Leith left in limbo amid updated political map for Holyrood seats
Controversial plans to redraw Edinburgh’s political map by linking Portobello with Midlothian and Cramond with Broxburn have been abandoned and a new set of proposals unveiled in their place.
But the new changes could also prove controversial because Leith does not feature in any of the constituency names. The public has a month to give their views on the latest plans, with the new boundaries set to come into effect for the next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026.
The new proposals, drawn up by independent body Boundaries Scotland, give Edinburgh a total of six and a half constituencies – more than it has ever had – due to the city’s growing population.
The previous plans, published in May 2023, proposed Portobello becoming part of Midlothian North & Musselburgh constituency, which would also have expanded eastwards to include Prestonpans. It would have straddled three local authority areas, the only seat in Scotland to do so.
There was also to have been a new Edinburgh Forth & Linlithgow seat, encompassing areas of the Capital like Cramond, Muirhouse, Kirkliston and South Queensferry as well as Linlithgow, Winchburgh and Broxburn.
And there was unhappiness about the plans for areas like Gorgie, Dalry and Fountainbridge being moved from Edinburgh Central to Edinburgh Southern, with others like the Grange, Mayfield and Blackford switching the other way.
After local inquiries into the plans, held in Edinburgh and Musselburgh, Boundaries Scotland went back to the drawing board and came up with a completely new set of proposals which they say are much closer to the current boundaries.
Professor Ailsa Henderson, chair of Boundaries Scotland, said: “We think we have managed to address the vast majority of concerns while also following the rules as set out in legislation. We would now like to hear further views from the public on our revised proposals over the next month. Have we addressed the earlier concerns? Could we make further improvements? Have we got accurate names to describe new constituencies? We strongly encourage people to make their views heard.”
In Edinburgh, there is now a North Western seat, which takes in most of the current Edinburgh Western; an Edinburgh Northern, which stretches along the Forth from Silverknowes to Newhaven and inland to Orchard Brae and Dean village; and an Edinburgh North Eastern, which takes in Leith, Craigentinny, Broughton, Abbeyhill, Meadowbank, Willowbrae and Duddingston.
Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs predicted a public backlash over the failure to include Leith in the name of the new constituency. “I think that’s something that needs to be corrected,” he said. “Historic names are important, particularly for Leith – Leith has been a constituency almost since we’ve had democracy. People are proud of the traditions of Leith being distinctive from Edinburgh and they want to see that retained.”
And Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, also called for a rethink. He said: “Leith has a very proud, distinctive identity from the rest of the city and it feels like an easy win for Boundaries Scotland to reinstate it in the appropriate constituency name.”
Mr Cole-Hamilton was pleased, however, with the latest boundary proposals, noting: “I think it’s fair to say that there’s quite a bit of excitement about the boundary changes in the Edinburgh Lib Dem camp. The integrity of my constituency is largely maintained under the new name of Edinburgh North Western, while the entirely new seat of Edinburgh Northern brings in large chunks of Lib Dem voting areas from Christine Jardine’s Westminster constituency and is already well served by Lib Dem councillors.
“We’ve already run the numbers and that new seat would be a Lib Dem gain based on 2022 council election first preferences, with the SNP in second. I am literally going door knocking in the new seat tonight, the campaign starts now.”
Instead of going in with Midlothian North, Portobello is part of a newly-named Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent constituency. The rest of East Lothian is one seat called Lothian East, and Midlothian North is a separate constituency. Linlithgow is now linked with Falkirk South, Livingston is linked with Breich Valley, and Bathgate is a separate seat.
Edinburgh Central now takes in Dalry and Fountainbridge, but not Gorgie, which goes into Edinburgh South Western. And Morningsde is split between Central and Southern.
Edinburgh Southern Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said the revised plans restored many of the traditional parts of his seat. “It looks more like South Edinburgh than what they were proposing before – Liberton is back in, for example.”
But he voiced concern about Morningside being split: “Bruntsfield/ Morningside is a very natural community and I think we need to consider whether the proposals reflect how people understand the communities they live in.”
The public consultation on the proposals runs until May 15. Comments can be made on the Boundaries Commission webiste: https://consult.boundaries.scot/