The SNP held Edinburgh North & Leith last night with an emphatic victory and increased share of the vote.
With 73% of the electorate taking part, the results were as follows:
- Deidre Brock (SNP) 43.7%, 25,935 votes, up 9.7% on the 2017 result.
- Gordon Munro (Lab) 22.11%, 13,117 votes, down 9.1% on 2017.
- Iain McGill (Con) 18.5%, 11,000 votes, down 8.1% on 2017.
- Bruce Wilson (LibDem) 11.2%, 6,635 votes, up 6.6% on 2017.
- Steve Burgess (Grn) 3.3%, 1,971 votes, up 0.3% on 2017.
- Robert Speirs (Brx) 0.9, 558 votes, up 0.9% on 2017.
- Heather Astbury (Rnw) 0.2%, 138 votes, up 0.2% on 2017.
The scale of Brock’s victory is clear from the fact that she secured more votes than her nearest two opponents combined.
The SNP majority here of 12,808 was a marked improvement on its narrow 1,635 margin of victory two years ago.
Labour’s loss of over 4,500 votes over the same period will cause supporters disappointment and some consternation.
Similarly, Conservatives will be concerned that the 15,385 votes they secured in 2017 (a notable increase on the 2015 figure of 9,378) has melted by 4,385.
Liberal Democrats have reasons to be cheerful here. The 2,579 votes they won last time have increased by 4,056.
The Greens made little progress, adding only 244 votes to their previous total. Steve Burgess lost his deposit.
Neither The Brexit Party nor Renew stood last time round, and their candidates also lost their deposits.
Politics is a bruising business. It takes guts to stand in the first place, and stamina to see the process through to the end. Our sense is that the candidates in Edinburgh North & Leith mostly participated with vigour and principle, and we thank all of them for their efforts on our behalfs.
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