Edinburgh Central was a burgh constituency

Burgh constituency

A burgh constituency is a type of parliamentary constituency in Scotland. It is a constituency which is predominantly urban, and on this basis has been designated as a burgh constituency...

 of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 (at Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

) from 1885

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

 to 2005

United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

. It elected one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

In 1999, a Scottish Parliament constituency was created with the same name and boundaries, and continues in use. See Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

.

From 1925 until 1999, the Member of Parliament for the Westminster constituency was an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees of the National Library of Scotland

National Library of Scotland

The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...

. Since 1999, that role has been taken by the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Scottish Parliament constituency.

Boundaries

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

 provided that the constituency was to consist of the Municipal Wards of St. Giles, George Square, and St. Leonard, except so much as is comprised in the Edinburgh East

Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 Division (being the part to the north of a line drawn along the centres of East and West Richmond Streets).

In 1918 the constituency consisted of the "George Square, St. Giles' and St. Leonard's Municipal Wards of Edinburgh."

"George Square, Holyrood, St Giles" was the description of the Central seat between 1950 and 1955, following the Representation of the People Act 1948

Representation of the People Act 1948

The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections...

. This changed until 1974, when part of Gorgie-Dalry was added, and again after 1974 until 1983 to include part of Merchiston.

Until 1997 the wards comprising Edinburgh Central were numbers 20-21, and 27-29, which changed to parts of wards 5-7, 9-11, and 14-15 until the abolition of the constituency in 2005.

The 1997-2005 boundaries covered a central portion of the City of Edinburgh council area, including Edinburgh Old Town, the West End, Holyrood

Holyrood, Edinburgh

Holyrood is an area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Lying east of the city centre, at the end of the Royal Mile, Holyrood was once in the separate burgh of Canongate before the expansion of Edinburgh in 1856...

 and Murrayfield

Murrayfield

Murrayfield is an affluent area in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and west of Roseburn. The A8 road runs east-west through the north of the area....

. The constituency was one of six covering the city council area.

At the 2005 general election

United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

, the constituency area was divided between Edinburgh East

Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

, Edinburgh North and Leith

Edinburgh North and Leith (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh North and Leith is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , first used in the 1997 general election. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

, Edinburgh South West

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 in the 2005 general election. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 and Edinburgh West

Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , first used in the 1885 general election...

.

Member of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	John Wilson John Wilson (Edinburgh MP) John Wilson was a politician in Scotland. He was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central from 1885 to 1886, having been elected as an "Independent Liberal".- External links :...	Independent Liberal
	1886 United Kingdom general election, 1886 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	William McEwan	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1900 United Kingdom general election, 1900 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	George Mackenzie Brown George Mackenzie Brown George Mackenzie Brown was a Canadian-born Scottish publisher who also followed a political career. As a publisher, he produced Arthur Conan Doyle's books; as a politician, he beat him to win election to the House of Commons....	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	Charles Edward Price Charles Edward Price Charles Edward Price was a Scottish politician. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central from 1906 to 1918. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.- External links :...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...	William Graham	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931 The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...	James Campbell Morrison Guy James Campbell Morrison Guy James Campbell Morrison Guy MC was a British Conservative politician.Guy served during World War I in the Royal Marine Reserve and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in Belgium...	Unionist
	1941 by-election Edinburgh Central by-election, 1941 The Edinburgh by-election, 1941 was a parliamentary by-election held on 11 December 1941 for the British House of Commons constituency of Edinburgh Central in Scotland....	Francis Clifford Watt	Unionist
	1945 United Kingdom general election, 1945 The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...	Andrew Gilzean Andrew Gilzean Andrew Gilzean was a Labour Party politician in Scotland. He was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central from 1945 to 1951....	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	1951 United Kingdom general election, 1951 The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...	Thomas Oswald Thomas Oswald Thomas Oswald was a Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. He represented Edinburgh Central from 1951 until he retired at the February 1974 general election, preceding future minister Robin Cook.-References:...	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	Feb. 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...	Robin Cook Robin Cook Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...	Alex Fletcher Alexander MacPherson Fletcher Sir Alexander MacPherson Fletcher was a British Conservative Party politician.Fletcher was elected as the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North at a by-election in 1973, serving there until 1983, when after boundary changes he became MP for Edinburgh Central...	Conservative
	1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987 The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...	Alastair Darling	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s