Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh West is 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...

), first used in the 1885 general election

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:...

. It elects 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.

Prior to 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 had the same boundaries as the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

constituency with the same name, which had been created in 1999. See Edinburgh West (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh West (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

.

The incumbent MP, Liberal Democrat John Barrett stood down at the 2010 general election.

Boundaries

The constituency was created when the Edinburgh

Edinburgh (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885. Originally a single member constituency, representation was increased to two members in 1832...

constituency was abolished, in 1885, in favour of four new constituencies: 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 Central

Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh Central was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

, Edinburgh South

Edinburgh South (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh South is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1885. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

and Edinburgh West. The Central constituency was abolished in 2005. The East constituency was abolished in 1997, but a new Edinburgh East was created in 2005. The South and West constituencies have been in continuous use (with alterations to boundaries) since 1885.

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. Andrew, St. Stephen, St. Bernard, and St. Luke.

In 1918 the constituency consisted of the "Dalry, Gorgie, Haymarket and St. Bernard's Municipal Wards of Edinburgh."

Prior to the 2005 general election

United Kingdom general election, 2005

, Edinburgh West was one of six constituencies covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Five were entirely within the city council area. One, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

Edinburgh East and Musselburgh may refer to:* Edinburgh East and Musselburgh , a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, at Holyrood, 1999 to present...

, straddled the boundary with the East Lothian council area to take in Musselburgh

Musselburgh

Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...

.

Constituency boundaries were revised for the 2005 election. Edinburgh West was enlarged, to include an area formerly within Edinburgh Central, and became one of five constituencies covering the city area.

The constituency now covers a north western portion of the city area. It is mostly suburban, but takes in rural areas within the city area, to the west of central Edinburgh. In terms of wards used in elections to the City of Edinburgh Council, 1999 to 2007, the constituency includes the wards of Cramond

Cramond

Cramond is a seaside village now part of suburban Edinburgh, Scotland, located in the north-west corner of the city at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth....

, Dalmeny and Kirkliston, Davidson's Mains

Davidson's Mains

Davidsons Mains is a former village which is now a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the areas of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill...

, East Craigs

East Craigs

East Craigs is a residential district of Edinburgh located in the north-west of the city. It lies next to the green belt, and prior to development was a working farm. Development of the area began in 1922 when East Craigs Farm was purchased by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency as a centre...

, Gyle, Muirhouse and Drylaw, 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....

, North East Corstorphine, Queensferry

South Queensferry

South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...

, South East Corstorphine and Stenhouse

Stenhouse

Stenhouse is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the West of the City Centre, adjacent to Whitson and Saughton Mains and close to Broomhouse and Sighthill...

. These wards are due to be replaced with new wards in 2007, as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004

Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004

The Local Governance Act 2004 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided, inter alia, for the election of Councillors to the local authorities in Scotland by the Single Transferable Vote system....

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918Representation of the People Act 1884Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	Thomas Buchanan Thomas Buchanan (Liberal politician) Thomas Ryburn Buchanan PC was a Scottish Liberal politician and bibliophile.-Background and education:Buchanan was born in Glasgow and educated at Sherborne School and Balliol College, Oxford...	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...
1886 United Kingdom general election, 1886 -Seats summary:-See also:MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*...		Liberal Unionist Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
1888 by-election		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...
1892 United Kingdom general election, 1892 The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...	Viscount Wolmer William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne KG, GCMG, PC , styled Viscount Wolmer between 1882 and 1895, was a British politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...	Liberal Unionist
1895	Lewis McIver Lewis McIver Sir Lewis McIver, 1st Baronet was a British Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1909....	Liberal Unionist
1909 by-election	James Avon Clyde	Liberal Unionist
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...	John Gordon Jameson	Coalition Conservative
1922 United Kingdom general election, 1922 The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...	Vivian Phillipps Vivian Phillipps Vivian Phillipps was a British teacher, lawyer and Liberal politician.-Family and education:Phillipps was born in Beckenham, Kent the son of Henry Mitchell Phillipps...	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...
1924 United Kingdom general election, 1924 - Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...	Ian MacIntyre	Unionist
1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929 -Seats summary:-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987-External links:***...	George Mathers George Mathers George Mathers, 1st Baron Mathers KT, PC, DL was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour Party politician...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
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...	Wilfrid Guild Normand Wilfrid Normand, Baron Normand Wilfrid Guild Normand, Baron Normand, KC, PC , was a Scottish politician and judge.Educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh, Oriel College, Oxford, Paris University and Edinburgh University, he was admitted as an advocate in 1910. He served in the Royal Engineers from 1915 to 1918...	Unionist
1935	Thomas Mackay Cooper	Unionist
1941 by-election Edinburgh West by-election, 1941 The Edinburgh West by-election, 1941 was a by-election in the Edinburgh West which occurred on 12 July 1941.Sir George Ian Clark Hutchison stood for the Unionist Party. As he faced no opposition, he was declared elected. It remains the last uncontested by-election in Scotland to date....	Ian Clark Hutchison Ian Clark Hutchison George Ian Clark Hutchison was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West from 1941 to 1959.- External links :...	Unionist
1959 United Kingdom general election, 1959 This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...	Anthony Stodart	Unionist/Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Oct 1974 United Kingdom general election, October 1974 The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...	Lord James Douglas-Hamilton James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, PC, QC , briefly The 11th Earl of Selkirk and styled Lord James Douglas-Hamilton until 1997, is a Scottish Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West then Member of the Scottish Parliament for the...	Conservative Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...	Donald Gorrie Donald Gorrie Donald Cameron Easterbrook Gorrie is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Scotland Region. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1997 until 2001, representing Edinburgh West....	Liberal Democrat
2001 United Kingdom general election, 2001 The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...	John Barrett John Andrew Barrett John Andrew Barrett is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and the former Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West.-Background and early career:...	Liberal Democrat
2010	Mike Crockart	Liberal Democrat

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

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

Politics and history of the constituency

This commuter belt constituency, distinctively in the city, was a safe Unionist/Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

seat for over 65 years, from 1931 general election

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...

until the 1997 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

; since that election the seat has been held by the Liberal Democrats.