Politics of Edinburgh

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Template:Infobox Scotland council area

Politics in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the city council of Edinburgh, 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 South 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 17 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 George Grubb, who replaced Lesley Hinds on May 16, 2007. 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 electing 58 councillors. The last elections took place in May 2007. The Council is currently controlled by a Liberal Democrat/Scottish National Party coalition.

The City of Edinburgh 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.

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

Edinburgh City Chambers on the Royal Mile where the city council is based.

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:

Elections

Elections to the council are held on a four year cycle, the last being held on Thursday 3 May, 2007.

Members of the council represent 17 electoral areas called wards. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, multi-member wards were introduced for the 2007 election, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, to produce a form of proportional representation. Previously each of 58 wards elected one councillor by the first past the post system of election.


Council political composition

Party Councillors
bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats/meta/color"| Liberal Democrat 17
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour 15
bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"| Scottish National Party 12
bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"| Conservative 11
bgcolor="Template:Scottish Green Party/meta/color"| Scottish Green Party 3


List of wards and councillors

Multi-member wards introduced for the 2007 council election:

Ward Map
  1. Almond (3 members)
  2. Pentland Hills (3 members)
  3. Drum Brae/Gyle (3 members)
  4. Forth (4 members)
  5. Inverleith (4 members)
  6. Corstorphine/Murrayfield (3 members)
  7. Sighthill/Gorgie (4 members)
  8. Colinton/Fairmilehead (3 members)
  9. Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart (3 members)
  10. Meadows/Morningside (4 members)
  11. City Centre (3 members)
  12. Leith Walk (4 members)
  13. Leith (3 members)
  14. Craigentinny/Duddingston (3 members)
  15. Southside/Newington (4 members)
  16. Liberton/Gilmerton (4 members)
  17. Portobello/Craigmillar (3 members)
Wards in the City of Edingbugh
Wards in the City of Edingbugh

Following the local elections on 3 May, 2007, the representation on the council was as follows:

Ward Councillors Party
Almond George Grubb Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Kate Mackenzie Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Norman Work Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Pentland Hills Ronald Cairns Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Ricky Henderson Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Alistair S Paisley Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Drum Brae/Gyle Robert Aldridge Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Jenny Dawe Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Colin Keir Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Forth Steve Cardownie Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Allan Jackson Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Elizabeth Maginnis Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Elaine Morris Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Inverleith Lesley Hinds Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Stuart McIvor Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Tim McKay Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Iain Whyte Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Corstorphine/Murrayfield Jeremy Balfour Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Paul Edie Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Phil Wheeler Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Sighthill/Gorgie Nick Elliott-Cannon Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Eric Milligan Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Joanna Toomey Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Donald Wilson Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Colinton/Fairmilehead Elaine Aitken Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Eric Barry Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Jason Rust Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart Andrew Burns Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Gordon Buchan Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Jim Lowrie Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Meadows/Morningside Paul Godzik Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Alison Johnstone Scottish Green Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish Green Party/meta/color"|
Marilyne MacLaren Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Mark McInnes Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
City Centre David Beckett Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Charles Dundas Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Joanna Mowatt Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Leith Walk Angela Blacklock Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Deidre Brock Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Maggie Chapman Scottish Green Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish Green Party/meta/color"|
Louise Lang Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Leith Gordon Munro Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Rob Munn Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Marjorie Thomas Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Craigentinny/Duddingston Ewan Aitken Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Gary Peacock Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Stefan Tymkewycz Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Southside/Newington Steve Burgess Scottish Green Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish Green Party/meta/color"|
Gordon Mackenzie Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Ian Perry Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Cameron Rose Conservative bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Liberton/Gilmerton Tom Buchanan Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Norma Hart Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Ian Murray Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Conor Snowden Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Portobello/Craigmillar Michael Bridgeman Scottish National Party bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"|
Maureen Child Labour bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"|
Stephen Hawkins Liberal Democrat bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"|
Source: City of Edinburgh Council

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[1][2]:

Current political composition:

Party Constituency Member
bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"| Liberal Democrat Edinburgh West John Barrett
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour Edinburgh South West Alistair Darling
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour Edinburgh South Nigel Griffiths
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour Edinburgh North and Leith Mark Lazarowicz
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour Co-operative Edinburgh East Gavin Strang

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 North, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West
1950 to 1983 Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East, Edinburgh Leith, Edinburgh North, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West
1983 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

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 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the six Edinburgh constituencies elected two Labour MSPs, two Liberal Democrat MSPs, one Conservative MSP, and one Scottish National Party MSP:

Party Constituency Member
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour Edinburgh Central Sarah Boyack
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour Edinburgh North and Leith Malcolm Chisholm
bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"| Scottish National Party Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Kenny MacAskill
bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"| Conservative Edinburgh Pentlands David McLetchie
bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"| Liberal Democrat Edinburgh South Mike Pringle
bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color"| Liberal Democrat Edinburgh West Margaret Smith

The following additional members were elected to represent the Lothians electoral region:

Party Member
bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"| Conservative Gavin Brown
bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| Labour George Foulkes
bgcolor="Template:Scottish Green Party/meta/color"| Scottish Green Party Robin Harper
bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"| Scottish National Party Fiona Hyslop
bgcolor="Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color"| Independent Margo MacDonald
bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"| Scottish National Party Ian McKee
bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"| Scottish National Party Stefan Tymkewycz

Footnotes

  1. ^ BBC News 2002 Political landscape set to change
  2. ^ Boundary Commission for Scotland, 2004 Fifth Periodical Review of Constituencies

See also

Wikipedia articles

External pages

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