Politics of Edinburgh
Template:Infobox Scotland council area
Politics in Edinburgh, Scotland, are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the city council of Edinburgh (Dùn Èideann in Gaelic), in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).
Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to the Scottish Parliament and the main offices of the Scottish Executive.
In the European Parliament the city area is within the Scotland constituency, which coveres all of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
The City of Edinburgh became a unitary council area in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the City of Edinburgh district of the Lothian region. The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to include: the former county of city of Edinburgh; the former burgh of Queensferry, a Kirkliston area and part of a Winchburgh area formerly within the county of West Lothian; and Currie and Cramond areas formerly within the county of Midlothian.
As one of the unitary local government areas of Scotland, the City of Edinburgh has a defined structure of governance, generally under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the City of Edinburgh Council governing on matters of local administration such as housing, planning, local transport, parks and local economic development and regeneration. For such purposes the City of Edinburgh is divided in to 58 wards.
The next tier of government is that of the Scottish Parliament, which legislates on matters of Scottish "national interest", such as healthcare, education, the environment and agriculture, devolved to it by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. For elections to the Scottish Parliament (at the Scottish Parliament Building, in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh), the city area is divided between six Scottish Parliament constituencies, each returning one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), and is within the Lothians electoral region.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom (at the Palace of Westminster) legislates on matters such as taxation, foreign policy, defence, employment and trade. For elections to the House of Commons of this parliament, the city area is divided between five United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies, with each constituency returning one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Scotland constitutes a single constituency of the European Parliament, in which the electorate of the City of Edinburgh participate in electing seven Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
City of Edinburgh Council
The current Lord Provost of Edinburgh is Lesley Hinds, who replaced Eric Milligan on May 8, 2003. In Scotland the Lord Provost fulfils many similar roles to that of a Mayor in some other countries.
Elections to the City Council are held every four years. The next elections will take place in May 2007. The council is composed of 58 elected members with the administration being run by the Labour Party for a number of years now. Of the 58 elected councillors in Edinburgh, 30 members of the council, including the Lord Provost and current Majority Leader of the Council Rev. Ewan Aitken, are from the Labour Party. There are 14 councillors from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, 13 from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and one member from the Scottish National Party.
Edinburgh City council, like all other unitary and island authorities in Scotland, has its powers set out under the terms of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994.
One of their recent initiatives was to try and introduce road tolls for those entering the city, as well as tolls for those entering the city centre from within the city as well. However, they had to shelve these plans when an overwhelming majority of Edinburgh residents opposed the plan in a referendum.
In 2000, Edinburgh City council abandoned the traditional committee structure in favour of modernised arrangements. The council operates a Cabinet type system led by the Lord Provost, with the day-to-day running of the Council left to the Majority Leader and the Executive, which is appointed by the full members of the council.
Full Council
The Full Council comprises all of the 58 elected councillors, and for legal purposes constitutes the Local Authority. The Full Council meets once a month on a Thursday, except during recess and holiday periods and is chaired by the Lord Provost. The Full Council retains complete responsibility for:
- Electing the Lord Provost and Deputy Leader of the Council;
- The delegation of functions to officials including the appointment of the Chief Executive, Chief Officials, members of the Executive, Scrutiny Panels and Committees and resolving disputes;
- Voting on council rules, ordinances and standing orders;
- Setting the council tax, annual council budget and administering the city's capital investment programme.
Executive
The Executive is appointed by the Full Council and is composed of 13 members of the Full Council. The functions of the Executive include:
- The Leadership of the Council;
- Providing political accountability to the decisions of the council;
- Arranging public consultation and participation in council activities;
- Taking Executive decisions with the council's budget and policy framework approved by the Full Council;
- Setting targets for service delivery
Scrutiny Panels
Scrutiny Panels are responsible for monitoring the performance of the Executive, departments and external organisations which receive funding from the annual council budget. Scrutiny Panels consist of 9 members of the Full Council, who are not members of the Executive, with members drawn from all political party groups to reflect the party balance on the council.
There are seven scrutiny panels covering:
- Children and young people
- Community services
- Development
- Environmental quality
- Leisure and cultural development
- Resource management and audit
- Social justice and older people.
Planning and Regulatory Committees
The Planning committee is principally concerned with issues of planning and development, including the granting of planning permission and street naming. The Regulatory Committee deals with issues such as health and safety and buildings in need of repair as well as determining individual applications for registration and licensing of food premises, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and other statutory powers. Membership of such committees reflects the party balance on the council.
Local Development Committees
There are 6 local development committees in Edinburgh, one for each Scottish Parliamentary Constituency in the city. Councillors whose ward falls within a parliamentary constituency form the members of each local development committee. Typically, there are 8 to 10 councillors on each committee. Local Development Committees are tasked with dealing with issues that are specific to their local area and influencing the delivery of key council services including street cleaning, urban parks, libraries, local development, road maintenance, traffic and parking issues. Local committees meet several times per year. Members of the public are able to attend and question councillors on issues of specific concern.
External Committees
The Council also appoints elected members to serve on:
- The Licensing Board
- Lothian and Borders Police Board
- Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board
- Lothian Valuation Joint Board
- Forth Estuary Transport Authority
Elections
General elections to the council are held on a four year cycle, the next being due in 2007, with polling on Thursday 3 May.
At present, members of the council represent 58 electoral areas called wards, with each ward electing one councillor by the first past the post system of election. For the 2007 election, as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, multi-member wards will be introduced, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, to produce a form of proportional representation[1].
List of wards and councillors
New multi-member wards have been introduced for the 2007 council election:
| Ward | Map | |
|---|---|---|
|
 | |
Old wards first used in 1999. As of May 2006, the fifty-eight wards, their councillors and their party affiliations are:
| Ward | Councillor | Party |
| Alnwickhill | Ian Murray | Labour |
| Baberton | Alistair S Paisley | Conservative |
| Balerno | Allan Laing | Conservative |
| Broughton | Trevor Davies | Labour |
| Calton | Douglas J Kerr | Labour |
| Colinton | Jason Rust | Conservative |
| Corstorphine North East | Paul G Edie | Liberal Democrat |
| Corstorphine South East | Phil Wheeler | Liberal Democrat |
| Craigleith | Iain Whyte | Conservative |
| Craiglockhart | George A Hunter | Conservative |
| Craigmillar | Jack O'Donnell | Labour |
| Cramond | Kate McKenzie | Conservative |
| Dalmeny/Kirkliston | John A Longstaff | Labour (defected from Liberal Democrat) |
| Dalry | Kingsley Thomas | Labour |
| Davidson's Mains | James Lowrie | Liberal Democrat |
| Dean | Thomas Ponton | Liberal Democrat |
| Duddingston | Ian J Berry | Conservative |
| East Craigs | Robert Aldridge | Liberal Democrat |
| Fairmilehead | Elaine Aitken | Conservative |
| Firhill | Andrew Scobbie | Labour |
| Fountainbridge | Lorna Shiels | Labour |
| Gilmerton | Kenneth Harrold | Labour |
| Granton | Elizabeth A Maginnis | Labour |
| Gyle | Jennifer A Dawe | Liberal Democrat |
| Harbour | Gordon Munro | Labour |
| Holyrood | Bill Cunningham | Labour |
| Kaimes | Donald Anderson | Labour |
| Leith Links | Marjorie Thomas | Liberal Democrat |
| Lorne | Philip J Attridge | Labour |
| Marchmont | Marilyne A MacLaren | Liberal Democrat |
| Meadowbank | Ian Perry | Labour |
| Merchiston | Susan B Tritton | Liberal Democrat |
| Milton | Maureen Child | Labour |
| Moat | Andrew Burns | Labour |
| Moredun | Sheila Gilmore | Labour |
| Morningside South | Mark McInnes | Conservative |
| Mountcastle | Shami Khan | Labour |
| Muirhouse/Drylaw | Lesley Hinds | Labour |
| Murrayburn | Edward Fallon | Labour |
| Murrayfield | Jeremy Balfour | Conservative |
| New Town | David Guest | Conservative |
| Newhaven | Stephen Cardownie | Scottish National Party (defected from Labour) |
| Newington | Fred Mackintosh | Liberal Democrat |
| North Morningside/Grange | Liz O'Malley | Liberal Democrat |
| Parkhead | Ricky Henderson | Labour |
| Pilton | William Fitzpatrick | Labour |
| Portobello | Lawrence Marshall | Labour |
| Prestonfield | Gordon Mackenzie | Liberal Democrat |
| Restalrig | Rev. Ewan Aitken | Labour |
| Sciennes | David Walker | Liberal Democrat |
| Shandon | Donald Wilson | Labour |
| Sighthill | Frank K Russell | Labour |
| Southside | Robert Cairns | Labour |
| Stenhouse | Eric Milligan | Labour |
| Stockbridge | Michael Dixon | Conservative |
| Tollcross | Dr. Chris Wigglesworth | Labour |
| Trinity | Allan Jackson | Conservative |
Scottish Parliament
For elections to the Scottish Parliament, the city is divided between six of the nine constituencies in the Lothians electoral region. Each constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and the region elects seven additional members (also called MSPs) to produce a form of proportional representation.
One of the Edinburgh constituencies includes Musselburgh, which is outside the city, in East Lothian.
Until the United Kingdom general election, 2005, Edinburgh Scottish Parliament and Parliament of the United Kingdom constituencies were coterminous (shared the same geographical boundaries). The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004, a piece of United Kingdom Parliament legislation, had removed the link, to enable Scottish Parliament constituencies to retain established boundaries despite the introduction of new boundaries for United Kingdom Parliament constituencies.
In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, the six Edinburgh constituencies elected three Labour MSPs, two Liberal Democrat MSPs and one Conservative MSP:
| Constituency | Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) | Party | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Central | Sarah Boyack | Labour | 9,066 | 32.4 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | Susan Deacon | Labour | 12,655 | 43.6 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | Malcolm Chisholm | Labour | 10,979 | 38.2 |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | David McLetchie | Conservative | 12,420 | 37.2 |
| Edinburgh South | Mike Pringle | Liberal Democrats | 10,005 | 32.0 |
| Edinburgh West | Margaret Smith | Liberal Democrats | 14,434 | 43.3 |
The following additional members were elected to represent the Lothians electoral region:
Parliament of the United Kingdom
For elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the city is divided between five constituencies, each of which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. All five constituencies are entirely within the city area.
Prior to the United Kingdom general election, 2005, Edinburgh House of Commons constituencies had exactly the same names and boundaries as the Scottish Parliament constituencies listed above. However, in order to reduce Scotland's historical over representation in the House of Commons, Scotland's share of constituencies was reduced from 72 to 59, in accordance with proposals drawn up by the Boundary Commission for Scotland. The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 enabled Scottish Parliament constituencies to remain unaltered despite new arrangements for House of Commons constituencies, which resulted in the loss of one Edinburgh constituency and redrawing of boundaries for the others. As a result of the boundary review[2][3]:
- Edinburgh Central constituency was abolished and split between the original Edinburgh North and Leith and Edinburgh West constituencies and an entirely new constituency that was created - Edinburgh South West.
- Edinburgh East and Musselburgh took in parts of the Edinburgh North and Leith seat, with the town of Musselburgh being transferred into the East Lothian constituency, with the new seat renamed Edinburgh East.
- Edinburgh Pentlands constituency was also divided between the new Edinburgh South West seat and the existing Edinburgh South seat.
- Edinburgh North and Leith was increased in size by taking in parts of the old Edinburgh Central constituency.
- Edinburgh South was expanded in size taking in elements of the old Edinburgh Pentlands seat.
- Edinburgh South West was an entirely new constituency created for the 2005 UK general election taking in elements of the old Edinburgh Central seat, the original Edinburgh West seat and Edinburgh Pentlands seat.
- Edinburgh West was expanded to include some parts of the defunct Edinburgh Central seat.
2005 general election results
| Constituency | Member of Parliament (MP) | Party | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh East | Gavin Strang | Labour | 15,899 | 40.0 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | Mark Lazarowicz | Labour-Co-operative | 14,496 | 34.2 |
| Edinburgh South | Nigel Griffiths | Labour | 14,183 | 33.2 |
| Edinburgh South West | Alistair Darling | Labour | 17,476 | 39.8 |
| Edinburgh West | John Barrett | Liberal Democrats | 22,417 | 49.5 |
Constituencies since 1708
Edinburgh has been used in ten different constituency names since 1708, the date of the first election to the Parliament of Great Britain (which was merged into the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801). There have been up to six Edinburgh constituencies at any one time.
Two names, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West have been in continuous use since 1885. One name, Edinburgh East, also first used in 1885, fell out of use in 1997 and returned to use in 2005.
Survival of a name does not in itself mean that a constituency's boundaries have been unaltered.
Lists of constituencies:
| Period | Constituencies |
|---|---|
| 1708 to 1885 | Edinburgh |
| 1885 to 1918 | Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West |
| 1918 to 1950 | Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East, Edinburgh Leith, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West |
| 1950 to 1997 | Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East, Edinburgh Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West |
| 1997 to 2005 | Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West |
| 2005 to present | Edinburgh East, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh South West and Edinburgh West |
Footnotes
- ^ Ward boundaries review, City of Edinburgh Council website
- ^ BBC News 2002 Political landscape set to change
- ^ Boundary Commission for Scotland, 2004 Fifth Periodical Review of Constituencies
See also
Wikipedia articles
- List of Lord Provosts of Edinburgh
- Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004
- Lothian Regional Council