Negotiations to form the next Edinburgh City Council administration have stalled as groups say they're waiting on Labour to make clear its intentions on entering into another partnership with the SNP.
Meetings between the SNP, Labour, Greens and Liberal Democrats continued on Thursday (May 12) as parties attempt to find a way forward.
Favouring a renewal of the coalition that's run the council since 2017, albeit this time as a majority, SNP group leader Adam McVey said it remains the "most logical option" as the only two-party majority possible with the numbers produced by last week's local election.
READ MORE: Edinburgh Election 2022: Labour chiefs to issue guidance on SNP coalition
Sources have claimed that Cammy Day, Labour group leader in Edinburgh, is also keen to continue the agreement.
However, the position is at odds with the party's Scottish Executive Committee (SEC) and leader Anas Sarwar, who have both firmly rejected any new deal with the SNP in the capital.
With Labour chiefs unlikely to budge on signing off on another deal, and the Lib Dems ruling out any coalition with the SNP, the possibility of the SNP and Greens joining to take control of the council is edging closer.
However, there remains reluctance on both sides to form a minority administration that risks defeat from opposition parties.
A Labour source denied suggestions the group is awaiting guidance from the party's executive on whether it's allowed to form a new coalition, formal or informal, with the SNP and said members agreed "unanimously" at the weekend there is no appetite for a deal with the SNP or the Tories, in line with the executive's view.
And they called on the Greens and SNP to "make clear what their intentions are", adding :"It's really them that's holding stuff up."
But the same criticism has been levelled at Labour by those close to the talks, with claims of disparity between the hopes of some in the group who favour another partnership with the SNP and the SEC which has drawn red lines against such a deal going forward.
A Liberal Democrat source said: "I think it's going to be difficult to make progress until the Labour Party are clearer as to what they intend to do and what they're allowed to do and what they're not allowed to do.
"Right now, the ball is firmly in the Labour party's court and until they are clearer on what their intentions are, I think things will be held up.
"At this point you normally expect negotiations between different parties; I think there's quite a big negotiation going on within the Labour party because Cammy [Day] wants a deal, he wants to be in an administration. They're desperate to do something but the national party just keep saying no and I think there does come a point where Cammy might have to wake up and smell the coffee here because he's in a bit of denial.
"Until the Labour party are definitive in terms of their position it is quite difficult to shift the discussions and move the narrative on. As things stand right now, all of us are waiting for the Labour party to make a move and to announce what their position is. Because either they are allowed to do a deal, in which case you can have conversations, or you can't do a deal."
A Green Party source said: "Everything is still open for discussion, but we need to find out from Labour what it is they are allowed to do.
"If they were to say 'we can't work with the SNP at all' that would narrow some things right down obviously."
They added the "only place" support could come from for an SNP-Green administration, which would fall three seats short of the 32 needed for a majority, is the Labour group.
"We don't know if they are allowed to do that, we need the clarity," they said.
"And the other thing is, to be honest, we as Greens are still weighing up if it's more influential to be part of a coalition or co-operation agreement or be in opposition and applying pressure. We've been pretty successful at that for the last term, especially with a minority administration."
Following last week's election, the SNP were returned as the largest party in Edinburgh with 19 seats, Labour won 13, the Lib Dems 12, Greens 10 whilst the Conservatives now have nine councillors.
So far the Lib Dems have ruled out a deal with the SNP, the SNP and Greens have both rejected the possibility of any kind of partnership with the Tories whilst Mr Sarwar made it clear throughout the campaign he strongly opposes any deals between Labour and the SNP or Conservatives.
It leaves the most likely outcome as a minority SNP-Green coalition supported by other groups on an issue-by-issue basis or by another party under a 'confidence and supply' agreement.
An SNP insider said: "We're going to have to go through the different various options and see where each one lands. There's obviously a lot of synergy between the Green and SNP manifestos, but I don't think Labour's is that different.
"We definitely have a mandate to lead the council by quite a significant chunk and we, apart from in Morningside, are represented in every single ward across the city, so we have city-wide support.
"It's pretty clear what the people voted for, but it is just working out what that looks like in terms of what the best fit is. We are trying to get as stable a position as possible."
A Green Party source added: "For an SNP-Green minority, even if we wanted that, we would need another party to back that because otherwise we'll be outvoted by the others.
"Running a minority administration, I think as the SNP and Labour found last time, is very challenging. For a stable administration, you're really looking for a majority."
Another possibility being floated by some on the council is a Labour-Lib Dem-Green coalition which would produce a majority of 35 seats.
But a Labour source said that while favouring that outcome, they "don't see it getting off the ground".
"I'd like to think it could work but I think it's unlikely the Greens would support it because they are reliant on second preference votes from the SNP and wouldn't want to upset that supporter base," they added.
A Lib Dem source said: "I have never believed in my heart that Green councillors would actually vote in a way that excluded the SNP from running the capital city.
"I can't see how it's anything other than an SNP-Green deal unless there's a significant change in someone's position somewhere."
