# Edinburgh South West (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh South West is a Scottish constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used at the 2005 UK general election. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Since 2024, it has been represented by Scott Arthur of the Labour Party.

## Constituency profile

Edinburgh South West covers a south western portion of the city around the Lanark Road. It has an urban north east including Gorgie and Slateford, and a suburban centre including Wester Hailes. The southwest part is rural and extends into the Pentland Hills.
The seat is left-leaning and pro-EU, with wealthier residents than the UK average.

## Boundaries

Edinburgh South West is one of five constituencies covering the City of Edinburgh council area. All are entirely within the city council area.
Prior to the 2005 general election, the city area had been covered by six constituencies and, of the six, there was one, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, which straddled the boundary with the East Lothian council area, to include Musselburgh.
Edinburgh South West is mostly a replacement for the former Edinburgh Pentlands constituency, but excludes some of the east of that constituency. Also, it includes a south western portion of the former Edinburgh Central constituency. The Scottish Parliament uses different boundaries. Edinburgh South West is mostly contained within the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency for elections to the Scottish Parliament, with some parts of the north and east of the seat being located in the constituencies of Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western.
2005–2024: Under the Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies which came into effect for the 2005 general election, the boundaries of the constituency were defined in accordance with the ward structure in place on 30 November 2004 and comprised the following wards of the City of Edinburgh Council: Balerno, Baberton, Colinton, Craiglockhart, Dalry, Firrhill, Fountainbridge, Moat, Murrayburn, Parkhead, Shandon and Sighthill. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, in 2007 these wards were replaced with new wards which were not aligned with the constituency boundaries. Further minor changes were made to ward boundaries in 2017.
2024–present: Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency boundaries were virtually unchanged and comprise the following wards or part wards of the City of Edinburgh Council:
* The bulk of Pentland Hills ward - excluding Ratho and surrounding rural areas;
* a small part of Drum Brae/Gyle ward;
* the bulk of Sighthill/Gorgie ward - excluding the Saughton area;
* the majority of Colinton/Fairmilehead - excluding the Fairmilehead area;
* the whole of Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward;
* two small areas of Morningside ward; and
* the southwestern part of City Centre, including the West End and Tollcross areas.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 2005 | Alistair Darling | Labour |
| 2015 | Joanna Cherry | SNP |
| 2024 | Scott Arthur | Labour |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2020s

2024 general election: Edinburgh South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Scott Arthur | 18,663 | 40.9 | +26.6 |
| | SNP | Joanna Cherry | 12,446 | 27.3 | −20.3 |
| | Conservative | Sue Webber | 5,558 | 12.2 | −12.4 |
| | Scottish Green | Dan Heap | 3,450 | 7.6 | +5.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bruce Wilson | 3,014 | 6.6 | −2.9 |
| | Reform UK | Ian Harper | 2,087 | 4.6 | +3.4 |
| | Scottish Family | Richard Lucas | 265 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Independent | Marc Wilkinson | 181 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,217 | 13.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,664 | 61.9 | −9.0 |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 2010s

2019 general election: Edinburgh South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Joanna Cherry | 24,830 | 47.6 | +12.0 |
| | Conservative | Callum Laidlaw | 12,848 | 24.6 | −8.8 |
| | Labour | Sophie Cooke | 7,478 | 14.3 | −12.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tom Inglis | 4,971 | 9.5 | +5.2 |
| | Scottish Green | Ben Parker | 1,265 | 2.4 | N/A |
| | Brexit Party | David Ballantine | 625 | 1.2 | N/A |
| | SDP | Mev Brown | 114 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,982 | 23.0 | +20.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,131 | 70.9 | +1.5 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | +10.4 | |
2017 general election: Edinburgh South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Joanna Cherry | 17,575 | 35.6 | −7.4 |
| | Conservative | Miles Briggs | 16,478 | 33.4 | +13.2 |
| | Labour | Foysol Choudhury | 13,213 | 26.8 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Aisha Mir | 2,124 | 4.3 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,097 | 2.2 | −13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,390 | 69.4 | −2.1 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | -10.2 | |
2015 general election: Edinburgh South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Joanna Cherry | 22,168 | 43.0 | +30.8 |
| | Labour | Ricky Henderson | 14,033 | 27.2 | −15.6 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Lindhurst | 10,444 | 20.2 | −4.1 |
| | Scottish Green | Richard Doherty | 1,965 | 3.8 | +1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daniel Farthing-Sykes | 1,920 | 3.7 | −14.3 |
| | UKIP | Richard Lucas | 1,072 | 2.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,135 | 15.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,602 | 71.5 | +3.0 |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +23.2 | |
2010 general election: Edinburgh South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alistair Darling | 19,473 | 42.8 | +3.0 |
| | Conservative | Jason Rust | 11,026 | 24.3 | +1.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tim McKay | 8,194 | 18.0 | −3.1 |
| | SNP | Kaukab Stewart | 5,530 | 12.2 | +1.6 |
| | Scottish Green | Clare Cooney | 872 | 1.9 | −1.6 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Colin Fox | 319 | 0.7 | −0.6 |
| | Communist League | Caroline Bellamy | 48 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,447 | 18.5 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,462 | 68.5 | +3.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.0 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

2005 general election: Edinburgh South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Alistair Darling | 17,476 | 39.8 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Buchan | 10,234 | 23.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Clark | 9,252 | 21.1 |
| | SNP | Nick Elliott-Cannon | 4,654 | 10.6 |
| | Scottish Green | John Blair-Fish | 1,520 | 3.5 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Pat Smith | 585 | 1.3 |
| | UKIP | William Boys | 205 | 0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,242 | 16.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,926 | 65.4 |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |