Edinburgh South (UK Parliament constituency)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK constituency main Edinburgh South is a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament created in 1885.Template:Refn 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.

Prior to the 2005 general election, the constituency had the same boundaries as the Scottish Parliament constituency with the same name (now replaced by Edinburgh Southern).

Constituency profile

The constituency covers the southern suburbs around the Braid Hills including Morningside, Comiston, Liberton and Gilmerton. This is a generally wealthy seat with a significant student population.

History

Summary of results

A candidate fielded by the Labour Party has won the seat since 1987. Prior to that the political division for Westminster purposes voted for the Conservative and Unionist candidate, ahead of all other candidates by single preference, at each Westminster election from and including 1918. Back then, the electorates' single-most preferred candidate in simple voting was that of the Liberal Party, except in 1900 when a Liberal Unionist was returned. The 2015 result gave the seat the 23rd-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. In the 2017 general election, Ian Murray received the highest voteshare of any Scottish candidate and was also one of only two constituencies in Scotland where the winning candidate received a majority of the votes cast (the other one being Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk).

Edinburgh South is one of three constituencies in Scotland to have never elected an MP from the Scottish National Party at any point in history, alongside Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale; and Orkney and Shetland.

Recent opposition candidates' performance

At the 2015 general election three of the seven parties' candidates standing retained their deposits, their votes exceeding 5%. Those doing so and not winning were SNP – 33.8% of the vote, and Conservative – 17.5% of the vote. At this election, the SNP increased their share of the vote by over 26%, coming a close second to Murray.

The Liberal Democrat candidate of 2005 fell within 0.9% of a winning majority. The Liberal Democrats' swing nationally was −15.2% swing in 2015. The swing in this seat against the party was however −30.3% resulting in the loss of their depositTemplate:Refn, a fate not sustained by either of the party's two formative parties in the seat since 1970.

Turnout

Turnout has ranged between 81.1% in 1950 and 57.7% in 2001.

2016 EU referendum

In the 2016 referendum of membership of the European Union, the constituency voted Remain by 77.8%. This was the tenth highest support for Remain for a constituency.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The St. George, St. Cuthbert, and Newington municipal wards of the burgh of Edinburgh.

1918–1950: The Merchiston, Morningside, and Newington municipal wards of the county of the city of Edinburgh.

1950–1983: The Liberton, Morningside and Newington wards (as constituted by the Local Government (Scotland) (Edinburgh Wards) Order 1948, SI 1948/1138) of the county of the city of Edinburgh.

1983–1997: Electoral divisions 32 (Merchiston/Morningside), 33 (Sciennes/Marchmont), 34 (Prestonfield/Mayfield), 37 (Alnwickhill/Kaimes) and 38 (Inch/Gilmerton) of the City of Edinburgh.

1997–2005: Electoral divisions 32 (Merchiston/Morningside), 33 (Sciennes/Marchmont), 34 (Prestonfield/Mayfield), 36 (Alnwickhill/Kaimes) and 37 (Inch/Gilmerton) of the City of Edinburgh.

2005–2024: Under the Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies, the constituency boundaries were defined in accordance with the ward structure in place on 30 November 2004 and contained the City of Edinburgh wards of Merchiston, North Morningside/Grange, Marchmont, Sciennes, Newington, South Morningside, Fairmilehead, Alnwickhill, Kaimes, Moredun, and Gilmerton.

In 2005, prior to the general election, Edinburgh South was one of six covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Five were entirely within the city council area. One, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, straddled the boundary with the East Lothian council area, to take in Musselburgh. For the 2005 election, the constituency was enlarged to include areas from the former Edinburgh Pentlands constituency, and became one of five constituencies covering the city area, all entirely within that area.

2024–present: Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency contains the following wards or part wards of the City of Edinburgh Council:

• A minority of Colinton/Fairmilehead ward, comprising the Fairmilehead district;
• nearly all of Morningside ward;
• the majority of Southside/Newington ward - excluding the Southside area to the north; and
• the whole of Liberton/Gilmerton ward.

As a result of the boundary review, the Prestonfield area of the Southside/Newington ward was transferred from Edinburgh East.

Members of Parliament

Year		Member	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1885	Sir George Harrison	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1886 by-election	Hugh Childers	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1892	Herbert Paul	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1895	Robert Cox	Liberal Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1899 by-election	Arthur Dewar	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1900	Sir Andrew Agnew	Liberal Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1906	Arthur Dewar	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1910 by-election	Charles Lyell	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1917 by-election	Sir Edward Parrott	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1918	Charles David Murray	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1922	Samuel Chapman	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1945	William Darling	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1957 by-election	Michael Clark Hutchison	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1965		Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1979	Michael Ancram	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1987	Nigel Griffiths	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	2010	Ian Murray	Labour

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Simita Kumar	7,725	16.5
		Jo Phillips	4,270	9.1
		Christopher Cowdy	4,001	8.5
		Andy Williamson	2,746	5.9
		Cameron Rose	1,845	3.9
	Independent	Alex Martin	466	1.0
		Lynne Lyon	454	1.0
		Phil Holden	267	0.6
	Independent	Mark Rowbotham	76	0.2
Majority			17,251	36.8
Turnout			46,826	66.1
Registered electors			70,838
	hold		Swing	+7.2

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result Template:Refn
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	24,508	46.2
	Scottish National Party	13,713	25.9
	Conservative	8,922	16.8
	Liberal Democrats	4,344	8.2
	Scottish Greens	1,542	2.9
Majority		10,795	20.4
Turnout		53,029	74.7
Electorate		70,980

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General election 2019: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Catriona MacDonald	12,650	25.4
		Nick Cook	8,161	16.4
		Alan Beal	3,819	7.7
		Kate Nevens	1,357	2.7
Majority			11,095	22.3
Turnout			49,732	75.1
	hold		Swing	−5.1

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General election 2017: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Jim Eadie	10,755	22.5
		Stephanie Smith	9,428	19.7
		Alan Beal	1,388	2.9
Majority			15,514	32.4
Turnout			47,840	74.1
	hold		Swing	+13.6

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General election 2015: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Neil Hay	16,656	33.8
		Miles Briggs	8,626	17.5
		Phyl Meyer	2,090	4.2
		Pramod Subbaraman	1,823	3.7
		Paul Marshall	601	1.2
		Colin Fox	197	0.4
Majority			2,637	5.3
Turnout			49,286	74.9
	hold		Swing	-10.9

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General election 2010: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Fred Mackintosh	14,899	34.0
		Neil Hudson	9,452	21.6
		Sandy Howat	3,354	7.7
		Steve Burgess	881	2.0
Majority			316	0.7
Turnout			43,801	73.8
	hold		Swing	-0.1

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2005: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Marilyne MacLaren	13,783	32.3
		Gavin Brown	10,291	24.1
		Graham Sutherland	2,635	6.2
		Steve Burgess	1,387	3.2
		Morag Robertson	414	1.0
Majority			405	0.9
Turnout			42,698	69.9
	hold		Swing	-6.5

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General election 2001: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Marilyne MacLaren	10,172	27.4
		Gordon Buchan	6,172	16.6
		Heather Williams	3,683	9.9
		Colin Fox	933	2.5
		Margaret Hendry	535	1.4
Majority			5,499	14.8
Turnout			37,166	57.7
	hold		Swing	-7.2

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1997: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Liz Smith	9,541	21.3
		Mike Pringle	7,911	17.6
		John Hargreaves	5,791	12.9
		Ian McLean	504	1.1
		Bradley Dunn	98	0.2
Majority			11,452	25.5
Turnout			44,838	71.8
	hold		Swing	+8.1

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General election 1992: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Struan Stevenson	14,309	32.1
		Bob McCreadie	5,961	13.4
		Roger Knox	5,727	12.8
		George Manclark	108	0.2
Majority			4,176	9.4
Turnout			44,590	72.7
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1987: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Michael Ancram	16,352	33.8
		David Graham	10,900	22.5
		Catherina Moore	2,455	5.1
		Ruth Clark	440	0.9
Majority			1,859	3.8
Turnout			48,358	77.7
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	-6.0

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General election 1983: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Godfrey	12,830	28.6
		Dr Robert McCreadie	12,824	28.6
		Neil MacCallum	2,256	5.0
		Linda Hendry	450	1.0
Majority			3,655	8.2
Turnout			44,845	71.7
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

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General election 1979: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Gordon Brown	15,526	34.30
		J.P. Bryan Lovell	7,400	16.35
		Robert Shirley	3,800	8.40
		Stewart M. Biggar	552	1.22
Majority			2,460	5.43
Turnout			45,264	77.30
	hold		Swing

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General election October 1974: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		C. Haddow	11,736	28.18
		Robert Shirley	9,034	21.69
		Nathaniel L. Gordon	5,921	14.22
Majority			3,226	7.74
Turnout			41,653	74.18
	hold		Swing

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General election February 1974: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		T.J. Davies	12,403	27.54
		Nathaniel L. Gordon	8,073	17.93
		Robert Shirley	5,770	12.81
Majority			6,381	14.20
Turnout			45,030	80.83
	hold		Swing

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General election 1970: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Henderson	15,071	36.53
		Ronald H. Guild	3,469	8.41
		David J. Stevenson	2,861	6.94
Majority			4,780	11.59
Turnout			41,252	73.99
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

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General election 1966: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James W. Kerr	15,487	39.54
		H. McLean Robertson	2,856	7.29
Majority			5,333	13.62
Turnout			39,163	77.63
	hold		Swing

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General election 1964: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James W. Kerr	13,555	33.72
		Ronald H. Guild	5,272	13.11
Majority			7,820	19.45
Turnout			40,202	80.32
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

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General election 1959: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alex D. Reid	11,285	28.51
		William Douglas-Home	5,505	13.91
Majority			11,514	29.08
Turnout			39,589	81.18
	hold		Swing

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1957 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James A. Forsyth	9,781	30.91
		William Douglas-Home	7,439	23.51
Majority			4,640	14.67
Turnout			31,641
	hold		Swing

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General election 1955: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James A. Forsyth	11,949	32.48
Majority			12,887	35.04
Turnout			36,785	77.24
	hold		Swing

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General election 1951: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James A. Forsyth	10,030	27.42
Majority			16,515	45.16
Turnout			35,575	81.43
	hold		Swing

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General election 1950: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Earsman	8,725	24.57
		Lionel Daiches	3,699	10.42
Majority			14,356	40.44
Turnout			35,505	82.14
	hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

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General election 1945: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Earsman	9,767	29.23
Majority			13,885	41.54
Turnout			33,419	66.50
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

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General election 1935: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Barbara Woodburn	5,365	16.45
Majority			21,889	67.10
Turnout			32,619	67.56
	hold		Swing	N/A

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General election 1931: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1920s

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General election 1929: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Arthur Pillans Laurie	9,849	28.6
		Arthur Woodburn	5,050	14.7
Majority			9,692	28.1
Turnout			34,440	75.2
Registered electors			45,794
	hold		Swing	−0.4

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General election 1924: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Cleghorn Thomson	8,777	35.6
Majority			7,077	28.8
Turnout			24,631	73.6
Registered electors			33,447
	hold		Swing	+8.7

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General election 1923: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Hope	10,194	44.3
Majority			2,610	11.4
Turnout			22,998	70.2
Registered electors			32,745
	hold		Swing	−11.0

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General election 1922: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Catherine Alderton	7,408	33.3
Majority			7,435	33.4
Turnout			22,251	69.2
Registered electors			32,152
	hold		Swing	−8.3

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1920 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Daniel Holmes	8,177	42.3
Majority			2,999	15.4
Turnout			19,353	59.3
Registered electors			32,656
	hold		Swing	−17.3

Elections in the 1910s

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link coalition 1918Template:Election box end 1918

General election 1918: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Caird	4,966	25.0
Majority			9,908	50.0
Turnout			19,840	61.7
Registered electors			32,087
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+29.5

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1917 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold

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General election December 1910: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Murray	7,986	45.5
Majority			1,590	9.0
Turnout			17,562	84.2
Registered electors			20,868
	hold		Swing	−1.9

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1910 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Ralph Glyn	6,367	42.3
Majority			2,327	15.4
Turnout			15,061	73.7
Registered electors			20,433
	hold		Swing	+1.3

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General election January 1910: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Harold B Cox	7,901	43.6
Majority			2,334	12.8
Turnout			18,136	88.8
Registered electors			20,433
	hold		Swing	−7.4

Elections in the 1900s

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1909 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Harold B Cox	6,964	46.0
Majority			1,221	8.0
Turnout			15,149	80.6
Registered electors			18,789
	hold		Swing	−9.8

File:Arthur Dewar.jpg

Arthur Dewar

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General election 1906: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William C. Smith	5,085	36.2
Majority			3,860	27.6
Turnout			14,030	83.4
Registered electors			16,832
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+14.3

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General election 1900: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Arthur Dewar	5,655	49.5
Majority			111	1.0
Turnout			11,421	77.2
Registered electors			14,794
	hold		Swing	0.0

Elections in the 1890s

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1899 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Andrew Wauchope	4,989	46.2
Majority			831	7.6
Turnout			10,809	77.8
Registered electors			13,891
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+4.3

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General election 1895: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Herbert Paul	4,705	49.5
Majority			97	1.0
Turnout			9,507	78.9
Registered electors			12,053
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+2.9

File:Herbert Paul.jpg

Herbert Paul

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General election 1892: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Lewis MacIver	4,261	47.6
Majority			431	4.8
Turnout			8,953	82.9
Registered electors			10,799
	hold		Swing	−10.9

Elections in the 1880s

File:Hugh Childers, Lock & Whitfield woodburytype, 1876-83 crop.jpg

Hugh Childers

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General election 1886: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert Purvis	2,191	36.7
Majority			1,587	26.6
Turnout			5,969	68.2
Registered electors			8,754
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	N/A

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1886 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	gain from

• Caused by Childers' appointment as Home Secretary.

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1886 by-election: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Walter George Hepburne-Scott, 9th Lord Polwarth	1,730	30.0
Majority			2,299	40.0
Turnout			5,759	65.8
Registered electors			8,754
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	N/A

• Caused by Harrison's death.

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General election 1885: Edinburgh South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Thomas Raleigh	2,874	40.2
Majority			1,399	19.6
Turnout			7,147	81.6
Registered electors			8,754
	win (new seat)

Referendum results

2016 European Union membership referendum

Constituency	Leave votes	Remain votes	Leave %	Remain %
Edinburgh South	10,549	37,069	22.2%	77.8%

2014 Scottish independence referendum

Constituency	No votes	Yes votes	No %	Yes %
Edinburgh South	38,298	20,340	65.3%	34.7%

See also

• Politics of Edinburgh

External links

• Edinburgh South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2005 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Edinburgh South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK