Steve Cardownie is a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

(SNP) politician and former Deputy Lord Provost of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

where he was a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for the Forth ward.

Political career

Cardownie was a Socialist Workers Party member before he joined the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

in 1983. He was first elected as a Labour councillor in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. He held a number of positions within the party in Edinburgh including Group Secretary, Whip and Deputy Lord Provost. He was also involved in the trade union movement serving on the national executive of the

Civil and Public Services Association The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged ...

(CPSA). In late October 2005 he resigned from the Labour Party and joined the SNP. He said he had come to the conclusion that independence was in Scotland's interests and that

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's policies no longer represented the Labour Party he had joined. He found himself ostracised by his former colleagues. He would be the sole SNP councillor on City of Edinburgh Council until the

2007 Scottish local elections The 2007 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England. All 32 Scottish councils had all their seats up for election – all Scottish councils are unitary ...

. He was elected in the Forth ward under the new proportional representation system topping the poll with 2,472 first preferences and exceeding the quota. After the elections the

Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...

formed a coalition with the SNP to run the Council and Cardownie became Deputy Leader. He was re-selected as a candidate for the

2012 Scottish local elections The 2012 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2012 in all 32 local authorities. The Scottish National Party (SNP) overtook Labour to win the highest share of the vote, and retained and strengthened its position as the party with most coun ...

again in the Forth ward this time with a running-mate. He polled 1,377 first preferences and took the third seat in the ward exceeding the quota. After the elections he was re-elected Leader of an enlarged SNP group and he again became Deputy Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council as the Scottish Labour Party and the SNP formed a grand-coalition after the election. In March 2015 he stood down as leader of the SNP group. In May 2015 he became the Deputy Lord Provost. In September 2016 he announced that he would not seek re-election to the council in 2017. In April 2021 he announced his support for the new

Alba Party The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. The party was founded in February 2021, with Alex Salmond (a former first minister of Scotland) announced as party leader shortly thereafter. Salmond lau ...

References

External links

Steve Cardownie
Council page {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardownie, Steve Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Scottish National Party councillors Councillors in Edinburgh Scottish Labour councillors