The Scottish Parliament Election results for Edinburgh’s six constituencies and the Lothian Region were finally confirmed at the Royal Highland Centre on Saturday evening.
The Members of Scottish Parliament for each constituency and the Lothian Region List results are listed in full below and full details of the results are on the city council’s election pages:
Edinburgh results by constituency:
Edinburgh Central Constituency: Angus Robertson, Scottish National Party
Edinburgh Eastern Constituency: Ash Denham, Scottish National Party
Edinburgh Northern & Leith Constituency: Ben Macpherson, Scottish National Party
Edinburgh Pentlands Constituency: Gordon MacDonald, Scottish National Party
Edinburgh South Constituency: Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour Party
Edinburgh Western Constituency: Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Lothian Region List Results
(Based on votes from the nine Lothian Region constituencies: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern & Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh Western, Midlothian North & Musselburgh, Almond Valley and Linlithgow).
Votes cast across region: 395,037. Turnout: 64.2%)
Candidate and Party
Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Alison Johnstone, Scottish Green Party Sue Webber, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labour Party Jeremy Balfour, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Foysol Choudhury Scottish Labour Party Lorna Slater, Scottish Green Party.
(3 Conservative, 2 Greens and 2 Labour elected from Lothians list)
Returning Officer Andrew Kerr announced the results for Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western on Friday 7 May and the results for Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Pentlands and Edinburgh Northern and Leith as well as the list/Region vote were declared on Saturday 8 May.
He said: “The 2021 Scottish Parliamentary Election has felt very different from previous elections and it is down to the hard work of many Council staff, particularly the Election Team, that this election has run so smoothly in Edinburgh.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved, along with Police Scotland, the candidates and their agents, who have cooperated throughout the process.
“It has been a huge undertaking this year as we’ve had to adapt, putting in extensive additional Covid-19 health and safety measures to help keep everyone involved safe. I would also like to thank the public for turning out in record numbers to have their say, helping to ensure representative vote for the capital.”
This year more than 300 people worked at the election count at the Royal Highland Centre, while a further 900 worked during the day at the city’s 140 polling places.
For further details of the results and the Scottish Parliament Election, please visit the Elections section of the Council website.
Two-thirds of UK adults – 35 million – have now been vaccinated with a first dose of a COVID-19 jab
More than 16.7 million people in the UK vaccinated with a second dose of a COVID-19 jab
Public urged to get the jab when their time comes and do their bit to send the virus into retreat
Two-thirds of UK adults have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Health services across the UK have now administered a total of 51.8 million vaccines between 8 December and 7 May, including 35 million people with their first dose (66.6%) and 16.7 million with their second (31.8%).
The government met its target of vaccinating the most vulnerable by 15 April, and remains on track to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “This has been a truly national effort, with NHS and care staff and volunteers coming together across the UK to deliver the vaccine at an incredible pace, saving thousands of lives.
“One jab at a time, the approved vaccines are helping to send this virus into retreat, with coronavirus cases and deaths now at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic. I strongly encourage everyone to take up the offer when it comes so we can put this pandemic behind us.”
Data from Public Health England’s real-world study shows the vaccines are already having a significant impact in the UK, reducing hospitalisations and deaths, saving more than 10,000 lives in England by the end of March.
The latest vaccine effectiveness data from PHE show that in those aged over 70, both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines reduce the risk of getting symptomatic disease by around 60% after a single dose.
This protection lasts for several weeks. In those aged over 80, protection against hospitalisation is around 80% and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 85% effective at stopping people aged over 80 dying from COVID-19.
Data from the ONS and Oxford University shows that COVID-19 infections fell significantly, by 65% after the first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, rising further after the second dose.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: Two thirds of the adult population have now been vaccinated with one dose in the UK – an incredible achievement.
“It is now more important than ever to come forward for the second dose, so we can ensure everyone has the absolute strongest possible protection from this dreadful virus.
“I encourage everyone to book their jab as soon as they’re offered it, and to come back for their second dose. It’s never too late to come forward if you are eligible.”
An extra 60 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have been secured by the UK government to help support preparations for the booster COVID-19 vaccination programme from the autumn if clinically needed.
All vaccines being used in the UK have met the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.
Rolling reviews are underway by the MHRA to assess the Janssen and Novavax vaccines.
Approved vaccines are available from thousands of NHS vaccine centres, GP practices and pharmacies. Vaccinations are taking place at sites including mosques, community centres and football stadiums.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited leaders of the UK’s devolved governments to a summit meeting to discuss joint working to ‘build back better’.
The invitation is a response to a remarkable Holyrood election result which saw the SNP come within one seat of outright victory. Despite just failing to secure an overall majority, the election of eight pro-independence Scottish Green MSPs ensures that a majority of MSPs will support a second independence referendum.
The PM is expected to telephone Nicola Sturgeon later today.
SNP’s GORDON MACDONALD has held Edinburgh Pentlands with an increased majority.
His vote was 16,227, a clear victory of 3897 over the Conservatives.
The turnout was an impressive 64.89%.
The result keeps the SNP’s fading hopes of gaining an overall majority alive.
The SNP has yet to lose any of their seats and have won three new constituencies, but these victories are likely to be offset by fewer list seats as a consequence.
As we predicted this morning, the SNP is likely to finish on 63 seats, by far the biggest party – but two short of an outright majority. They will therefore need the support of the Greens to implement their programme for government.
Result in 2016:
GORDON MACDONALD (SNP) 13181; Conservatives 10725; Labour 7811.
Charles H. Mackie: Colour and Light 15 May 2021 – 10 October 2021 City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DE Free Admission, pre-booking online essential
Edinburgh’s City Art Centre is to re-open its doors to the public on Saturday 15th May 2021 with a full range of safety measures in place to ensure the safety of visitors and staff.
Visitors will be able to enjoy two exhibitions – the brand new retrospective Charles H. Mackie: Colour and Light, and the continuing collection display Bright Shadows: Scottish Art in the 1920s.
This summer, Edinburgh’s City Art Centre presents the first major exhibition in over a century dedicated to the Scottish painter and printmaker Charles Hodge Mackie (1862-1920), one of the most versatile artists of his generation.
Charles H. Mackie: Colour and Light is a major new exhibition that sets out to re-evaluate Mackie’s significance and contribution. A full-scale retrospective, it charts the progress of his career and creative development, from the rural Scottish landscapes of his youth to his spectacular late Venetian scenes.
The exhibition brings together over fifty artworks from public and private collections, including loans from the National Galleries of Scotland, the Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture and Perth Museum & Art Gallery. Showcasing the breadth of Mackie’s creative vision and talents, it is the most comprehensive public display of his work in over a century.
Born in Aldershot and brought up in Edinburgh, Mackie trained at the Trustees Academy School of Art. He remained based in Edinburgh throughout his career, although he travelled often and embraced an international outlook.
As a mature artist, he worked across an impressive range of media, not only producing oil paintings and watercolours, but also murals, woodblock prints, book illustrations and sculpture. His influences were similarly diverse, drawing inspiration from French Symbolism, the Celtic Revival movement and the landscapes of his European travels.
Mackie was well-connected and respected in contemporary artistic circles. He was close friends with E.A. Hornel and other members of the Glasgow Boys, and he met Paul Gauguin, Édouard Vuillard and the Nabis while working in France.
In the 1890s he was commissioned by Patrick Geddes to produce murals for Ramsay Garden in Edinburgh’s Old Town, as well as illustrations for the pioneering journal The Evergreen.
In later years, Mackie spent time in Yorkshire, where he joined local artists groups and provided support and tuition to the young Laura Knight.
He was a founding member and Chairman of the Society of Scottish Artists, and was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1917. He exhibited his work widely, both in Scotland and further afield. However, despite his many achievements, he has always been treated as a peripheral figure in the story of Scottish art.
Councillor Donald Wilson Culture and Communities Convener, said: “We are thrilled to be once again reopening the doors to the City Art Centre next week. The centre for our world class collections and exhibitions, we have certainly missed it!
“As we mark the centenary of Charles Mackie’s death, we are very proud to host this major study of his work in the City Art Centre. Bringing together over 50 artworks it promises to be a significant tribute to one of Edinburgh’s own.
“I’m sure ‘Colour and Light’ will captivate many visitors as well as inspire them through the accompanying programme of events and activities.”
Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, Culture and Communities Vice Convener, said: “This fantastic exhibition really shows the breadth of Mackie’s talents, and I think ‘Colour and Light’ are something we could all use right now!
“I’d like to reassure people that we continue to take measures to ensure the safety of visitors and our staff, so please follow the latest guidance and avoid visiting if showing any symptoms of coronavirus. We’re all very much looking forward to welcoming visitors back when we reopen next week.”
Curator Dr Helen Scott said: “This exhibition is the culmination of many years of detective work. We’ve been able to reunite finished paintings with their preparatory studies, giving insights into Mackie’s working methods, and we’ve also been able to explore the ways in which he pursued key themes across different types of media – shifting from oils and watercolours to printmaking and back again.
Highlights of the exhibition include several paintings that have recently undergone conservation treatment, such as Artis Ancilla, a large-scale composition of a nude reclining in the artist’s studio, which is part of the City Art Centre’s own fine art collection.
Also featured on display are a number of artworks from private collections, such as Breton Girl Crocheting, which is one of Mackie’s earliest experiments in the Symbolist style, or Study for Pitreavie Mural, which is a rare surviving watercolour depicting part of an original mural scheme that no longer exists.
Most of these privately-owned artworks have not been seen in public for many years. All in all, the exhibition is a wonderful, unique opportunity to celebrate Mackie’s life, connections and achievements.
Mackie biographer and researcher Pat Clark said: “This exhibition is the first major public retrospective since the artist’s Memorial Exhibition in 1921. Charles H. Mackie RSA RSW was a well-respected artist in his day and well-connected in artistic circles in France and Scotland.
“The works on display trace his development and responses to the places he visited and the people he met. The exhibition will draw together all the stages of Mackie’s life and career, from early Scottish landscapes in Kirkcudbright to the magnificent large-scale oils executed in Venice.
“Colour and Light will be a long-overdue tribute to one of Scotland’s outstanding and unjustly neglected artists. The exhibition will showcase this achievement. It will bring me untold joy to share my passion for Mackie’s art with those who visit the City Art Centre between May and October.”
Charles H. Mackie: Colour and Light is being presented as part of Edinburgh Art Festival 2021, and it is accompanied by a varied programme of public events and activities.
In order to protect and maintain the safety of our visitors and staff, the City Art Centre has introduced a range of new safety measures and procedures throughout the venue, including a one-way system, installation of screens at reception, hand sanitiser stations, extra barriers and signage and staff will of course be wearing face coverings while offering visitors a very warm, socially distanced welcome.
Visitors are asked to wear face coverings and pre-book free tickets for allocated time slots in advance via edinburghmuseums.org.uk
Charles H. Mackie: Colour and Light opens on 15 May 2021 and runs until 10 October 2021. Admission is free.
Visitors to the City Art Centre will also be able to enjoy the free collection display Bright Shadows: Scottish Art in the 1920s. This exhibition explores the work of Scottish artists during the 1920s – an evocative period of social, political and economic change. Bright Shadows opened in September and will run until Sunday 27 June
One third of all learner drivers are over 30 years of age
Scotland is a silver-haired centre for learner drivers, according to new figures from a leading car insurance comparison website.
Quotezone.co.uk’s data reveals over 3% of all Scottish learner drivers would qualify for a pension, which is double the rate for most other UK regions barring the North East, which topped the stats with 3.8% of its learners aged 66 or over.
And Scotland’s learner drivers are in no hurry to pass their test, with over three-quarters having received their provisional licences more than five years ago and 34% for over 10 years.
The general picture of learners being young still rings true, with 60% of learner drivers across the country being aged between 16 and 25. It is common to find learners in their 40s – 8.7% of all learners – and even their 50s – 3.8%.
The advancing years have also not held back more than 100 septuagenarians and octogenarians who retain an interest in passing their driving tests.
Quotezone.co.uk says demand for its learner premiums has rocketed 42% from 2019 to 2020.
The data was sourced from Quotezone.co.uk’s 2020 records covering a sample of 50,000 provisional drivers across the UK, with 15,000 over 30 years of age. North East learners surveyed numbered 1,790 drivers and 600 were over 30.
Greg Wilson, Quotezone.co.uk’s Founder, comments: “School leavers or young professionals often come to mind as the typical learner driver. Our findings tell a more multifaceted story though, showing many people hold back on getting their full driving licence until they’re well into their 20s and beyond.
“Scotland is not unusual in having a notable number of more mature drivers looking to pass their test, but it stands out for budding motorists being of pension age.
“There’s going to be lots of reasons why people hold off on learning to drive. Cost could be one answer, with the price of lessons and buying a car putting some provisional drivers off. But when it comes to insurance you shouldn’t have to pay over the odds even if you are a learner. I would say dust off your provisional licence and shop around for the best deal by using a comparison website to compare quotes.
“We’ve seen a big rise in learners looking into policies in 2020. Perhaps safety concerns using public transport have played a part in this surge, with many services reduced, and commuters are returning to the idea of having a car.
“With lessons and tests returning and an economic bounce back looking promising, we expect more provisional licence holders to actively pursue their full licence this year.”
Jobcentre workers are to be balloted in a move that could lead to industrial action. The move is in response to the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) insistence that staff and customers return to jobcentres to deliver face to face services.
Civil service union PCS says that since 12 April, DWP “has been asking considerably more staff to return to jobcentres to carry out face to face interviews with customers. This is despite staff working from home successfully for up to a year, carrying out these interviews by phone.”
The union argues “that coronavirus still poses a threat to safety and that to extend services in jobcentres now is unsafe, and places staff, their families and customers at risk. We are therefore balloting PCS members working in jobcentres to ask if they would be prepared to take industrial action over DWP’s decision.”
The ballot is consultative and a further ballot of members would be required before strike action could take place.
PCS said its demands include “stopping the extension of face to face services, with face to face interviews taking place only with those identified as most vulnerable until the vaccine programme is complete and low rates of infection have been sustained for a significant period.
“We are also asking that DWP sticks to the agreement made in autumn last year, that work coaches can decide how to progress their own workload, including making decisions about how to interview customers.”
‘While Sean Orman was the only accused in this case, we believe he was acting with others‘
A man who shot and killed another man on his doorstep has been jailed.
Sean Orman has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of Bradley Welsh and attempted murder of David McMillan at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The 30-year-old shot and killed Mr Welsh outside his home in Chester Street, Edinburgh on 17 April 2019.
He also burst into David McMillan’s home in Pitcairn Grove, Edinburgh on 13 March 2019 and attacked him with a machete in an attempted murder.
David Green, procurator fiscal for homicide, said: “Sean Orman carried out brazen and calculated attacks; violently invading David McMillan’s home and taking Bradley Welsh’s life on his own doorstep.
“He took steps to try and conceal his actions, but thanks to diligent work by investigators and prosecutors, Orman has been brought to justice.
“Our thoughts are with both victims and their families at this difficult time.”
Assistant Chief Constable Judi Heaton said: “Sean Orman carried out the brutal, pre-meditated and targeted murder of Bradley Welsh.
“Our thoughts today are with Bradley’s family who have lost a much-loved father, partner, brother and uncle.
“Police Scotland carried out a thorough, robust and professional investigation into Bradley’s murder and I hope today’s conviction and sentence helps to bring his family some degree of comfort.
“The use of firearms for criminal activity is utterly unacceptable and bringing those who commit violent attacks to justice is an absolute priority for Police Scotland
“While Sean Orman was the only accused in this case, we believe he was acting with others and I appeal for anyone who has not yet come forward, or who has any further information, to contact Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
“The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) carried out an independent, Crown directed, investigation into the actions of the police in relation to Bradley’s death, which we fully assisted, and their report was submitted to the Crown for consideration.
“We will be contacting Bradley’s family in the near future to discuss those matters and to offer our support and condolences.”
