Putting their party before our capital – Steve Cardownie (left) & Adam McVey (right) 

In his most recent attack on myself and Cllr Gordon Munro, Steve Cardownie has sought to deliberately avoid the point by putting words in our mouths. Indeed, alert readers will note his column was full of opinion but lacked any direct quotes from either myself or Cllr Munro.

The only point we make is about leadership. We strongly feel that the City of Edinburgh Council deserves to have a leader that stands up for its interests rather than one that is simply an apologist for the Scottish Government.

Specifically, we feel that the Council Leader, SNP Councillor Adam McVey, should live up to his pledge to “oppose austerity in all its forms”. He has, however, so far only shown a willingness to enable it.

In a section of his most recent “Leader’s Report” entitled “Change for the Better” McVey boasts about how the Council has “saved” £240m since 2012. He then goes on to urge Edinburgh to be “forward thinking” and “embrace” the next round of brutal cuts our capital faces – a further £106m.

Let’s not forget, McVey has refused to rule out cuts to classroom assistants and head teacher funding in the forthcoming budget.

All we ask is that McVey stands up for Edinburgh and tells his SNP party elite in Holyrood that Edinburgh deserves a better deal. He needs to tell them that the days of them choosing to triple Tory austerity and pass it on to councils are over.

Steve Cardownie knows this is the only point we make. He knows this is not about personal ambition. He knows the Labour Group are united in calling for Edinburgh to be fairly funded. Just like McVey, however, Cardownie chooses to put the SNP before the interests of our city.