diff --git a/core-blocks/columns/editor.scss b/core-blocks/columns/editor.scss
index 87695cab379dc..6688f057ca73b 100644
--- a/core-blocks/columns/editor.scss
+++ b/core-blocks/columns/editor.scss
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 // This is sort of an experiment at making sure the editor looks as much like the end result as possible
 // Potentially the rules here can apply to all nested blocks and enable stacking, in which case it should be moved elsewhere
 .wp-block-columns .editor-block-list__layout {
+	margin-left: 0;
+	margin-right: 0;
+
 	&:first-child {
 		margin-left: -$block-padding;
 	}
@@ -15,16 +18,6 @@
 	}
 }
 
-// Wide: show no left/right margin on wide, so they stack with the column side UI
-.editor-block-list__block[data-align="wide"] .wp-block-columns .editor-block-list__layout {
-	&:first-child {
-		margin-left: 0;
-	}
-	&:last-child {
-		margin-right: 0;
-	}
-}
-
 // Fullwide: show margin left/right to ensure there's room for the side UI
 // This is not a 1:1 preview with the front-end where these margins would presumably be zero
 // @todo this could be revisited, by for example showing this margin only when the parent block was selected first
diff --git a/editor/components/block-list/style.scss b/editor/components/block-list/style.scss
index 2f3e02146ef93..76e5b770e6ec8 100644
--- a/editor/components/block-list/style.scss
+++ b/editor/components/block-list/style.scss
@@ -111,10 +111,19 @@
 		padding-right: $block-side-ui-padding;
 	}
 
-	// Don't add side padding for nested blocks, @todo see if this can be scoped better
+	// Don't add side padding for nested blocks, and compensate for block padding
 	.editor-block-list__block & {
+		// compensate for side UI
 		padding-left: 0;
 		padding-right: 0;
+
+		// compensate for block padding horizontally
+		margin-left: -$block-padding;
+		margin-right: -$block-padding;
+
+		// compensate for block padding and collapsing margins vertically
+		margin-top: -$block-padding + 1px;
+		margin-top: -$block-padding + 1px;
 	}
 }