Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency).

Edinburgh Central
Former Burgh constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	City of Edinburgh
1885–2005
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Edinburgh East Edinburgh North & Leith Edinburgh South West Edinburgh West
Created from	Edinburgh

Edinburgh Central was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster) from 1885 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament (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).

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

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Wards of St. Giles, George Square, and St. Leonard, except so much as is comprised in the Edinburgh East Division (being the part to the north of a line drawn along the centres of East and West Richmond Streets).

1918-1950: The George Square, St. Giles' and St. Leonard's Municipal Wards of Edinburgh.

1950-1955: The George Square, Holyrood, and St Giles wards of the county of the city of Edinburgh.

1955-1974: The George Square, Holyrood, and St Giles wards of the county of the city of Edinburgh; and part of Gorgie-Dalry ward.

1974-1983: The George Square, Gorgie-Dalry, Holyrood, and St Giles wards of the county of the city of Edinburgh; and part of Merchiston ward.

1983-1997: The City of Edinburgh District electoral divisions of Dalry/Shandon, Haymarket/Tollcross, Murrayfield/Dean, New Town/Stockbridge, and St Giles/Holyrood.

1997-2005: The City of Edinburgh District electoral divisions of Dalry/Shandon, Fountainbridge/Tollcross, Moat/Stenhouse, Murrayfield/Dean, and St Giles/Holyrood.

The 1997-2005 boundaries covered a central portion of the City of Edinburgh council area, including Edinburgh Old Town, the West End, Holyrood and Murrayfield. The constituency was one of six covering the city council area.

At the 2005 general election, the constituency area was divided between Edinburgh East, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh South West and Edinburgh West.^[1]

Member of Parliament

	Member^[2]	Party
1885	John Wilson	Independent Liberal
1886	William McEwan	Liberal
1900	George Mackenzie Brown	Liberal
1906	Charles Edward Price	Liberal
1918	William Graham	Labour
1931	James Campbell Morrison Guy	Unionist
1941 by-election	Francis Clifford Watt	Unionist
1945	Andrew Gilzean	Labour
1951	Thomas Oswald	Labour
Feb. 1974	Robin Cook	Labour
1983	Alex Fletcher	Conservative
1987	Alistair Darling	Labour

Election results

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2001: Edinburgh Central^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alistair Darling	14,495	42.1	-5.0
	Liberal Democrat	Andrew Myles	6,353	18.5	+5.4
	Conservative	Alastair Orr	5,643	16.4	-4.8
	SNP	Ian McKee	4,832	14.1	-1.7
	Scottish Green	Graeme William Farmer	1,809	5.3	+3.9
	Scottish Socialist	Kevin Williamson	1,258	3.7	N/A
Majority			8,142	23.7
Turnout			34,390	52.0	-15.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.2

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alistair Darling	20,125	47.1
	Conservative	Mike D.A. Scott-Hayward	9,055	21.2
	SNP	Fiona Hyslop	6,750	15.8
	Liberal Democrat	Miss Karen J. Utting	5,605	13.1
	Scottish Green	Miss Linda M. Hendry	607	1.4
	Referendum	Austin G. Skinner	495	1.2
	Independent	Mark E. Benson	98	0.2
Majority			11,070	25.9
Turnout			63,969	66.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.4

General Election 1992: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alistair Darling	15,189	38.8
	Conservative	Paul Martin	13,063	33.4
	SNP	Ms. Lynne J. Devine	5,539	14.2
	Liberal Democrat	Andrew B. Myles	4,500	11.5
	Scottish Green	Robin Harper	630	1.6
	Liberal	Richard Wilson	235	0.6
Majority			2,126	5.4
Turnout			56,527	69.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alistair Darling	16,502	40.2
	Conservative	Alex Fletcher	14,240	34.7
	Liberal	A. Myles	7,333	17.9
	SNP	B. Shaw	2,559	6.2
	Scottish Green	L.M. Hendry	438	1.1
Majority			2,262	5.5
Turnout			59,529	69.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1983: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alex Fletcher	14,095	38.04
	Labour	R Kelley	11,529	31.12
	Social Democratic	M Macleod	9,498	25.63
	SNP	R Halliday	1,810	4.89
	Communist	D Carson	119	0.32
Majority			2,566	6.93
Turnout				64.93
	Conservative hold		Swing

Although the Edinburgh Central seat had been won by the Labour Party in 1979, had that election been fought on the new boundaries it was estimated that the Conservatives would have won the seat by a majority of 1,971.^[4]

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robin Cook	12,191	47.85
	Conservative	David McLetchie	7,530	29.55
	Liberal	S Donaldson	3,096	12.15
	SNP	G Kennedy	2,486	9.76
	SLP	CD Boyd	176	0.69
Majority			4,661	18.29
Turnout				67.51
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robin Cook	11,129	40.27
	Conservative	P Jones	7,176	25.97
	SNP	AWS Rae	6,866	24.85
	Liberal	C Scott	2,463	8.91
Majority			3,953	14.30
Turnout				67.47
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robin Cook	11,354	37.85
	Conservative	P Jones	10,393	34.64
	Liberal	C Scott	4,180	13.93
	SNP	AWS Rae	4,074	13.58
Majority			961	3.20
Turnout				73.57
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Oswald	9,561	46.16
	Conservative	Malcolm Leslie Rifkind	8,000	38.62
	SNP	Rena Moore	1,666	8.04
	Liberal	Dr. Anthony Oliver	1,486	7.17
Majority			1,561	7.54
Turnout			20,713	66.00
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Oswald	13,682	58.60
	Conservative	Nicholas Hardwick Fairbairn	9,667	41.40
Majority			4,015	17.20
Turnout			26,256	68.86
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Oswald	14,124	53.90
	Unionist	Nicholas Hardwick Fairbairn	12,082	46.10
Majority			2,042	7.79
Turnout				71.62
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Oswald	15,849	50.99
	Unionist	NR Wylie	15,232	49.01
Majority			617	1.99
Turnout				72.65
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Oswald	16,735	51.44
	Unionist	Ralph Harris	15,796	48.56
Majority			939	2.89
Turnout				68.85
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Oswald	18,429	52.24
	Unionist	WJM Kean	16,847	47.76
Majority			1,582	4.48
Turnout				76.70
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Edinburgh Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Gilzean	16,568	47.92
	Unionist	Francis Clifford Watt	13,631	39.43
	Liberal	Leonard Gellatly	3,446	9.97
	Communist	D Renton	646	1.87
	National Independent	Maj. Hume Sleigh	283	0.82
Majority			2,937	8.49
Turnout				74.33
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Edinburgh Central^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Gilzean	10,921	54.3	+12.9
	Unionist	Francis Clifford Watt	6,701	33.3	−20.7
	Liberal	Maj. N. A. Donald	2,262	11.2	+6.6
	National Independent	Maj. Hume Sleigh	232	1.2	N/A
Majority			4,220	21.0
Turnout				59.7
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	16.8

Edinburgh Central by-election, 1941^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Francis Clifford Watt	4,771	71.0
	Ind. Labour Party	T. Taylor	1,950	29.0
Majority			2,821	42.0
Turnout				20.0
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

Conservative: James Campbell Morrison Guy
Labour: Andrew Gilzean

General Election 1935: Edinburgh Central^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	James Campbell Morrison Guy	12,612	54.0
	Labour	Andrew Gilzean	9,659	41.3
	Liberal	Dr Richard Archibald Barlow	1,086	4.7
Majority			2,953	12.6
Turnout			23,357	64.5
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Edinburgh Central^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	James Campbell Morrison Guy	17,293	59.3
	Labour	Rt Hon. William Graham	10,566	36.2
	Communist	Fred Douglas	1,319	4.5
Majority			6,727	23.1
Turnout			29,178	74.2
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Edinburgh Central^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. William Graham	16,762	59.0	-1.5
	Liberal	Harold Alexander	6,745	23.8	n/a
	Unionist	John Hamilton Mackie	4,889	17.2	-22.3
Majority			10,017	35.2	+14.2
Turnout				69.3	+0.5
	Labour hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1924: Edinburgh Central^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rt Hon. William Graham	13,628	60.5	-7.4
	Unionist	A. Beaton	8,897	39.5	n/a
Majority			4,731	21.0	-14.8
Turnout				68.8	+9.1
	Labour hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1923: Edinburgh Central^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Graham	13,186	67.9	+10.0
	Liberal	Thomas Lamb	6,225	32.1	-10.0
Majority			6,961	35.8	+20.0
Turnout				59.7	-12.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.0

General Election 1922 : Edinburgh Central^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Graham	12,876	57.9	+6.6
	National Liberal	Sir George McCrae	9,371	42.1	-6.6
Majority			3,505	15.8	+13.2
Turnout				71.8	+26.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.6

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 Edinburgh Central^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Graham	7,161	51.3	n/a
	Liberal	Joseph Dobbie	6,797	48.7
Majority			364	2.6
Turnout				45.2
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

endorsed by Coalition Government

General Election Dec 1910: Edinburgh Central^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Edward Price	3,771
	Conservative	G.R.Y. Radcliffe	1,947
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election Jan 1910: Edinburgh Central^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Edward Price	3,985
	Liberal Unionist	David A. Scott	1,947
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

Price

General Election 1906: Edinburgh Central^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Edward Price	3,935	67.9
	Liberal Unionist	J.D.G. Walker	1,857	32.1
Majority
Turnout				83.6
	Liberal hold		Swing

Conan Doyle

General Election 1900: Edinburgh Central^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Mackenzie Brown	3,028	55.2	n/a
	Liberal Unionist	Dr. Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle	2,459	44.8	n/a
Majority			569	10.4	n/a
Turnout				71.9	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Edinburgh Central^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William McEwan	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

William McEwan

General Election 1892: Edinburgh Central^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William McEwan	3,733	63.0
	Liberal Unionist	Arthur K Connell	1,758	29.7
	Scottish Trades Councils	John Wilson	434	7.3
Majority			1,975	33.3
Turnout				76.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886: Edinburgh Central^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William McEwan	3,760	62.7
	Liberal Unionist	John Wilson	2,236	37.3
Majority			1,524	25.4
Turnout				72.5
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

General Election 1885: Edinburgh Central^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	John Wilson	2,930	41.9	n/a
	Liberal	James Hall Renton	1,684	24.1	n/a
	Conservative	Hon. John Scott Napier	1,606	23.0	n/a
	Independent Liberal	Adam William Black	770	11.0	n/a
Majority			1,247	17.8	n/a
Turnout				84.5	n/a
	Independent Liberal win

Notes and references

↑ Fifth Periodical Review, Boundary Commission for Scotland
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
↑ Vote 2001: Edinburgh Central, BBC News
↑ The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. 1983. p. 279. ISBN 0 7230 0255 X.
↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1944
↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
1 2 3 Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
↑ Oliver and Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1927
↑ The Times, 8 December 1923
1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889

Westminster constituencies of Scotland

1708 to 1832 1832 to 1868 1868 to 1885 1885 to 1918 1918 to 1950 1950 to 1955 1955 to 1974 1974 to 1983 1983 to 1997 1997 to 2005

Current constituencies (2005 to present)

Aberdeen North Aberdeen South Airdrie & Shotts Angus Argyll & Bute Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock Banff & Buchan Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross Central Ayrshire Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East Dumfries & Galloway Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale Dundee East Dundee West Dunfermline & West Fife East Dunbartonshire East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow East Lothian East Renfrewshire Edinburgh East Edinburgh North & Leith Edinburgh South Edinburgh South West Edinburgh West Falkirk Glasgow Central Glasgow East Glasgow North Glasgow North East Glasgow North West Glasgow South Glasgow South West Glenrothes Gordon Inverclyde Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Kilmarnock & Loudoun Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath Lanark & Hamilton East Linlithgow & East Falkirk Livingston Midlothian Moray Motherwell & Wishaw Na h-Eileanan an Iar North Ayrshire & Arran North East Fife Ochil & South Perthshire Orkney & Shetland Paisley & Renfrewshire North Paisley & Renfrewshire South Perth & North Perthshire Ross, Skye & Lochaber Rutherglen & Hamilton West Stirling West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine West Dunbartonshire

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County constituencies	Argyll Ayr Banffshire Berwick and East Lothian Bothwell Bute and Northern Ayrshire Caithness and Sutherland Central Ayrshire CC Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire Dumfriesshire East Aberdeenshire East Dunbartonshire East Fife East Renfrewshire Galloway Hamilton Inverness Kilmarnock Kinross and Western Perthshire Lanark Midlothian and Peebles Moray and Nairn Motherwell North Angus and Mearns North Lanarkshire Orkney and Zetland Perth and East Perthshire Ross and Cromarty Roxburgh and Selkirk Rutherglen South Angus South Ayrshire West Aberdeenshire West Dunbartonshire West Fife West Lothian West Renfrewshire West Stirlingshire Western Isles

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