Steve Cardownie is a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP) politician and former Deputy Lord Provost of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

where he was a

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for the Forth ward.

Political career

Cardownie was a Socialist Workers Party member before he joined the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...

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

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. 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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

'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 unitar ...

. 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 () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1 ...

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 cou ...

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 (; ''Alba'' being the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland) is a Scottish nationalist and Scottish independence, pro-independence political party in Scotland. Founded in February 2021, it was led by former First Minister of Scotland, ...

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