Steve Cardownie is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and former Deputy Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh Council where he was a councillor for the Forth ward.
[2] He held a number of positions within the party in Edinburgh including Group Secretary, Whip and Deputy Lord Provost.
He was also involved in the trade union movement serving on the national executive of the Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA).
[2] He said he had come to the conclusion that independence was in Scotland's interests and that Tony Blair's policies no longer represented the Labour Party he had joined.
After the elections the Scottish Liberal Democrats formed a coalition with the SNP to run the Council and Cardownie became Deputy Leader.