SNP prepares to stop battle against trams

The SNP group on the city council is preparing to drop its opposition to the tram project, it is reported today.

In the wake of a meeting last week at which the SNP failed to persuade fellow councillors the scheme should be dropped, SNP Councillor Steve Cardownie, the city's deputy leader, said: "We have opposed the tram project from the outset, but it appears inevitable the tram will appear, and we will be reviewing the situation.

"We will look at whether opposition is still tenable. There may be no point in continuing to oppose it. We will have to take into account Edinburgh's reputation, which we have got to restore. We are not going to become pro-tram, but desist from submitting motions calling for it to be stopped."

A spokesman for tram company TIE welcomed the news.