Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)
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| Edinburgh Central Scottish Parliament burgh constituency |
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.svg/220px-Lothians_(Scottish_Parliament_electoral_region).svg.png) |
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| Edinburgh Central shown within the Lothians electoral region and the region shown within Scotland |
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| Created: | 1999 |
| MSP: | Sarah Boyack |
| Party: | Labour |
| Council area: | City of Edinburgh |
Edinburgh Central 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 Lothians 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.
The constituency was created with the name and boundaries of a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). The Westminster constituency was later abolished, in 2005. See Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency).
Since 1999, the constituency MSP has been an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees of the National Library of Scotland. From 1925 until 1999, that role had been taken by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Westminster constituency.
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[edit] Electoral region
- See also Lothians Scottish Parliament region
The other eight constituencies of the Lothians region are Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh West, Linlithgow, Livingston and Midlothian.
The region covers the City of Edinburgh council area, the West Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, and part of the East Lothian council area.
[edit] Constituency boundaries
The Edinburgh Central 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].
[edit] Council area
The Holyrood constituency covers a central portion of the City of Edinburgh council area. The rest of the city area is covered by five other constituencies, all also in the Lothians electoral region: Edinburgh North and Leith to the north, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh to the east, Edinburgh South to the south, Edinburgh Pentlands to the southwest, and Edinburgh West to the west.
The Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency also covers the Musselburgh portion of the East Lothian council area. The rest of the East Lothian area is covered by the East Lothian constituency, which is in the South of Scotland electoral region.
[edit] Member of the Scottish Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Sarah Boyack | Labour | |
| 2003 | |||
| 2007 | |||
[edit] Election results
| Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Edinburgh Central | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Sarah Boyack | 9,155 | 31.1 | -1.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Siobhan Mathers | 7,962 | 27.1 | +4.3 | |
| Scottish National Party | Shirley-Anne Somerville | 7,496 | 25.5 | +7.8 | |
| Conservative | Fiona Houston | 4,783 | 16.3 | -0.8 | |
| Majority | 1,193 | 4.1 | -5.42 | ||
| Turnout | 29,396 | 52.9 | +6.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Edinburgh Central | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Sarah Boyack | 9,066 | 32.36 | −5.66 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Andy Myles | 6,400 | 22.85 | +6.31 | |
| Scottish National Party | Kevin Pringle | 4,965 | 17.72 | −7.93 | |
| Conservative | Peter Finnie | 4,802 | 17.14 | +1.05 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Catriona Grant | 2,552 | 9.11 | +6.89 | |
| Scottish Peoples Alliance | James O'Neill | 229 | 0.82 | +0.82 | |
| Majority | 2,666 | 9.52 | −2.85 | ||
| Turnout | 28,014 | 46.06 | −10.67 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Scottish Parliament election, 1999: Edinburgh Central | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Sarah Boyack | 14,224 | 38.02 | N/A | |
| Scottish National Party | Ian McKee | 9,598 | 25.65 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Andy Myles | 6,187 | 16.54 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Jacqui Low | 6,018 | 16.09 | N/A | |
| Scottish Socialist | Kevin Williamson | 830 | 2.22 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,626 | 12.37 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | |||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
