Edinburgh SNP Leader Defends By-Election Losses in Council Polls Edinburgh 2026

Key Points

• SNP group leader Councillor Lesley Macinnes said recent Edinburgh council by-election losses are not an accurate guide for next year’s full local authority elections.
• The SNP lost two seats in Edinburgh, failing to retain representation in the Southside/Newington and Portobello/Craigmillar wards.
• Scottish Labour won the Southside/Newington contest, while the Scottish Greens took the Portobello/Craigmillar seat on transfer votes.
• The results leave the SNP with 15 Edinburgh councillors, Labour with 12, and the Greens with 11.
• Macinnes pointed to low voter turnout across both wards as a main reason for the by-election results.
• Tensions have increased between the SNP opposition and the minority Labour administration ahead of the next council meeting.

Edinburgh (Edinburgh Daily) September 5, 2026  – Scottish National Party (SNP) group leader Councillor Lesley Macinnes has brushed off double by-election losses in Edinburgh, maintaining that the disappointing local poll results provide no true indication of how the party will fare in the upcoming council elections.

Why does Lesley Macinnes believe by-election results fail to predict council election outcomes?

As reported by John Hislop of the Edinburgh Reporter, Councillor Lesley Macinnes asserted that local by-elections operate under entirely unique dynamics compared to full city-wide municipal contests. Following a difficult night at the polls for the Nationalists in which two seats slipped from their grasp, the SNP Edinburgh group leader moved swiftly to downplay the wider political significance of the results.

As reported by political correspondents across local media outlets, Macinnes stated that: “By-elections are notoriously difficult to predict and feature notoriously low voter turnouts that simply do not mirror the broad civic engagement seen during full local government elections.” She argued that voter apathy, combined with hyper-local single-issue campaigning, skews single-seat contests and prevents them from functioning as an accurate political weather vane.

The political setback unfolded after two separate council vacancies arose following the resignation of former SNP councillors who successfully secured seats in the Scottish Parliament. In the Southside/Newington ward contest, Scottish Labour pulled off a notable victory to take the seat. Minutes later, the SNP’s fortunes deteriorated further in the Portobello/Craigmillar ward, where the Scottish Greens swept ahead on preference transfers under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system to claim the second vacant seat.

How have political opponents reacted to the SNP’s municipal setback?

As reported by political editor David Bol of The Herald, political opposition groups on the City of Edinburgh Council have taken a starkly different view of the electoral results, framing the outcomes as a sharp rejection of the SNP. The dual defeat leaves the SNP with 15 council seats, whilst Scottish Labour’s tally rises to 12 and the Scottish Greens advance to 11 seats.

As reported by The Herald, representatives from rival parties argued that the results reflect growing public dissatisfaction with SNP policy directions both locally and nationally. Labour administration figures highlighted their ward gain as proof that their minority council control is gaining traction among residents. Meanwhile, Scottish Green spokespersons expressed enthusiasm over their growth in Portobello/Craigmillar, claiming momentum is firmly shifting toward environmental and progressive local governance.

Despite the shifting numbers, Macinnes robustly defended her party’s track record and core message, dismissing claims that voters were actively turning away from the SNP. She reiterated that the SNP remains the largest single party within the City Chamber and stressed that local activists are already focused on delivering key community priorities ahead of the main polling day next year.

What is the background to the recent Edinburgh Council political developments?

The political architecture of the City of Edinburgh Council has remained highly contentious since the last full local authority elections held in May 2022. During that election, the SNP emerged as the largest party, securing 19 seats. However, despite holding the highest number of councillors, former SNP group leader Adam Nols-McVey was unable to form a coalition administration.

In a dramatic post-election shift, Scottish Labour—holding 13 seats at the time—formed a minority administration led by Councillor Cammy Day. Labour successfully secured the formal backing of both the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Conservatives to take control of the council, freezing the SNP out of power.

Since that political realignment, relations inside the City Chamber have been marked by fierce policy debates and ongoing clashes over local infrastructure projects, council budget allocations, and city transport schemes. The recent resignation of two sitting SNP councillors to take up seats at Holyrood triggered the dual by-elections, reducing the SNP’s total representation from 17 down to 15 seats and narrowing the gap between the major political groups.

How will these developments affect voters, political parties, and city governance?

The immediate impact of these by-election results will be felt most acutely within City Chambers debates, where the mathematical margin separating the minority Labour administration and opposition parties has narrowed further.

For the general public and Edinburgh residents, this heightened political competition is expected to lead to intense scrutiny over municipal services, council tax rates, and major capital spending. With the Labour group holding 12 seats, the SNP on 15, and the Greens on 11, the administration will be forced to negotiate even more carefully with third parties—such as the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives—to pass key policy motions and approve annual budgets.

For the SNP, the losses serve as a tactical wake-up call to bolster voter turnout strategies and refine grassroots campaigning in suburban and urban wards alike. For Labour and the Greens, the results offer a psychological boost and a blueprint for challenging SNP strongholds in future municipal contests. As the city moves closer to the next full council elections, Edinburgh voters can anticipate increasingly sharp political discourse as all major parties vie to prove they hold the mandate to govern Scotland’s capital city.