Green councillors today backed the breaking of the political logjam which has gripped Edinburgh for two weeks.
The capital’s eight-strong Green councillor group supported the appointment of Cllr Frank Ross as the new Lord Provost to start the process of forming a new council administration. In turn, this allowed an urgent Green motion on improving air quality to be discussed and agreed by the city council.
Green Councillor Steve Burgess said:
“Two weeks after the council election redrew the political map of Edinburgh, it is time for the council to break the political logjam and get on with tackling priorities like social care for older people, affordable housing and transport. That is why we today accepted the right of the largest party from that election to appoint a Lord Provost.
“That appointment allows the council to start moving forward. It has also made sure that the first policy agreement of the new council is to back a Green motion on introducing a “low emission zone” to tackle traffic congestion and to improve air quality for the city.
“Of course, it would have been possible to make even further progress today on forming a council administration if only other parties’ councillors had been allowed to by their party HQs. I hope and expect that their shackles of central control will be released next week to allow Edinburgh to move fully forward.”