Edinburgh South is a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament created in 1885. The constituency has been held by Scottish Labour since 1987. The seat has been represented since 2010 by Ian Murray, who currently serves as Secretary of State for Scotland under the government of Keir Starmer. Murray was the only Labour MP in Scotland to retain his seat at the 2015 and 2019 general elections and this is one of only three seats and the only seat of the so-called "tartan wall" never held by the Scottish National Party (SNP).
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 built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of 514,990 in 2022, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland.
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.
Almond is one of the 17 wards of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it currently elects four councillors.
Pentland Hills 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 mainly covers the villages and suburban developments in the south-west hinterland beyond the A720 Edinburgh city bypass road, up to the boundaries with West Lothian, Midlothian and a small border with the Scottish Borders at the edge of the Pentland Hills.
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.
Inverleith 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.
Corstorphine/Murrayfield 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.
Sighthill/Gorgie is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council, established in 2007 along with the other wards. Its territory comprises a corridor of land in the west of the city with a northern boundary formed by the railway lines between the Haymarket and Edinburgh Park stations, encompassing the Broomhouse, Dalry, Gorgie, Longstone, Parkhead, Saughton, Sighthill and Stenhouse neighbourhoods. It elects four Councillors. In 2019, the ward had a population of 33,826.
Colinton/Fairmilehead 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 three Councillors.
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.
Leith 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.
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.
Portobello/Craigmillar 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.
Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart is one of the 17 wards of the City of Edinburgh Council. It elects three councillors. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it covers a compact suburban area south-west of the centre of Edinburgh including the Chesser, Craiglockhart, Greenbank Village, Hutchison, Kingsknowe and Slateford neighbourhoods, and a thin, densely populated corridor leading towards the centre taking in Fountainbridge and North Merchiston / Shandon. In 2019, the ward had a population of 23,715.
