Former Edinburgh council leader to challenge MacAskill

A FORMER leader of Edinburgh City Council has been chosen by Labour to challenge justice secretary Kenny MacAskill at the next Holyrood election.

Ewan Aitken, who led Edinburgh City Council from 2006 to 2007, will fight Kenny MacAskill for the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh seat next year.

The former parish minister defeated the city's previous lord provost, Lesley Hinds, and former councillor Shami Khan to become the candidate.

Mr MacAskill has held Edinburgh East and Musselburgh for just three years, and is expected to face stiff competition to hold on to his seat. The Scottish Government minister overturned a Labour majority of 6,158 in 2007 to win by 1,382 votes.

Mr Aitken, who is currently councillor for Duddingston and Craigentinny, said: "I'm really honoured to have won the nomination and now the work starts.

"I think the SNP is doing so badly at the moment I'm going to win the seat. All around me I hear the sound of broken promises.

"I'm on the doorstep a lot and I get a lot of people saying, 'We tried the SNP and we don't like it, so we're coming back'."

Mr Aitken has been a councillor since 1999 and was previously education leader for six years. In 2006 he became leader but stepped down the following year after the Lib Dem/SNP coalition took control of the local authority.

He announced his intention to run as MSP last year but faced Ms Hinds, who had a high profile from serving as lord provost. However, on Thursday he beat her by 51 votes to 33.