Edinburgh Western (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh Western is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the Lothian electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
| Edinburgh Western | |
|---|---|
| burgh constituency for the Scottish Parliament | |
 | |
.svg.png.webp) Edinburgh Western shown within the Lothian electoral region and the region shown within Scotland | |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2011 |
| Party | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| MSP | Alex Cole-Hamilton |
| Council area | City of Edinburgh |
| Created from | Edinburgh West |
The constituency was created in 2011, when it replaced the re-drawn Edinburgh West constituency.
Electoral region
The other eight constituencies of the Lothian region are Almond Valley, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern, Linlithgow and Midlothian North and Musselburgh
The region includes all of the City of Edinburgh council area, parts of the East Lothian council area, parts of the Midlothian council area and all of the West Lothian council area.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The City of Edinburgh is represented in the Scottish Parliament by five constituencies: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western.
The Edinburgh West constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[1]
For the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Edinburgh West was redrawn and renamed "Edinburgh Western". The electoral wards used in this seat are:
- In full: Almond, Drum Brae/Gyle
- In part: Forth, Inverleith (shared with Edinburgh Northern and Leith), Corstorphine/Murrayfield (shared with Edinburgh Central)
Members of the Scottish Parliament
As Edinburgh Western
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Colin Keir | Scottish National Party | |
| 2016 | Alex Cole-Hamilton | Scottish Liberal Democrats | |
Election results
2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Cole-Hamilton | ||||
| SNP | Sarah Masson | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Conservative: Sue Webber[2]
2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Cole-Hamilton | 16,645 | 41.9 | +14.2 | |
| SNP | Toni Giugliano | 13,685 | 34.4 | -1.4 | |
| Conservative | Sandy Batho | 5,686 | 14.3 | -0.8 | |
| Labour | Cat Headley | 3,750 | 9.4 | -12.0 | |
| Majority | 2,960 | 7.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 39,766 | 64.5 | +4.9 | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from SNP | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Colin Keir | 11,965 | 35.8 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Margaret Smith | 9,276 | 27.7 | N/A | |
| Labour | Lesley Hinds | 7,164 | 21.4 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Gordon Lindhurst | 5,047 | 15.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,689 | 8.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 33,452 | 59.6 | N/A | ||
| SNP win (new seat) | |||||
See also
References
- See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- "Tories choose city councillor Susan Webber to fight Edinburgh Western at 2021 Holyrood elections". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.