The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament.
Edinburgh West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first contested at the 1885 general election.
Edinburgh North and Leith is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the 1997 general election. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Edinburgh Central is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Edinburgh. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Lothian electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Edinburgh Western is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the City of Edinburgh council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is one of nine constituencies in the Lothian electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the area of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of 514,990 in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland.
The 2017 Scottish local elections were held on Thursday 4 May, in all 32 local authorities. The SNP retained its position as the largest party in terms of votes and councillors, despite suffering minor losses. The Conservatives made gains and displaced Labour as the second largest party, while the Liberal Democrats suffered a net loss of councillors despite increasing their share of the vote. Minor parties and independents polled well; and independent councillors retained majority control over the three island councils. For the first time since the local government reforms in 1995, all mainland councils fell under no overall control.
The elections to the City of Edinburgh Council were held on Thursday 4 May 2017, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. It was the third successive Local Council election to run under the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system.
The City of Glasgow is divided into a number of wards. These electoral districts, as they are also known, are used to elect councillors to Glasgow City Council. The council, composed of the elected members from each ward, provides local government services to the City of Glasgow.
Drum Brae/Gyle is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it currently elects three Councillors.
Forth is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it currently elects four Councillors. Its territory covers communities in the north of the city between Ferry Road and the coast on the Firth of Forth, including Granton, Newhaven, Pilton, Trinity, Victoria Park and Wardie, some of which historically fell within the boundaries of Leith. A 2017 boundary change caused the loss of the Muirhouse neighbourhood, but housebuilding elsewhere meant the overall population increased slightly. In 2019, the ward had a population of 31,823.
Leith Walk is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it currently elects four councillors. Its territory spans the area between Edinburgh city centre and the port of Leith to its north-east, centred around Leith Walk, the primary thoroughfare between them.
Craigentinny/Duddingston is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it currently elects four Councillors.
Southside/Newington is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it elects four Councillors. As its name suggests, the ward's territory to the south-east of the city centre is based around the communities of Newington and the South Side, also including Blackford, Cameron Toll, The Grange, Mayfield, Prestonfield and Sciennes.
Liberton/Gilmerton is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it elects four Councillors.
City Centre is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it elects four Councillors. As its name suggests, the ward's territory is based around a compact area in the centre of Edinburgh, including Calton Hill, the Canongate, Haymarket, Lauriston, the New Town, the Old Town, West Coates and the West End. A minor 2017 boundary change saw the loss of Abbeyhill and the gain of Tollcross and Dumbiedykes, but the overall population rose considerably and one further representative was added. In 2019, the ward had a population of 32,410.
Blantyre is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Re-established in 2007, the ward initially elected four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system before a boundary review in 2017 reduced the number of councillors to three. It covers an area with a population of 15,968 people.
The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%.
Elections to the City of Edinburgh Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Dundee City Council controls Dundee City council area, which is one of Scotland's 32 council areas. The council area is divided into eight wards, used to elect members to the council to provide local government services to the council area.
