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Edinburgh North and Leith is a
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
(at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bucki ...
), first used in the 1997 general election. It elects one
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...
(MP) by the
first past the post system In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
of election. In 1999, a Scottish Parliament constituency was created with the same name and boundaries. See ''
Edinburgh North and Leith (Scottish Parliament constituency) Edinburgh North and Leith was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it was one of nine constitue ...
''. The boundaries of the Westminster constituency were altered, however, in 2005, and the Scottish Parliament constituency retained the older boundaries until 2011. Since
then Then may refer to: * Then language The Then language (also known as Yánghuáng 佯僙语 in Chinese; alternate spellings: Tʻen and Ten) is a Kam–Sui language spoken in Pingtang County, southern Guizhou. It is spoken by the Yanghuang 佯 ...
, the seat has mainly been split between the Edinburgh Northern and Leith and Edinburgh Central constituencies at Holyrood, with a small area also located in Edinburgh Western. In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the constituency returned an above average No vote; 60% opted for Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom, while 40% preferred Scotland to become an independent country. In the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency voted remain by 78.2%. This was the seventh highest support for remain for a constituency.


Constituency profile

The constituency is urbanised, affluent and left-leaning, and covers several northern communities of the city, as well as most of the former burgh of
Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...
, which controversially amalgamated with the City of Edinburgh in 1920. It has the highest proportion of residents living in tenements and flats of any parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, and a relatively high proportion of university graduates. It includes a mix of leafy, expensive residential areas in the South and West of the constituency and densely populated areas nearer to Leith with more young professionals and students, as well as older residents whose families have lived there during several previous generations. It also includes
Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...
, the shops and offices on the northern side of
Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...
, Bute House, the official residence of the
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...
, St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, the
Edinburgh Playhouse Edinburgh Playhouse is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. With 3,059 seats it is the second largest theatre in the United Kingdom after the Hammersmith Apollo. The theatre is owned by Ambassador Theatre Group. Building history The theatre open ...
, the
Edinburgh Waterfront Waterfront Edinburgh is a redevelopment of parts of Edinburgh along the shores of the Firth of Forth in Granton. There are three main landowners: Arcus (formerly Forth Ports), National Grid plc and City of Edinburgh Council. Since the area ...
, the stretch of the
Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Bri ...
from Dean Village to Leith Harbour, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the
Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened a ...
and the notable
private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...
.


Boundaries

When created in 1997, Edinburgh North and Leith was largely a replacement for the Edinburgh Leith constituency, and was one of six constituencies covering the City of Edinburgh council area. One of those six, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh straddled the boundary with the East Lothian council area to take in
Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Old ...
. In terms of
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
s used in elections to the
City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...
between 1995 and 2007, the constituency included the wards of Broughton, Calton, Granton, Harbour, Lorne,
New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, Newhaven, Pilton, Stockbridge and
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...
. Constituency boundaries in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
were revised for the 2005 election. The number of constituencies within the city was reduced from six to five, each now entirely within the city area, and
Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Old ...
was reunited with the remainder of
East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the hist ...
. A new Edinburgh North and Leith constituency was created, including the whole of the former one, but also taking in the
Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles ...
ward from Edinburgh Central and Craigleith ward from Edinburgh West. As a result of the
Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided, amongst other things, for the election of councillors to the local authorities in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Ki ...
, these wards were replaced with new, larger wards for the Council elections on 3 May 2007. The constituency now includes parts of the new wards of
Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...
,
Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to the ...
,
Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotl ...
,
Inverleith Inverleith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Lìte'') is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills ...
and City Centre, but none of these exclusively.


Members of Parliament


Election results


Elections in the 2010s


Elections in the 2000s


Elections in the 1990s


See also

*
Politics of Edinburgh The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to the ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edinburgh North And Leith (Uk Parliament Constituency) Westminster Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland North and Leith Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Leith