The City of Edinburgh is divided into five Westminster parliamentary constituencies.

I represent the new Edinburgh South West constituency which stretches from the west side of Lothian Road in the City Centre to Balerno.

Following changes in May 2007, there are now 5 council wards in the constituency: Pentland Hills, Sighthill/Gorgie, Colinton/Fairmilehead, Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart, Meadows/Morningside.

This constituency was created by the 2005 Scottish boundary changes and is made up of approximately two thirds of the former Edinburgh Pentlands seat and one third Edinburgh Central.

Each community has its own unique history going back hundreds of years and traditions are kept alive each year by hundreds of volunteers who run events like gala days and Riding of the Marches.

Balerno is the gateway to the Pentland Hills. A former mill village on the water of Leith it became incorporated into the City of Edinburgh only in 1975.

Wards like Dalry & Fountainbridge which are only a stone’s throw from the historical centre of Edinburgh have their own local identity as well.

Edinburgh Quay is a major regeneration programme centred on the Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge. The development will provide space for apartments, offices, retail outlets and restaurants. The Union Canal has now been brought back into use as a leisure facility and starts its journey at the basin head. It travels through the length of the constituency on its 32 miles to the Falkirk Wheel via areas like Slateford, Longstone and Westerhailes. It first opened in 1822 offering direct inland connection between Edinburgh and Glasgow including passenger transport but was abandoned in the 1960s following a period of steady decline. 

We have a Scottish Premier League football team in the constituency. Heart of Midlothian was founded in 1874 and has been at Tynecastle stadium on Gorgie Road since 1886. 

We are fortunate to have many world class academic centres in Edinburgh. Heriot Watt University in Riccarton is one of the UK’s leading universities for business and industry with an international reputation for scientific and technologic excellence. Napier University has six sites in Edinburgh. Craiglockhart and Sighthill campuses are in the constituency. Craiglockhart is home to the Business School and School of Law. Napier has a long tradition of working closely with business and industry to ensure that its courses offer the kind of skills and training demanded by employers.

Edinburgh is a major financial centre, second only to London in Britain. The constituency is home to the headquarters of the Standard Life and Scottish Widows as well as numerous offices of the major banks including Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS.  Many of my constituents work in the financial services sector.

The public sector is also a major employer providing a wide variety of employment throughout the constituency, for example in schools, hospitals and universities.

Ordnance Survey Map

GENERAL ELECTION RESULT 2005