The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has welcomed strong employer awareness of new paternity and parental leave rules coming into effect this month, while encouraging remaining businesses to get up to speed.
A new YouGov survey, commissioned by Acas, showed that 87% of employers were aware of the changes coming into effect next month, while 12% were unaware.
Major changes to employment law introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 will come into effect on 6 April 2026.
Niall Mackenzie, Acas Chief Executive, said:“The Employment Rights Act 2025 represents a major shake-up in employment law, and employers and workers need to be prepared.
“It is encouraging that so many employers are aware of the new rules, but is clearly still an uncertainty for some. It is vital that all employers are aware of their obligations and are ready to act on them.
“Acas is best placed as the independent expert to provide advice and training to employers and workers navigating this period of change.”
Employment Rights Minister Kate Dearden said:“No new parent should miss out on time with their child because they haven’t been in their job long enough. Our reforms to parental leave are putting that right.
“I’m glad to see so many employers are prepared for the changes, to make sure workers get the benefits and security they deserve.”
Changes to employment law coming into effect on 6 April include:
employees will be eligible for paternity leave from the first day of employment- Currently they must have worked for their employer for 26 weeks
ordinary unpaid parental leave, will also become a day one right – currently, employees must have worked for their employer for 1 year to be eligible
the restriction on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed
eligible fathers and partners will be able to take up to 52 weeks of unpaid bereaved partner’s paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies – they must take this leave within 52 weeks of the child’s birth (including surrogacy), adoption placement, or entry to Great Britain for overseas adoptions
Triple Fringe First winning extraordinaires Xhloe & Natasha, legendary comedian and theatremaker Adam Riches, and return of Comedy Award nominees The Creepy Boys, headline 36-strong second Summerhall Arts festival programme announcement – on sale now
Summerhall Arts announces 36 more shows in its 2026 festival programme, including 55% international artists, 24% artists of colour, 60% female, and 30% LGBTQI+ artists
Summerhall Arts is delighted to announce that back-to-back-to-back Scotsman Fringe First winners Xhloe & Natasha will be at Summerhall this festival, presenting their brand new show, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It
Adam Riches – Fringe legend, Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner, and creator of 2024 hit, Jimmy – returns to Summerhall with new solo show, The Captain
Summerhall Arts’ Mary Dick Award 2026, in collaboration with Birds of Paradise, goes to Patch of Blue and 3hc,who will premiere moving exploration of care, You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next)
The Autopsy Award, for artists working in Scotland, goes to Althea Young, who presents a humorous and horror-filled account of parental ambivalence in The Dreaming
The Meadows Award, for artists of colour from anywhere in the world, is presented to Palestinian multidisciplinary performance artist Fadi Murad, presenting Come Back Home
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees The Creepy Boys return with acclaimed show, SLUGS, and new WIP show, Nude Parade
Other highlights include brand new shows or UK premieres from Salty Brine, Adam Lenson, 81 Productions, Magnetic North, Ballaro Dance, Lightning Rod Special, Sadiq Ali Company, OPE-N, and Ballet National Folklorique du Luxembourg
Home of boundary-pushing performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, arts charity and year-round cultural hub Summerhall Arts today announces 36 more shows of the 2026 instalment of its renowned festival programme.
Summerhall continues to host diverse and intersectional work, with 60% of the shows female led, 24% led by artists of colour, and 30% featuring an LGBTQI+ narrative. Over 55% of artists and companies are international, bringing work from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Canada, USA, Colombia, Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Netherlands Luxembourg, Malta, Denmark, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to Summerhall’s iconic performance spaces.
This roster of shows reflects an eclectic body of work spanning theatre, performance art, drag, cabaret, puppetry, dance, circus, pole, and comedy, encompassing themes that touch on identity of all forms, digital toxification and misinformation, ongoing conflicts and injustices across the world, mother-son relationships, conspiracies, why men are so odd, existing on the internet, the weight of personal heritage, public vs private apologies, and much more. Music is celebrated throughout the programme, from contemporary opera to Neutral Milk Hotel-inspired cabaret, Korean geomungo, gig theatre, and even one man singing the same song for an hour.
Summerhall Arts is delighted to announce that triple Fringe First winners Xhloe and Natasha will premiere a brand-new show at Summerhall this festival. Co-presented with Soho Theatre and SoHo Playhouse, the duo – described by The Scotsman’s Joyce McMillan as “the most compelling performers on the Fringe” – will perform Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It. Combining precise choreography, absurdist clowning, and a nine-foot puppet, the show is a piercing exploration of conspiracy and misdirection.
Another legend of the Edinburgh Fringe, Summerhall is thrilled to welcome back Comedy Award winner Adam Riches with a brand new solo theatre show. After embodying fiery tennis player Jimmy Connors in his acclaimed, sell-out, smash-hit, Jimmy (Summerhall, 2024), Riches returns with The Captain – the true story of Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to ever swim the English Channel.
Summerhall Arts is excited to announce the winners of its three festival awards to help support artists to bring boundary-pushing work to the most critically acclaimed venue at the festival. The Mary Dick Award for UK-based d/Deaf or disabled artists, in collaboration with Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, goes to Patch of Blue (Cassie and the Lights) and 3hc, who will premiere You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) – a potent, joyful and moving exploration of care written by disabled actor and writer Keron Day, and former care worker Alex Howarth, supported by Theatre Royal Plymouth.
The Autopsy Award for artists working in Scotland is awarded to Glasgow-based contemporary performance artist Althea Young who will premiere The Dreaming, a stirring blend of autobiography and fantasy that blends performance art, theatre, and choreography, to explore topics including mutant babies, alien insemination and the urge to reproduce.
The Meadows Award, for artists of colour from anywhere in the world, goes to Palestinian multidisciplinary performance artist Fadi Murad and his show, Come Back Home – a contemporary theatre work exploring ongoing grief, dispossession, and how the past continues to inhabit the present, which deals with self criticism, fear, and the unknown through the lens of absurdity.
Summerhall Arts is also delighted to announce the return of several hit shows from past festivals. Edinburgh Comedy Award 2025 nominated Canadian slimeballsCreepy Boys (S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger) return with their five-star anarchic fever dream about nothing, SLUGS (★★★★ – Financial Times, ★★★★ – Guardian, ★★★★ – Scotsman),and present a new work-in-progress, Nude Parade, which is like a live theatre version of the game of Operation – and it’s trans.Actor, writer, clown, comedian, and all-round nincompoop Scott Turnbull returns with his acclaimed 2025 ‘edutainment show’, Surreally Good; New Zealander’s premiere interactive theatre company Binge Culture return with their 2024 immersive hit, Werewolf, perfect for fans of The Traitors; and Summerhall-based Pickering’s Gin return with a revised version of its renowned immersive Speakeasy Experience.
More returning Summerhall favourites include multi-award-winning theatre-maker and director Adam Lenson, who achieved acclaim for his debut solo show Anything That We Wanted to Be in 2023. Adam premieres Is it too late now to say sorry? – a new collision of gig, storytelling, and autobiographical investigation which psychologises the apology, both personal and public. And Buzzcut Productions (Bark Bark, 2024) return with their signature blend of live camera work, puppetry, and a live score to premiere The Wreck, a new show about two siblings diving a shipwreck and discovering the fate of their family’s seaside nightclub.
Exciting Scotland-based artists will also take to Summerhall’s stages this August, including two shows from this year’s Made in Scotland Showcase: playwright and drag artist Nelly Kelly, in collaboration with Sanctuary Queer Arts, premieres TRANSMISSION – a darkly-comedic blend of DIY cabaret and political theatre exploring Scotland’s shift from world-leading on LGBTQI+ rights to fertile ground for the anti-trans movement; and circus and aerial specialists Sadiq Ali Company (The Chosen Haram) premiere Tell Me – a bold fusion of dance and circus offering a fresh perspective on life with HIV.
Award-winning Edinburgh-based company Magnetic North present We Will Hear The Angels – an atmospheric and poignant exploration of the strange state of melancholy, evoked from the power of sad music. Performed by five-actor musicians – Apphia Campbell, Mia Scott, Greg Sinclair, Daniel Padden and Nicholas Bone – it combines words, movement and music in a soundscape that includes Hank Williams, Orange Juice, Etta James, Bach, and more. Glasgow-based Euan Munro presents Playback, a tragicomic true story about a child YouTuber featuring his own childhood vlogs.
In the movement and dance strain of the programme, Summerhall is honoured to be welcoming the world-famous Ballet National Folklorique du Luxembourg, led by their flamboyant new Director, Mr Chevalier. The Great Chevalier will see the unpredictable director, hailed as the ‘Bad Boy of Folklore’, perform some emblematic classics, including the iconic Pigeon Dance.
Summerhall Arts Fringe Producer and Programmer, Tom Forster, commented: “With the Fringe landscape ever changing, Summerhall Arts believes we should challenge ourselves as a venue to innovate year-on-year to the same frequency that we demand of artists.
“To match demand for intimacy with the audience, the Main Hall’s end-on format after 14 years will be reimagined in horseshoe format for Festival 2026. A specific request made by Ballet National Folklorique du Luxembourg Artistic Director, Monsieur Chevalier; it is the only layout that can host the renowned Pigeon Dance, and, since the International Festival couldn’t accommodate his request, we at Summerhall Arts proudly stepped in.
“Boasting an infinity ceiling clearance of 6 meters, leading to a stunning ceiling mural by John Kindness, this new vision for our largest venue will make the Main Hall the most beautiful venue in the city – giving artists and Mr Chevalier a backdrop they deserve.”
Tamsin Shasha returns to Summerhall for the first time since her Fringe First-winning Everything I See I Swallow (2019), bringing Forgive Me – a highly personal show about a hyperactive mother and a gaming-obsessed son, which fuses pole performance, video projection and song. Sweat meets spectacle in New York City-based company, Ballaro Dance’s UK premiere of TWELVE: Going The Distance– a 47-minute contemporary dance work divided into 12 three-minute “rounds”, which is set in a boxing gym and unfolds with the intensity of a title bout. The Taiwan Season returns to Summerhall with the UK premiere of Seed Dance Company’s The Wall, a dynamic, emotionally provocative quintet packed with restless and urgent precision.
An immersive highlight is Daydreams from 81 Productions – producers of the acclaimed durational theatre installation, Mother Has Arrived (★★★★★ – The Stage’s 50 Top Shows of 2025). An innovative, cinematic work about insomnia, Daydreams involved 3D projection, performance and an ominous soundscape to lock audiences into a sleepless loop where headlines and half-dreams collide.
Summerhall Arts has a growing comedy presence at the Fringe, and this continues in 2026 with Laurie Stevens, known for her 2025 hit character show, David’s One-Man Band (F*ck You, Steven), who this year presents her theatrical debut: An Evening with Gerald Lloyd-Davies. Laurie performs as Lloyd-Davies – an ageing straight Welsh actor, aspiring national treasure and quintessential luvvie. Another star character comedy turn sees actor, artist, and drag king Tessa Parr premiere I AM JOHNNY, performing as very, very male performance poet, Johnny the Biblical Rapper. Co-produced by Camden People’s Theatre, I AM JOHNNY is an unsettling, absurd and hilarious interrogation into the fragile bones of the patriarchy.
Gaulier-trained clown and home-trained OnlyFans content creator Jessica Aszkenasy presents TITCLOWN: daddy’s little girl – a clown show about boobs, the father wound women hold in society, and why it’s so hard to live laugh love with heterosexual men – and features a lifesize Henry VIII doll. Finally, award-winning comedian Conk and Quiet Riot bring a conceptually simple show: Man Sings The Same Song Over And Over Again For An Hour. Which song? You’ll need to come and find out.
Continuing the musical theme, Summerhall is delighted to welcome acclaimed New York-based drag queen, Salty Brine (Stage Fringe Five, 2024). This festival, in his genre-defying cabaret style, he sets his sights on combining Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Anne Frank’s The Diaries of a Young Girl, in HOW STRANGE IT IS (The Neutral Milk Hotel Show).
In the #DANISH showcase, groundbreaking combiners of opera and physical theatre OPE-N present Laughing Out Lonely – a thrilling new solo opera about the faceless existence of life on the internet by composing team Matilde Böcher and Asger Kudahl, with a tour de tour performance from acclaimed countertenor Morten Grove Frandsen. Finally, in PLASTIC, geomungo artist Kim Minyoung merges the traditional Korean instrument with media art, expanding its possibilities into new territories.
Summerhall Arts is also delighted to welcome two uncategorizable shows from the city of Philadelphia to Edinburgh. Koan Brothers – aka Mason Rosenthal, Sohrab Haghverdi, and Benjamin Rosenthal – will present Foriegner, a dizzying solo, anti-identity, anti-comedy, avant-clown show that follows one asylum seeker’s attempt to win an O1-B visa, awarded to individuals of artistic brilliance.
And from Lightning Rod Special, the creators of Fringe First winning Underground Railroad Game (2018) comes Lions, an unsentimental two-hander part-clown show, part-eulogy about fathers, life on hold with corporations after death, and the myths of what it means to be great men.
Also from the US, LA-based multidisciplinary artist, performer and film critic, Gregory Nussen brings a metatheatrical piece about the politics of storytelling and truth, loosely inspired by Italo Calvino’s lf On a Winter’s Night A Traveler. A solo show without a fourth wall, QFWFQ (pronounced “kfwoofk”) touches on everything from architecture, jazz, gender identity and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Staying on politics and identity – in the #DANISH showcase, Danish-Israeli artist Boaz Barkan brings Our Other Organ, a dissection of antisemitism and its impact on Jewish identity, which culminates in the creation of a “new Zionist body” and its structures of violence and domination. Atop a mortuary table, Barkan digs into a living body to uncover a new organ – the place where racism resides.
Summerhall Arts also welcomes two shows from Ireland. Joy Nesbitt’s Julius Caesar Variety Show scrutinises both the theatre sector and the exploitation of identity in a play that sees a Black actor, a Woman actor, and a Straight White Male actor compete to impress a respected director set on reinventing a Shakespeare play in “unorthodox” ways. And Martha Knight’s new play, The King of All Birds, utilises both voice and vocoder to explore our shared history with the sky: the years it remained untouched, the first ventures into it, and our endless climbing up.
Continuing the animal theme, Hotter Project (makers of 2023 hit, The Last Show Before We Die (★★★★★ – The Guardian), in association with Speakerphone Productions and Soho Theatre, will premiere HAM – a kinky eco-hijacking of Hamlet about meat, madness, and the power of shame that twists the classic high-brow tragedy into a sordid wrestle between a vegan and a sausage-lover.
Finally, from Lyn Gardner-recommended double act ‘Britney’ – aka Ellen Robertson (Vladimir, Mickey 17, The Pale Horse) and Charly Clive (Pure Rooster, Pure, The Lazarus Project) – comes Jitters, a brand new two-hander about ownership, tradition, and the all-important ‘L’ word of any relationship: leverage. And contemporary storyteller and theatremaker Nathan Jonathan takes us back to Y-2-K with They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads – a funny and heartfelt solo show about growing up mixed-race in a Northern-industrial-town. Expect gelled quiffs and flip-up phones in an exploration of identity, class and belonging at the turn of the millennium.
These 36 new shows are now on sale. They join seven shows that went on sale in February: As Far As We Know (YESYESNONO), GOOD ENOUGH? (HIMHERANDIT), LANDSFRAU هموطن (Mariann Yar), PUTTANA (Beatrice Festi and TeatroEETS), SAND (Kook Ensemble), Tether (Wonder Fools and Theatre SAN), and Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life (Keith Alessi).
The next and final Summerhall Arts festival programme announcement will be on Wednesday 6th May, before the commencement of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 from 6th –31st August.
PICTURE (TOP): Clockwise from top left: Salty Brine (Credit: Alex Brenner), Forgive Me, Adam Riches: The Captain (Credit: Matt Stronge, Design: Will Andrews), Come Back Home, The Dreaming (Credit: Tiu Makkonen), Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It (Credit: Morgan Mcdowell), You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) (Credit: Patch Studio), & TRANSMISSION (Credit: Tiu Makkonen).
Public transport is an essential part of everyday life, but for people who are deaf or have hearing loss – journeys by services like trains, buses or ferries can be a huge challenge.
Inaccessible audio announcements, a lack of deaf awareness amongst staff and no signed information for deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users are all barriers that can lead to stress, missed journeys and seriously affect people’s confidence when using public transport.
That’s why RNID is asking people who are deaf and have hearing loss to take part in a major survey. Whether you use public transport regularly, or avoid it altogether, your answers will be invaluable and help us work with transport providers, policymakers and technology companies to push for real, lasting improvements.
The survey, which closes on the 13th April, is part of a major project funded by the Motability Foundation and can be accessed here: www.rnid.org.uk/transport-survey
Kind regards,
Victoria Boelman,Director of Insight and Policy, RNID
– the national charity supporting the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.
We’re delighted to share that LifeCare has successfully secured funding and installed a solar photovoltaic (PV) system at our much-loved community Hub in Stockbridge.
This exciting project, funded by the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), will allow us to generate clean, renewable energy on-site, helping to significantly reduce our energy costs and carbon footprint.
With over 47,000 visits to the Hub each year, this investment will have a lasting impact, not only on our building, but on the thousands of people who rely on our services.
Lowering our energy bills will allow us to reinvest more into what matters most: supporting local older people – including those living with dementia and those experiencing loneliness and social isolation – while continuing to deliver a wide range of accessible activities that bring people of all ages from within the local community together.
The funding has also enabled us to install battery storage, meaning we can store and use more of the energy we generate, further improving efficiency and resilience against rising energy costs.
Claire Montgomery, Communications and Fundraising Manager at LifeCare Edinburgh said: “We’re incredibly grateful to CARES for making this project possible, and to Culbertson Renewables Ltd for the fantastic work they did fitting the panels at The LifeCare Centre.
“This funding is not only helping us reduce our environmental impact, but it also means we can direct more resources into supporting older people across our community. It’s a win for both sustainability, and the people we’re here to support.”
This exciting project marks a key step in our commitment to sustainability and to supporting Scotland’s journey to net zero, demonstrating how community organisations can lead the way in tackling climate change while continuing to deliver vital frontline services.
We look forward to sharing the impact of this project and using this opportunity to raise awareness of renewable energy across our community.
The full list of candidates standing for election to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh’s six constituencies alongside those contesting the seven seats from the Edinburgh and Lothians East Region has now been finalised.
Nominations closed at 4pm yesterday. The candidates for each constituency at that deadline are listed below and on rhe city council’s website:
Edinburgh Central:
BONNIE PRINCE, Bob – Independent
CREIGHTON, Chris – Independent
DALGLEISH, James William – Scottish Labour Party
DUNDAS, Charles – Scottish Liberal Democrats
LAIRD, Tam – Scottish Libertarian Party
MOWAT, Jo – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
MURRAY, Craig John – Alliance to Liberate Scotland
NEILL, Gary – Reform UK
POWNALL, Robert Neil – Independent
ROBERTSON, Angus – Scottish National Party (SNP)
SLATER, Lorna – Scottish Green Party
Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith:
LEES, David – Reform UK
MACPHERSON, Ben – Scottish National Party (SNP)
NEVENS, Kate – Scottish Green Party
OWEN, Liss – Scottish Liberal Democrats
THOMAS, Oliver Philip – Scottish Labour Party
YOUNG, Haris – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Edinburgh North Western:
AHMED, Irshad – Scottish Labour Party
CAIRNS, Rachel – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
COLE-HAMILTON, Alex – Scottish Liberal Democrats
HENRY, David – Scottish Workers Party of Britain
JARDINE, Lyn Ann – Scottish National Party (SNP)
THOMSON, Davie – Reform UK
Edinburgh Northern:
COWDY, Christopher – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
DIJKSTRA-DOWNIE, Sanne – Scottish Liberal Democrats
HYSLOP, Euan – Scottish National Party (SNP)
KINROSS-O’NEILL, Kayleigh Ferguson – Scottish Green Party
MCLAUGHLIN, Andrew – Reform UK
MERON, Abu – Scottish Workers Party of Britain
RYAN-SAHA, Eleanor – Scottish Labour Party
Edinburgh South Western:
KUMAR, Simita – Scottish National Party (SNP)
MUNRO, Catriona – Scottish Labour Party
ROSE, Cameron – Reform UK
WEBBER, Sue – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
WILLIAMSON, Andy – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Edinburgh Southern:
ALLISTON PICKARD, Jane Patricia – Scottish Liberal Democrats
BROCK, Deidre Leanne – Scottish National Party (SNP)
JOHNSON, Daniel Guy – Scottish Labour Party
MUNRO, Marie-Clair – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
TURNER, Charles – Reform UK
WILKINSON, Marc – Edinburgh & East Lothian People
Edinburgh and Lothians East (Region):
ADVANCE UK
MOFFAT, Sean
ALLIANCE TO LIBERATE SCOTLAND
MURRAY, Craig John
SMITH, Joe
KERR, Hugh
DALY, James
CARO, Anna
ANIMAL WELFARE PARTY
SCOTT, Mark
WILLISCROFT-FERRIS, Lee Christopher
MOIR, Vivienne Margaret
SMITH, Jane Catherine
COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRITAIN
CULLEN, Chris
EDINBURGH & EAST LOTHIAN PEOPLE
WILKINSON, Marc
SISSON, David Henry Alan
EQUALITY PARTY
RENTON, David
MACKINTOSH, Laura
DYKES-JOHNSON, Caitlin
INDEPENDENCE FOR SCOTLAND PARTY
HANNAH, John
INDEPENDENT GREEN VOICE
BURNS, Megan
REFORM UK
ROSS, Angela
CHIDAMBARAM, Pal
DOUGLAS, Nigel
LEES, David
TURNER, Charles
MCLAUGHLIN, Andrew
NEILL, Gary
THOMSON, David
ROSE, Cameron
SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST PARTY
BRIGGS, Miles
WEBBER, Sue
MUNRO, Marie-Clair
COWDY, Christopher
MOWAT, Jo
JONES, Tim
CAIRNS, Rachel
YOUNG, Haris
SCOTTISH FAMILY PARTY
HOLDEN, Philip
DEEPNARAIN, Niel
LUCAS, Mairi
MACEACHEN, Helen
COX, Peter James
SCOTTISH GREEN PARTY
SLATER, Lorna Jane
NEVENS, Kate
MANIVANNAN, Q
KINROSS-O’NEILL, Kayleigh Ferguson
BOOTH, Chas
AL-KHATEB, Adam
PHILLIPS, Jo
WADHWA, Mridul Machindra
HEAP, Dan
KVASSNES, Astri JS
STANIFORTH, Alex
CEBULSKI, Mariusz Artur
SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY
AHMED, Irshad
SANGSTER, Katherine
JOHNSON, Daniel
MUNRO, Catriona
WHITFIELD, Martin
STOTT, Caitlin
DALGLEISH, James
RYAN-SAHA, Eleanor
THOMAS, Oliver
SCOTTISH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
DIJKSTRA-DOWNIE, Sanne Carlien
ALLISTON PICKARD, Jane Particia
DUNDAS, Charles Christopher
YOUNIE, Lewis James
BUTLER, Jenny Claire Marr
OWEN, Alissa Jayne
GRANT, Alan
SCOTTISH LIBERTARIAN PARTY
LAIRD, Tam
SMITH, Gary Finlayson
SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY (SNP)
SHEPPARD, Tommy
BROCK, Deidre
KUMAR, Simita
ROBERTSON, Angus
MCLENNAN, Paul Stewart
BEATTIE, Colin
JARDINE, Lyn
SCOTTISH SOCIALIST PARTY
FOX, Colin
REID, Natalie
MAXWELL, Ally
SCOTTISH WORKERS PARTY OF BRITAIN
HENRY, David
MERON, Abu
INDEPENDENT
BONNIE PRINCE, Bob
BALFOUR, Jeremy Ross
DAVIES, Morgwn Carter
REGAN, Ash
Paul Lawrence, the Constituency Returning Officer and Regional Returning Officer, said: “Today marks a significant step closer to the Capital going to the polls, crucially we now know who our residents will have the opportunity to vote for on 7 May.
“We want everyone to be able to exercise their democratic rights come polling day. I encourage everyone to make the appropriate arrangements as soon as possible – whether that’s registering to vote or applying for a postal or proxy vote if that is your preference.
“I want to thank our colleagues who are working hard to ensure this election runs smoothly and efficiently for the people of Edinburgh and the broader region.”
People aged 16 and over can vote in this election. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April, to apply for a postal vote it’s 5pm on Tuesday 21 April, and for a proxy vote it’s 5pm on Tuesday 28 April.
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday May 7. You can find your polling place on our website. The count will take place on Friday May 8.
A raft of new measures – coming into force today (1st April 2026) – will see wages go up, bills come down, and more support for those who need it most
A raft of new measures – coming into force today (1 April 2026) – will see wages go up, bills come down, and more support for those who need it most.
In an uncertain and volatile world, the Prime Minister is continuing to work with allies to push for de-escalation in the Middle East – which is the surest and quickest way to bring down pressures on prices.
On Monday, he hosted a roundtable with energy, insurance, and shipping companies and on Tuesday he chaired a COBR(M) meeting to assess the situation with Cabinet colleagues.
Measures coming into force today include:
– Increasing the National Living wage to £12.71 – a £900 boost for 2.4 million workers
– Increasing the National Minimum Wage to £10.85 – a £1,500 boost for over 200,000 young workers
– Cutting energy bills by an average £117 a year for millions across the UK – locked in until end of June
– The Crisis & Resilience Fund starts running – enabled by £1bn of funding – which helps vulnerable households with things like heating oil
– A freeze on prescription prices – so people aren’t spending more than a tenner on their medicines
This follows an update to the public on 16th March where the Prime Minister set out five steps that were already in place on the cost of living. These were:
1) Cutting the energy price cap until the end of June – thanks to last year’s Budget
2) The Chancellor’s decision to extend the cut in fuel duty until this September
3) £53 million for households that are most exposed to heating oil rises
4) Building Britain’s energy security and independence
5) Ongoing work towards a swift resolution of the situation in the Middle East
The cut to the energy price cap comes on top of the £150 Warm Home Discount that around 6 million families will have received this winter, following its expansion last year – and eligible billpayers will continue to receive this support every winter for the rest of the decade.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “In an uncertain and volatile world, it is my government’s duty to protect the British people at home and abroad.
“I know the public are concerned about the conflict in Iran and what it means for them and their families.
“I want to reassure them that they have a government on their side, working with allies on de-escalation and bearing down on the cost of living.
“Today, millions of people up and down the country will see energy bills go down by £117, wages go up for the lowest paid, and more support will be available for people who need it most – because of the decisions this government has taken.
“But we must go further to bear down on costs, and that means pushing for de-escalation in the Middle East and a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That is the best way we can bring down the cost of living for families and that is my focus.”
On Monday Living Rent campaigners took action outside Edinburgh City Chambers as the councillors voted to strike off four landlords from the landlord register.
Living Rent said: ‘This is a big win and shows the tide is turning against landlords in the city who thought they were untouchable. But now the council needs to go further and faster if they are going to fully clamp down on the city’s rogue landlords.
‘Across the city, many of Edinburgh’s tenants are being forced to live under the thumb of rogue landlords who force tenants to live in slum-like conditions, with chronic disrepair, force up the rent illegally, threaten and abuse the privacy of tenants and neglect their legal responsibility as a landlord.
‘Everyone should have a safe, warm and affordable home. The council has proven they can take action, now they need to go further and clamp down on all rogue landlords across the city!’
