Edinburgh Labour housing convener to be sacked after refusing to quit over affordable homes comments
Lezley Marion Cameron has refused to quit over her remarks calling for Edinburgh’s affordable homes allocation to be cut, despite the capital facing a housing crisis.
Edinburgh’s housing convener has refused to quit but will be forced out by her Labour colleagues over comments that appeared to undermine the leader of the city council and a flagship affordable homes policy, The Scotsman understands.
Lezley Marion Cameron, who is also Edinburgh’s deputy lord provost, was told she would be sacked if she did not resign from her post - and was given until Tuesday to do so.
But the defiant Labour councillor has refused to quit, with her Labour colleagues poised to officially remove her from her job at the next full council meeting on October 30.
Ms Cameron angered the council leader, Jane Meagher, following comments she made, proposing the city’s affordable homes allocation be cut, first reported by The Scotsman.
The Labour councillor told a David Hume Institute event that she “would support … looking at relaxing the affordable housing percentage in order to try and encourage development to grow”.
Despite the council leader hitting out at Ms Cameron’s comments, insisting her position “does not reflect Labour policy or the policy of this administration”, Ms Cameron doubled down on her stance in a comment issued to The Scotsman.
She stressed that the city council should “review…the impact of our 35 per cent affordable housing policy”, which was increased from 25 per cent under Ms Meagher’s leadership.
Ms Cameron held talks with Ms Meagher on Monday, after her comments on affordable housing and her breaking the whip in a vote on former council leader, Cammy Day, has angered the Labour group at the City Chambers.
A Labour source said it was “a fairly heated meeting” where she was told “if she doesn’t resign, she’ll be fired”.
At the last full council meeting, Ms Cameron failed to vote for Mr Day to replace her on the council’s flagship policy and resources committee, breaking the party whip.
The Labour source added that when Ms Cameron was appointed housing convener earlier this year, “she effectively forced them to give her that job”.
They added: “At midnight before that vote, she was on to them saying ‘if I don’t get a senior role, I won’t be voting for this’.
“The numbers, because one or two people in other groups were away, meant they needed her vote.”
Ms Cameron previously quit in 2019 as deputy finance convener amid a row over travel expenses.
Before her role as deputy convener for finance, she was deputy convener for housing and economy.
Ms Cameron was contacted for comment.
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