Simita Kumar, the leader of Edinburgh Council’s SNP Group, has set her sights on Holyrood and Edinburgh South Western after a remarkable rise through the party’s ranks.
Kumar was inspired to begin campaigning for Scottish Independence after voting no in the 2014 referendum, saying that she regretted the decision immediately.
Following a career in health and the public sector, she joined the SNP and embarked on a political career to attempt to “right the wrong” of rejecting independence.
She was elected to The City of Edinburgh Council in the Southside/Newington ward in 2022 and became the SNP group’s leader in the council just two years later.
Simita Kumar has enjoyed a remarkable rise since her initial reticence to run for council in 2022 © Martin McAdam
Cllr Kumar was encouraged to run for election to the council, but was initially reticent.
She decided to take the plunge, however, and eventually found herself representing the Southside/ Newington ward. She said she essentially has had to learn politics “on the job”.
She ran during the 2024 UK General election in Edinburgh South, finishing a distant second to long-term Labour MP, Ian Murray.
She is hoping to avenge that defeat in May this year and represent Edinburgh from Holyrood rather than the City Chambers.
She said: “Am I confident? The polls are looking good for the SNP, which is fantastic, but equally, my motto is that I’m going to fight for every single vote and hope that it goes my way, but not taking anything for granted.
“I think there is a lot of negative political discourse at the moment from different parties, and one of the things that I am maintaining is that I want to run a positive campaign.
“A lot of the things that I’ve seen from other political parties, it’s all about stopping at the SNP, rather than offering anything to do or have a plan.
“Whereas I’m really pleased with the manifesto that I’ve contributed towards, and so I’m here to work for the people and with the people, and with everyone in the constituency.”
She added that she is proud of the SNP’s record in government over the past 19 years as well as her own record as SNP leader in the council:
“It’s been such a privilege to lead the SNP group. It is the largest group, despite the fact that we’re in opposition.
“Of course, it’s difficult for us to pass good policies that we believe in from opposition.
“It’s been difficult, but I think we’ve done a fantastic job to hold the Labour–Lib Dem council to account and get good things passed through, like holiday hubs, for example.
“We were a strong advocate for allocating more housing funding from the Visitor Levy. There’s lots of things we’ve been able to push despite being in opposition, so I’m proud of our record.”
She also went on to defend the SNP’s 19 years in government, despite measurable falls in the standard of public education and skyrocketing drugs death rates, outlining policies such as the Scottish Child Payment.
She said: “The Scottish Government and the SNP, yes, they’ve been in power in Scotland for a long time, but being in power, we’ve made political choices that have actually improved people’s lives despite the challenges we’ve faced.
“We were brought out of the European Union despite the fact that Scotland voted against it. Our cost of food is phenomenal compared to where we started, because of Brexit.
“We’ve had Tory austerity, so we’ve had all these root causes, and it’s about having a government that truly listens to people and goes and thinks about that political choice.”
When asked whether she ever encountered any frustration with SNP policy among the electorate, she said that malaise is more often directed at Westminster and politics as a whole.
She said: “There are people and there are pockets of communities who are frustrated, and I totally understand the frustrations as well.
“It’s really hard to distinguish what’s council policy, what’s Scottish Government policy what’s Westminster policy.
“People are more concerned about how much money they have at the end of the day, the week, the month.
“This is something that, again, I’m passionate about, and something that if I’m successful, I’m going to really work hard to make sure that, you know, people are accessing benefits, have good housing, have money at the end of the of the month to actually live and live well.”
Victory would confirm her rapid ascent through the SNP ranks, which has seen her labelled a “rising star” by The National.
She said: “These are lovely labels, but I’m more focused on the task of the day.
“It is such a privileged position to be elected, it truly is.
“For me, it’s about understanding what I stood for in the first place, what are the differences I can make, and how can I work hard to achieve them.
“And if I can continue to do that, then that would be the meteoric rise that I would hope for, which is making a difference and anything above and beyond that is a bonus.”
Ms Kumar, who was born in Fiji in the South Pacific, is hoping to become the first ethnic minority woman elected to Holyrood from Edinburgh and the Lothians.
She is running in Edinburgh South Western, a traditional Labour stronghold.
She is also third on the SNP’s regional list, where her chances of election may be slim due to the SNP’s projected success in the city’s constituencies.
The candidates in Edinburgh South Western include:
- Scottish National Party (SNP) – Kumar, Simita
- Scottish Labour Party – Munro, Catriona
- Reform UK – Rose, Cameron
- Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party – Webber, Sue
- Scottish Liberal Democrats – Williamson, Andy
Parties standing in the Edinburgh and Lothians East Region include:
- Advance UK
- Alliance To Liberate Scotland
- Animal Welfare Party
- Communist Party Of Britain
- Edinburgh & East Lothian People
- Equality Party
- Independence For Scotland Party
- Independent Green Voice
- Reform UK
- Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Scottish Family Party
- Scottish Green Party
- Scottish Labour Party
- Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Scottish Libertarian Party
- Scottish National Party (SNP)
- Scottish Socialist Party
- Scottish Workers Party Of Britain
- Independent – Balfour, Jeremy Ross
- Independent – Bonnie Prince, Bob
- Independent – Davies, Morgwn Carter
- Independent – Regan, Ash
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