacancies. Proportional representation almost inevitably means parties doing deals.

The numbers were slightly different back in 2022 when Labour took power, but it was quite a coup for Cammy Day at the time to outmanoeuvre the SNP, which was planning a coalition with the Greens, by securing Lib Dem and Tory votes to form a minority administration.

Following Cllr Day's resignation last week after it was revealed police are investigating "inappropriate behaviour" allegations against him, there was a chance the Lib Dems might mount a power bid of their own since they now have more seats than Labour, but that seems to be off the agenda now.

Critics say the Lib Dems prefer to remain in influential opposition rather than accepting the responsibility of control. Lib Dems privately say if they ousted Labour they could not then expect Labour support on crucial matters like the budget, which will be top of the agenda in the new year.

It may all be politics, but the arithmetic cannot be ignored.