SNP faces tough road ahead in race to control the capital

Nationalists set to become main party, but will need support of Unionist rivals

THE SNP is aiming to seize control of Edinburgh City Council and become its largest party for the first time – but faces tough coalition talks if its dreams of gaining power are to become a reality.

A rainbow coalition seems unlikely but if the SNP succeeds in winning 25 out of 63 seats – believed to be its target – horsetrading will have to take place with Labour, the Tories, Liberal Democrats or Greens.

A SNP source said the group is on course to secure the most votes in Edinburgh after the May 4 vote.

He said: “We are hopeful we can win roughly 24 or 25 seats. Our concern is that Kezia Dugdale is quite keen on a unionist majority, or a unionist bloc as she calls it, so obviously we are a bit concerned about the prospects of a coalition.

“We are going to win a plurality of seats. We will be nowhere near a majority and it depends on what the Labour Party does.

“If the Labour group is under pressure from its head office to do a deal with the Tories then we will have to see.”

Since 2012, Edinburgh has been run by a Labour-SNP marriage of convenience – with the Labour Party the dominant partner.

In a farewell speech last week, departing council leader Andrew Burns – who has sailed a fairly steady ship over the last five years – said: “Edinburgh Labour is promoting a positive vision for our Capital City, centred around the issues that matter to local people – housing, education, social care and transport.

“Edinburgh Labour believes that the mark of a civilised society is how it looks after its young and vulnerable citizens – and the proposals outlined in our vision for the capital will help do just that.

“We are standing exactly the same number of candidates, 23, as at the last local elections – for the first time, a majority of whom are female – and are seeking to have every one of them elected.”

Many of those listening in council chambers will step down after decades of public service – including Mr Burns who chalked up nearly 18 years and was quitting as for “entirely personal” reasons.

Among them is Labour’s Eric Milligan, said to have been Scotland’s longest serving councillor with more than 40 years’ service, and Conservative Allan Jackson, also with four decades under his belt, while another former provost, Lesley Hinds, who also gave up on reselection as she handed on her baton as transport convenor, had been a member of the local authority for 33 years, and a significant figurehead in the local Labour party.

Nationalists taking their leave from the corridors of power include former union leader Steve Cardownie, who rose to become SNP group leader and then deputy council leader. Mr Stefan Tymkewycz, who first raised concerns over the housing repairs fraud scandal, will also stand down.

On the flipside, the Conservatives most notable is challenger is John McLellan, former editor-inchief of the Scotsman publications including a stint at the helm of the Edinburgh Evening News.

The LibDems have 13 candidates – well shy of their 17 seats they claimed in 2007. Among them is Devin Scobie, who previously served as a councillor for five years.