Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Scottish Parliament constituency)

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Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Former burgh constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh shown within the Lothians electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Former constituency
Created1999
Abolished2011
Council areaCity of Edinburgh
Replaced byEdinburgh Eastern,
Midlothian North and Musselburgh

Edinburgh East and Musselburgh 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 is one of nine constituencies in the Lothians electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

For the Scottish Parliament election, 2011, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh is abolished. The successor constituencies are Edinburgh Eastern, and Midlothian North and Musselburgh.

Electoral region[edit]

See also Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the Lothians region were: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh West, Linlithgow, Livingston and Midlothian.

The region covered the City of Edinburgh council area, the West Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, and part of the East Lothian council area.

Constituency boundaries[edit]

The Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[1]

From the Scottish Parliament election, 2011, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh was abolished. Musselburgh now forms part of a newly shaped Midlothian North and Musselburgh, while eastern Edinburgh is brought together into a newly named Edinburgh Eastern.

Council areas[edit]

The Holyrood constituency covers an eastern portion of the City of Edinburgh council area and the Musselburgh portion of the East Lothian council area.

The rest of the city area is covered by five other constituencies, all also in the Lothians electoral region: Edinburgh South, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, and Edinburgh West, which are all entirely within the city area. Edinburgh East and Musselburgh has boundaries with the Edinburgh South constituency, the Edinburgh Central constituency and the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

The rest of the East Lothian area is covered by the East Lothian constituency, which is in the South of Scotland electoral region.

Member of the Scottish Parliament[edit]

Kenny MacAskill of the SNP, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, had represented the seat since the 2007 election. He was previously an MSP for the Lothians regional list from 1999 to 2007.

Election Member Party
1999 Susan Deacon Scottish Labour Party
2007 Kenny MacAskill Scottish National Party
2011 constituency abolished: replaced by Edinburgh Eastern

Election results[edit]

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Kenny MacAskill 11,209 37.4 +15.0
Labour Norman Murray 9,827 32.8 -10.8
Liberal Democrats Gillian Cole-Hamilton 5,473 18.3 +6.0
Conservative Christine Wright 3,458 11.5 -1.8
Majority 1,382 4.6 N/A
Turnout 29,967 52.9 +2.6
SNP gain from Labour Swing +13.3
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Susan Deacon 12,655 43.57 −2.62
SNP Kenny MacAskill 6,497 22.37 −5.67
Conservative John Smart 3,863 13.30 +0.86
Liberal Democrats Gary Peacock 3,582 12.33 +1.85
Scottish Socialist Derek Durkin 2,447 8.43 +6.55
Majority 6,158 21.20 +3.05
Turnout 29,044 50.33 −11.44
Labour hold Swing
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Susan Deacon 17,086 46.19 N/A
SNP Kenny MacAskill 10,370 28.04 N/A
Conservative Jeremy Balfour 4,600 12.44 N/A
Liberal Democrats Marjorie Thomas 4,100 11.08 N/A
Scottish Socialist Derrick White 697 1.88 N/A
Majority 6,714 18.15 N/A
Turnout 36,853 61.77 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]