# Edinburgh Western (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh Western (Gaelic: Dùn Èideann an Iar) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the City of Edinburgh council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is one of nine constituencies in the Lothian electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The constituency was created in 2011, when it replaced the former Edinburgh West constituency.
The seat has been held by Alex Cole-Hamilton of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

## Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the Lothian region are: Almond Valley, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern, Linlithgow and Midlothian North and Musselburgh.
The region includes all of the City of Edinburgh council area, parts of the East Lothian council area, parts of the Midlothian council area and all of the West Lothian council area.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The City of Edinburgh council area is represented in the Scottish Parliament by six constituencies: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western.
The Edinburgh West 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.
For the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Edinburgh West was redrawn and renamed "Edinburgh Western". The electoral wards used in this seat are:
* In full: Almond, Drum Brae/Gyle
* In part: Forth, Inverleith (shared with Edinburgh Northern and Leith), Corstorphine/Murrayfield (shared with Edinburgh Central)

## Members of the Scottish Parliament

As Edinburgh Western
| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 2011 | Colin Keir | SNP |
| | 2016 | Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrats |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Western :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Cole-Hamilton | 25,578 | 54.7 | 12.8 | 11,923 | 25.5 | 4.6 |
| | SNP | Sarah Masson | 15,693 | 33.5 | 0.9 | 14,409 | 30.7 | 1.4 |
| | Conservative | Sue Webber | 2,798 | 6.0 | 8.3 | 9,350 | 20.0 | 5.6 |
| | Labour | Margaret Graham | 2,515 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 5,140 | 11.0 | 0.6 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 4,101 | 8.7 | 1.8 |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 614 | 1.3 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 240 | 0.5 | New |
| | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | 237 | 0.5 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 227 | 0.5 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Daniel Fraser | 201 | 0.4 | New | 107 | 0.2 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 94 | 0.2 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 90 | 0.2 | New |
| | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | 86 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 64 | 0.1 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 44 | 0.1 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 42 | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| | Independent | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | 27 | 0.1 | New |
| | SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | 25 | 0.1 | New |
| | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | 9 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,885 | 21.2 | 13.7 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 46,785 | | | 46,829 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 116 | | | 67 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,901 | 71.5 | 6.8 | 46,895 | 71.5 | 6.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 6.9 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
In 2021, Edinburgh Western set the record for the most votes ever cast for a single candidate in a Scottish Parliament election.

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Western :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Region | Region | Region |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Cole-Hamilton | 16,645 | 41.9 | 14.1 | 8,321 | 20.9 | 9.0 |
| | SNP | Toni Giugliano | 13,685 | 34.4 | 1.4 | 12,835 | 32.2 | 5.9 |
| | Conservative | Sandy Batho | 5,686 | 14.3 | 0.8 | 10,199 | 25.6 | 10.8 |
| | Labour | Cat Headley | 3,750 | 9.4 | 12.0 | 4,624 | 11.6 | 5.9 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 2,760 | 6.9 | 1.8 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 594 | 1.5 | 0.7 |
| | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | 309 | 0.8 | New |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 115 | 0.3 | New |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 101 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,960 | 7.5 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 39,766 | | | 39,858 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 124 | | | 55 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,890 | 64.7 | 5.0 | 39,913 | 64.7 | 5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from SNP | Liberal Democrats gain from SNP | Swing | Swing | | | | |
| Notes |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Western :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Region | Region | Region |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Colin Keir | 11,965 | 35.8 | N/A | 12,747 | 38.1 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Margaret Smith | 9,276 | 27.7 | N/A | 3,988 | 11.9 | N/A |
| | Labour | Lesley Hinds | 7,164 | 21.4 | N/A | 5,870 | 17.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Gordon Lindhurst | 5,047 | 15.1 | N/A | 4,952 | 14.8 | N/A |
| | Independent | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | 2,707 | 8.1 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,728 | 5.2 | N/A |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 424 | 1.3 | N/A |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 268 | 0.8 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 200 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | 156 | 0.5 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 131 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 92 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 92 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | 66 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 28 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | 12 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | 6 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | David Hogg | David Hogg | David Hogg | David Hogg | 6 | 0.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,689 | 7.9 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 33,452 | | | 33,473 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 152 | | | 99 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,604 | 59.6 | N/A | 33,572 | 59.6 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) |
| Notes 1 2 Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency |||||||||