Campaign group Citizen hit out at 'clandestine networks of power' as they leave open possibility of standing in council elections

Co-founder Mike Small was speaking at the group's first public meeting in the Old Town

Edinburgh could see a brand new political party on the ballot papers in 2022 if Edinburgh City Council do not act on issues such as short-term lets and over-tourism.

Mike Small, the co-founder of Citizen, a new network of campaigners and activists in the Capital, said the group have "kept open" the possibility of standing for the council in 2022.

Such a move could see a radical shake-up of the city's political composition, particularly in the city centre where the impact of the tourist economy is most keenly felt.

Mike Small speaks at a Citizen meeting (Photo: Conor Matchett)

'More democracy'

Speaking at the first public meeting of Citizen, held in front of a 150-strong audience in St Columba's by the Castle, Mr Small said the group's aims are to bring about "more democracy" in the Capital.

He also hit out at "clandestine networks of power" in Edinburgh and said the group will engage with the council on key issues.

Mr Small said: "I don't think the council really have any inkling of how much anger there is out there and how much people are going to get organised. We could have sold this doubly and we’ll be getting a bigger venue for the next event.

Mike Small, the co-founder of Citizen

"I suppose [victory would be] more democracy in the city. It's also hearing people, getting participation from people, hearing from people across the city and beginning to excerpt some authority as if you were living in a democracy.

"One of the things we think is a problem is clandestine networks of power in the city that aren't really transparent and so surfacing some of that power would also look like victory."

Not ruled out standing in 2022

He added that the group had not ruled out standing candidates at the next local elections due to take place in 2022.

It could see a new political party arrive on the scene, threatening the traditional parties and putting pressure on the council to act if they are elected.

Mr Small said: "We've kept [standing in 2022] open in our aims. It’s something people have talked about.

"We’d rather our council was accountable and we would rather create more democracy in the city, but it's something that we've kept open. We’re not ruling it out."

However, there are no plans for the non-partisan group to stand any candidates at the Holyrood elections due next year, with Mr Small adding that the group is interested in "exerting pressure on the city".

No faith in the council

The event, titled 'Airbnb and short-term lets - The Fightback', involved presentations from researchers IndigoHouse who prepared the recent Scottish Government consultation into the impact of short-term lets.

It also heard from activists from the grassroots group PLACEEdinburgh which campaigns against the growth of Airbnb.

Last week the Scottish Government announced the planned introduction of licencing regime to tackle the negative impacts of short-term lets, however when asked whether he had any faith in the council's ability to implement any legislation, Mr Small said "no, not really".

He added: "I think [the proposals] are good.

"I think it's far too late and I think there's all sorts of questions about how it's implemented and what we do about the devastating effect that Airbnb and short-term lets have already had on the city, so how you make it retrospective and how you implement it is the key question for us."