# 1971 Edinburgh Corporation election

An election to Edinburgh Corporation was held on 4 May 1971, alongside municipal elections across Scotland. Of the council's 68 seats, 23 were up for election.
Following the election, Edinburgh Corporation was composed of 28 Labour councillors, 27 Progressives, 9 Conservatives, 3 Liberals, and 2 independents. The SNP was wiped off the council after lost all five of the seats it was defending.
Following the election, the Progressives and Conservative coalition retained control of the council with a majority of three seats.
A total of 125,045 residents voted.

## Aggregate results

Edinburgh Corporation election, 1971 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes |
| Labour | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 43.5 | 42.7 | 53,439 |
| Progressives | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 34.8 | 27.1 | 33,906 |
| Conservative | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17.4 | 17.7 | 22,147 |
| Liberal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.3 | 7.5 | 9,409 |
| SNP | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 5,481 |
| Communist | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.2 | 273 |
| Protestant Action | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.2 | 217 |
| Local Community | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.1 | 173 |

## Ward Results

Broughton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | G. A. Theurer | 2,407 | |
| | Labour | R. Cairns | 1,784 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 34.08% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
Calton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. Anderson | 1,874 | |
| | Conservative | Margaret E. S. Houston | 1,774 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 35.32% |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP |
Central Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | R. Brown | 2,210 | |
| | SNP | F. T. Chalmers | 714 | |
| | Conservative | J. Whyte | 677 | |
| | Communist | L. Farquhar | 26 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 32.81% |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP |
Colinton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | J. D. MacLennan | 3,568 | |
| | Labour | R. B. Graham | 3,475 | |
| | Progressives | J. Dalgleish | 2,221 | |
| | SNP | Joan B. Crawford | 955 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 41.86% |
| | Conservative gain from Progressives | Conservative gain from Progressives | Conservative gain from Progressives | Conservative gain from Progressives |
Corstorphine :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | F. Ford | 2,508 | |
| | Conservative | T. W. Norrish | 1,925 | |
| | Liberal | D. C. E. Gorrie | 1,678 | |
| | Labour | P. R. Wallington | 1,436 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 42.32% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
Craigentinny :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | G. Drummond | 3,731 | |
| | Conservative | A. Hogg | 2,204 | |
| | Communist | T. Burns | 108 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 40.06% |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Craigmillar :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | D. H. Brown | 3,831 | |
| | SNP | J. Wallace | 932 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 30.51% |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
George Square :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | D. F. Alves | 1,529 | |
| | Labour | I. R. Hoy | 1,141 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 26.51% |
| | Conservative gain from Progressives | Conservative gain from Progressives | Conservative gain from Progressives | Conservative gain from Progressives |
Gorgie-Dalry :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Johan G. W. Buchanan | 2,628 | |
| | Conservative | J. I. Chisholm | 1,452 | |
| | SNP | E. J. Milne | 756 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 35.41% |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP |
Holyrood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | R. F. Cook | 1,599 | |
| | Conservative | D. Christison | 489 | |
| | SNP | A. McCallum | 235 | |
| | Communist | Angela Hopkinson | 58 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 34.89% |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP |
Liberton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | P. Wilson | 6,923 | |
| | Conservative | D. J. May | 3,558 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 40.87% |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Merchiston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | J. F. Lawrie | 3,473 | |
| | Progressives | T. Morgan | 2,461 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 50.42% |
| | Liberal gain from Progressives | Liberal gain from Progressives | Liberal gain from Progressives | Liberal gain from Progressives |
Morningside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | R. Lorimer | 3,263 | |
| | Liberal | N. L. Gordon | 2,057 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 34.47% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
Murrayfield-Cramond :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | H. Macpherson | 4,975 | |
| | Labour | D. M. Henderson | 2,475 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 34.08% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
Newington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | E. M. Kean | 3,463 | |
| | Labour | D. F. Renton | 1,913 | |
| | Liberal | J. Grahamslaw | 1,144 | |
| | SNP | Christina MacWhirter | 518 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 40.01% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
Pilton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Catherine T. Nealon | 4,609 | |
| | Conservative | R. Beattie | 1,001 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 28.17% |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Portobello :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | G. Lerette | 3,305 | |
| | Labour | Mary Hutchinson | 1,985 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 36.85% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
St. Andrews :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | D. Drummond-Young | 1,566 | |
| | Labour | R. A. Collett | 915 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 33.24% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
St. Bernard's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | Winifred E. Donaldson | 3,326 | |
| | Labour | R. D. Anderson | 2,029 | |
| | Liberal | C. S. Waterman | 722 | |
| | Local Community | J. A. Stevenson | 173 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 34.47% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |
St. Giles :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | L. M. Christie | 1,470 | |
| | Conservative | J. McConnell | 388 | |
| | Progressives | J. McCann | 365 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 24.15% |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP |
Sighthill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. T. Davies | 4,444 | |
| | Conservative | W. R. Scott | 840 | |
| | SNP | R. Mackenna | 632 | |
| | Progressives | G. D. M. Galbraith | 605 | |
| | Liberal | Pamela W. King | 335 | |
| | Communist | W. M. Millar | 81 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 38.84% |
| | Labour gain from Progressives | Labour gain from Progressives | Labour gain from Progressives | Labour gain from Progressives |
South Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | A. Ross | 2,514 | |
| | Progressives | A. L. Mackintosh | 1,943 | |
| | SNP | Mary G. Thompson | 739 | |
| | Protestant Action | J. R. Maclean | 217 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 42.32% |
| | Labour gain from Progressives | Labour gain from Progressives | Labour gain from Progressives | Labour gain from Progressives |
West Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressives | A. D. Wilson | 3,064 | |
| | Labour | R. Jeffreys-Jones | 1,629 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 41.94% |
| | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold | Progressives hold |