Labour’s leadership crisis is failing Capital - Simita Kumar

Councillor Simita Kumar is leader of the SNP group on Edinburgh City Council

Following the suspension of their former leader over serious allegations of misconduct and fraud, Labour’s position has gone from bad to worse. With only 10 councillors, their super-minority administration now limps along, propped up by the Tories and Liberal Democrats. Labour’s utter lack of vision, competence, and commitment to the people of Edinburgh has been exposed.

Labour councillors themselves have described their party’s leadership in damning terms: a “concrete straitjacket,” with “inept leadership” that “turns a blind eye to dishonesty”. The appointment of their new leader highlights the party’s dysfunction.

Cllr Meagher had to be prompted multiple times just to contribute to a council meeting which appointed her as council leader. Edinburgh deserves better than a leader who appears incapable of basic participation, let alone leading a city at a time of crisis.

Trust in the council is at an all-time low, and has been worsened by Labour’s incompetence. The party’s inability to address even internal issues suggests a complete absence of accountability or introspection. While Labour clings to power, Edinburgh suffers from the resulting stagnation.

The SNP and the Greens, in contrast, presented a thoughtful and practical alternative for leading the city. Our plan to appoint convenors and vice-convenors for each executive committee would have ensured that workloads were shared equitably and priorities balanced across different areas.

This cross-party collaboration could have provided the city with stability and progress. But Labour, along with its allies in the Tories and Lib Dems, rejected this approach – not because it was unworkable, but because their hatred for SNP runs deeper than any desire to improve Edinburgh.

Perhaps most damning is Labour’s decision to prioritise maintaining power over serving the public. Seven Labour councillors voted to prop up their fragile administration, despite its obvious failures. This is not governance; it is survival for its own sake, at the expense of Edinburgh’s future.

Labour’s alliance with the Liberal Democrats is another farce. The Lib Dems have proven themselves no better, as the second largest party, they failed to put any alternatives forward. It is clear to all - Lib Dems would rather be in ‘pretend opposition’ instead of real administration to help provide solutions instead of feigning shock when things go wrong. The Lib Dems’ preference for political point-scoring over collaboration reflects the broader dysfunction enabled by Labour’s weak leadership.

The consequence of this ineptitude is clear. Labour’s inability to effectively lead or work across party lines has left Edinburgh fractured and stagnant. It is not a question of whether Labour’s administration will crumble under the weight of its incompetence, but when. Until then, it is Edinburgh’s residents who will bear the cost of their failures.

In the meantime, the SNP councillors will continue to offer good-faith solutions and demonstrate what responsible governance looks like. Edinburgh deserves leaders who put the city first – not parties consumed by their own chaos.