# Edinburgh South (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh South was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it was one of nine constituencies in the Lothians electoral region, which elected seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
For the Scottish Parliament election, 2011, Edinburgh South was redrawn and replaced by the renamed Edinburgh Southern constituency.

## Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the Lothians region were: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh West, Linlithgow, Livingston and Midlothian.
The region covered the City of Edinburgh council area, the West Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, and part of the East Lothian council area.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The Edinburgh South constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
The Holyrood constituency covered a southern portion of the City of Edinburgh council area. The rest of the city area is covered by five other constituencies, all also in the Lothians electoral region: Edinburgh West, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh North and Leith, and Edinburgh East and Musselburgh.
Edinburgh South had boundaries with the Edinburgh West constituency, the Edinburgh Central constituency, and the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency.
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh also covered the Musselburgh portion of the East Lothian council area. The rest of the East Lothian area was covered by the East Lothian constituency, which is in the South of Scotland electoral region.

### Wards

Edinburgh South included the wards of Alnwickhill, Gilmerton, Kaimes, Marchmont, Merchiston, Moredun, Newington, North Morningside and the Grange, Prestonfield, and Sciennes, and part of the South Morningside ward, which is split with Edinburgh Pentlands. The wards were created in 1999, at the same time as the constituency, and were replaced with new wards in 2007, without change to constituency boundaries.
To create the new "Edinburgh Southern" for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the electoral wards used are Sighthill / Gorgie; Fountainbridge / Craiglockhart; Meadows / Morningside; Southside / Newington; Liberton / Gilmerton; Portobello / Craigmillar. All these wards are divided between Southern and neighbouring constituencies, not one is contained whole within the new boundaries.

## Constituency profile

Edinburgh South was predominantly suburban. It included Marchmont, Merchiston, Newington, the Grange, Sciennes and a northern area of Morningside, Moredun, Little France, Inch and Gilmerton.

## Members of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1999 | Angus MacKay | Scottish Labour Party |
| 2003 | Mike Pringle | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| 2011 | constituency abolished: replaced by Edinburgh Southern | constituency abolished: replaced by Edinburgh Southern |

## Election results

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Pringle | 11,398 | 35.0 | +2.9 |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 9,469 | 29.1 | −2.5 |
| | SNP | Robert Holland | 6,117 | 18.8 | +4.7 |
| | Conservative | Gavin Brown | 5,589 | 17.2 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,929 | 5.9 | +5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,573 | 56.6 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Pringle | 10,005 | 32.07 | +9.74 |
| | Labour | Angus MacKay | 9,847 | 31.56 | −5.49 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Buchan | 5,180 | 16.60 | +0.71 |
| | SNP | Alex Orr | 4,396 | 14.09 | −9.44 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Shirley Gibb | 1,768 | 5.67 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 158 | 0.51 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,196 | 51.68 | −10.94 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | +7.62 | |
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Angus MacKay | 14,869 | 37.05 | N/A |
| | SNP | Margo MacDonald | 9,445 | 23.53 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Pringle | 8,961 | 22.33 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Iain Whyte | 6,378 | 15.89 | N/A |
| | Socialist Workers | William Black | 482 | 1.20 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,424 | 13.52 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,135 | 62.62 | N/A |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

## Footnotes

* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine