# Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh Central (Gaelic: Dùn Èideann Meadhain) is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Edinburgh. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also 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 with the name and boundaries of a constituency of the Edinburgh Central UK Parliament constituency. Since 1999, the constituency MSP has been an ex officio member of the board of trustees of the National Library of Scotland. From 1925 until 1999, that role had been taken by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Westminster constituency.
The constituency was one of the few areas to vote "Yes" in the 2011 UK Alternative Vote referendum held on the same day as the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.
The seat has been held by Angus Robertson of the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

## Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the Lothian region are: Almond Valley, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern, Edinburgh Western, 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

Edinburgh 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 Central 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.
As part of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries the boundaries of the constituency were changed before the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. Each electoral ward used in the creation of the redrawn Central is split, shared with neighbouring constituencies.
* Inverleith (shared with Edinburgh Northern and Leith and Edinburgh Western)
* Corstorphine/Murrayfield (shared with Edinburgh Western)
* Sighthill/Gorgie (shared with Edinburgh Pentlands and Edinburgh Southern)
* Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart (shared with Edinburgh Southern)
* Morningside (shared with Edinburgh Southern)
* City Centre (shared with Edinburgh Eastern)
* Southside/Newington (shared with Southern)

## Constituency profile and voting patterns
### Constituency profile

The Edinburgh Central constituency is situated in the central-north of the City of Edinburgh. The constituency is a major tourist, financial and retail centre, covering Edinburgh's Old and New Towns, Princes Street, Haymarket, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Castle and the Scottish Parliament building itself.
The north and west of the constituency is very affluent, covering Victorian suburbs such as Craigleith, Murrayfield, Stockbridge and Orchard Brae, in addition to Edinburgh's well-off West End. There is some deprivation towards the south and east of the constituency around Dalry, Dumbiedykes and in patches of Edinburgh's Old Town, although overall the constituency is very affluent.

### Voting patterns

In the 2007 City of Edinburgh local council election, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest party in wards covered by the Edinburgh Central constituency. In the 2012 local election, the Conservatives and Scottish National Party formed the two largest parties in the area. The Conservatives were ahead in 6 of the 8 electoral wards covering the Edinburgh Central constituency in the 2017 City of Edinburgh local council election.
Traditionally this constituency has been represented by the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats forming the main opposition. From the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 until the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the constituency of Edinburgh Central was represented by Labour's Sarah Boyack. With a re-arrangement of the constituency boundaries in 2011, which would have been won by the Liberal Democrats in 2007, the constituency narrowly returned the SNP's Marco Biagi, who gained the constituency with a slender majority of 237 votes. In 2016 the Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Ruth Davidson, gained the constituency from the SNP with a majority of 610 votes. No candidate has ever won over 40% of the vote in the constituency since its establishment.
In the UK Parliament, the Edinburgh Central constituency was represented by the Labour Party almost continuously from the 1945 UK general election until the constituency was abolished in 2005, voting Conservative once in 1983.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1999 | Sarah Boyack | Labour |
| 2011 | Marco Biagi | SNP |
| 2016 | Ruth Davidson | Conservatives |
| 2021 | Angus Robertson | SNP |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Angus Robertson | 16,276 | 39.0 | 10.4 | 12,476 | 29.9 | 3.7 |
| | Conservative | Scott Douglas | 11,544 | 27.7 | 2.7 | 9,766 | 23.4 | 5.7 |
| | Labour | Maddy Kirkman | 6,839 | 16.4 | 5.7 | 6,866 | 16.4 | 0.8 |
| | Scottish Green | Alison Johnstone | 3,921 | 9.4 | 4.2 | 7,604 | 18.2 | 1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bruce Wilson | 2,555 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 3,075 | 7.4 | 1.4 |
| | Independent | Bonnie Prince Bob | 363 | 0.9 | New | | | |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 639 | 1.5 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 279 | 0.7 | New |
| | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | 179 | 0.4 | New |
| | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | 161 | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 154 | 0.4 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 102 | 0.2 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Tam Laird | 137 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 93 | 0.2 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 90 | 0.2 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 88 | 0.2 | New |
| | Independent | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | 75 | 0.2 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 48 | 0.1 | New |
| | SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | 33 | 0.1 | New |
| | UKIP | Donald Mackay | 78 | 0.2 | New | 30 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | 18 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,732 | 11.3 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 41,713 | | | 41,776 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 121 | | | 59 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,834 | 62.7 | 5.2 | 41,835 | 62.7 | 5.2 |
| | SNP gain from Conservative | SNP gain from Conservative | Swing | Swing | 6.6 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ruth Davidson | 10,399 | 30.4 | 15.4 | 9,946 | 29.1 | 13.2 |
| | SNP | Alison Dickie | 9,789 | 28.6 | 4.1 | 8,962 | 26.2 | 3.8 |
| | Labour | Sarah Boyack | 7,546 | 22.1 | 9.8 | 5,899 | 17.3 | 2.3 |
| | Scottish Green | Alison Johnstone | 4,644 | 13.6 | New | 5,799 | 17.0 | 2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hannah Bettsworth | 1,672 | 4.9 | 15.6 | 2,048 | 6.0 | 3.7 |
| | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | 743 | 2.2 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 395 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 284 | 0.8 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Tom Laird | 119 | 0.3 | New | | | |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 90 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 610 | 1.8 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 34,169 | | | 34,166 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 107 | | | 68 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,276 | 57.5 | 3.0 | 34,234 | 57.5 | 2.8 |
| | Conservative gain from SNP | Conservative gain from SNP | Swing | Swing | | | | |
| Notes 1 2 Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency ↑ Elected on the party list |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Region | Region | Region |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Marco Biagi | 9,480 | 32.7 | N/A | 8,768 | 30.0 | N/A |
| | Labour | Sarah Boyack | 9,243 | 31.9 | N/A | 5,716 | 19.6 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Cole-Hamilton | 5,937 | 20.5 | N/A | 2,849 | 9.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Iain McGill | 4,354 | 15.0 | N/A | 4,659 | 15.9 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 4,213 | 14.4 | N/A |
| | Independent | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | 1,988 | 6.8 | N/A |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 236 | 0.8 | N/A |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 182 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 145 | 0.5 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 105 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 97 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | 71 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 68 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | 44 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 46 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Independent | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | 24 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | David Hogg | David Hogg | David Hogg | David Hogg | 14 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | 5 | 0.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 237 | 0.8 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 29,014 | | | 29,230 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 224 | | | 90 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,238 | 54.5 | N/A | 29,320 | 54.7 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency ↑ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency |||||||||

### 2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sarah Boyack | 9,155 | 31.1 | −1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Siobhan Mathers | 7,962 | 27.1 | +4.2 |
| | SNP | Shirley-Anne Somerville | 7,496 | 25.5 | +7.8 |
| | Conservative | Fiona Houston | 4,783 | 16.3 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,193 | 4.0 | −5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,396 | 52.9 | +6.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.8 | |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sarah Boyack | 9,066 | 32.4 | −5.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andy Myles | 6,400 | 22.9 | +6.3 |
| | SNP | Kevin Pringle | 4,965 | 17.7 | −8.0 |
| | Conservative | Peter Finnie | 4,802 | 17.1 | +1.0 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Catriona Grant | 2,552 | 9.1 | +6.9 |
| | Scottish People's | James O'Neill | 229 | 0.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,666 | 9.5 | −2.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,014 | 46.1 | −10.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.0 | |

### 1990s

1999 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Sarah Boyack | 14,224 | 38.0 |
| | SNP | Ian McKee | 9,598 | 25.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andy Myles | 6,187 | 16.5 |
| | Conservative | Jacqui Low | 6,018 | 16.1 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Kevin Williamson | 830 | 2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,626 | 12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,857 | 56.7 |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |