Candidates standing in Edinburgh’s five constituencies in the UK Parliamentary Election on 8 June 2017 have been announced. Nominations closed at 4pm yesterday.
Tag: General Election
Letters: It’s got to be Labour
Dear Editor
The unrelenting campaign against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party generated by the press and television
is a calculated effort to divide and confuse people: division has always been the way to control people.
Since 2010 it has been a main focus and resulted in the coalition between the Conservatives and Liberals, those 5 years did tremendous damage to the living standards of most families.
Since 2015 the Conservatives have continued to make more severe cuts in most public services and
drastically restricted wages and say they will continue to do so.
Despite divisive tactics people at the last general election did elect a huge number of Labour MP’s, about 240,
so the possibility of electing more this time and defeating the Conservatives is very real but only if the divide
and rule tactic is resisted and avoid another coalition.
People have had over 7 years of paying for the financial crisis not of their making, it is time to stop being
taken in and support the only organisation, the Labour Party, who are in a position to defeat the Conservatives.
A. Delahaoy, Silverknowes Gardens
Here we go again: Tories gamble on June election
A General Election will be held on 8 June, Prime Minister Theresa May announced ‘with reluctance’ yesterday. Opposition parties have welcomed the surprise announcement – despite the Tories holding a lead of over twenty points in some opinion polls. Continue reading Here we go again: Tories gamble on June election
Breaking up Britain? Report to lambast Westminster voting system
Electoral Reform Society report will highlight deficiencies of ‘an archaic and broken voting system’
- Definitive report on 7 May result highlights least proportional result in UK electoral history
- Exclusive YouGov study for the ERS will show result under fairer voting systems
- First Past the Post is ‘breaking up Britain’ by creating artificial divisions, analysis shows
The failure of Britain’s voting system will be laid bare on Monday, when the Electoral Reform Society will release their definitive report on the General Election.
The report, ‘The 2015 General Election: A Voting System in Crisis’, will reveal how this election was the most disproportionate in British electoral history, according to new analysis.
It will also, for the first time, conclusively reveal how the election would have looked different under other voting systems – based on polling of over 40,000 people’s party preferences for the ERS by YouGov.
As well as this exclusive new polling, A Voting System in Crisis argues that the voting system is even contributing to the break-up of the UK, artificially inflating divisions and leading to a ‘postcode electoral lottery’ where parties are excluded in one area and over-represented in another. Millions of people’s voices are being excluded simply because of where they live, the report argues.
It draws on the fact that the SNP won 95% of Scottish seats on half the vote – leaving unionist sentiment in Scotland almost completely unrepresented, while at the same time the Labour party was locked out of the South of England – winning just 8 seats in the South East and South West despite getting nearly a fifth of the vote. Equally, cross-community parties were kept out in Northern Ireland under Britain’s divisive voting system, and Labour were greatly over-represented in Wales.
The number of votes cast for parties other than the three main UK wide parties rose to its highest ever level on May 7 – the dawn of ‘truly multi-party politics’, but a politics operating under what the ERS describe as an ‘archaic and broken voting system’.
The report will show the shocking number and percentage of votes which went to losing candidates and were effectively wasted. It will also reveal the number / percentage of MPs who were elected without a majority of votes, as well as the stunningly low number of MPs who actually secured a majority from the overall electorate.
The full report will be produced on Monday 1 June.
Murphy: ‘Overwhelmed by history and by circumstance’
‘We will be again the change that working people need’ – Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has responded to his party’s near wipeout in yesterday’s general election by promising to fight to make Labour the natural voice for working people once again.
Time is not on his side. The party that has dominated the Scottish political scene for so long – in the industrial heartlands it’s said they used to weigh the Labour votes, not count them – has been reduced to one solitary MP: and the Scottish Parliamentary Elections are just a year away.
Mr Murphy, who lost his own East Renfrewshire seat last night, divides opinion both inside and outside the Labour Party, but it will come as no surprise to many that he’s decided to tough it out while Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage (perhaps!) have called it a day.
He’s a fighter is oor Jim, and in a typically combative message to members said Labour will bounce back after having been ‘overwhelmed by history and by circumstance’:
Firstly, thank you.
Thousands of members and activists worked so hard for Labour across Scotland and across the UK for a Labour Government. Your dedication is extraordinary.
I want to thank the 700,000 people across Scotland who voted Labour yesterday. Those people voted for the most radical Scottish Labour manifesto in a generation.
We are coming to terms with a dreadful night for our party.
Far worse than that we have the realisation of a terrible day for Scotland, and for working class people across the UK, as David Cameron forms another government.
The friends and colleagues lost have been faithful servants to our party and forceful advocates for their constituents.
But this isn’t about us. It isn’t about individual’s careers.
Because while we have lost seats the thing that hurts most is the loss of hope that will be felt as we face another five years of a government totally lacking in vision and compassion.
I didn’t stand for leader out of a sense of personal ambition. I stood because I knew that Scottish Labour after losing in 2007 and 2011 and after the emotional hangover of the referendum faced the biggest challenge in our 127 year history.
As Leader I wanted to take responsibility for meeting these challenges and I still do.
Our campaign was energetic and professional on the ground.
But we have been overwhelmed by history and by circumstance. We make no excuses. A party can never blame the electorate.
Scotland deserves a stronger Scottish Labour Party. Working class people need the party back on its feet.
So where now for Scottish Labour?
We have to start from our strengths. And here the success of the SNP strategy offers us a guide on how to move forward.
‘We have been beaten by a party who claimed our heritage, clothed themselves in our values, and copied many of our policies.
We will take confidence in the principles behind our policies and we will renew and retarget them for the Scottish election.
With less than a year to the Scottish Parliament elections. We cannot afford another period of introspection.
People need Labour now.
They need a strong opposition.
They need us to be what we have always been at our best: a voice for working people.
This morning as the sun rose we were hurting.
But in a morning like this, before too long.
We will bounce back.
We will again be the change that working people need.
A message from Mark Lazarowicz
![Mark_Lazarowicz[1]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Mark_Lazarowicz1.jpg?ssl=1)
I would like to thank all those who gave me their support in the general election held on 7 May. I was proud of the way we took our message to every street in every part of Edinburgh North & Leith, and although we were unsuccessful, I am sure that the efforts of our team were one of the reasons why I received more votes in 2015 than in the 2010 election.
I have been extremely privileged to have been able to serve the people of Edinburgh North & Leith as their representative in Parliament since 2001, and I thank them for giving me that opportunity.
I congratulate the successful candidate Deidre Brock on her victory. Like all MPs, she can be contacted at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, switchboard 0207 219 3000.
My constituency office will now close down, and as I am no longer an MP I will not be able to deal with any constituency work. However, Malcolm Chisholm MSP continues to have his constituency office at 5 Croall Place, Leith Walk and can be contacted for any Scottish Parliament matters in the Edinburgh Northern & Leith constituency.
General Election: Edinburgh results in full
The UK Parliamentary General Election results for Edinburgh’s five constituencies have been announced.
The Members of Parliament for each constituency are listed in full below and full details of the results are on the Council website:
Edinburgh East Constituency: Tommy Sheppard, SNP
Edinburgh North & Leith Constituency: Deidre Leanne Brock, SNP
Edinburgh South Constituency: Ian Murray, Labour
Edinburgh South West Constituency: Joanna Catherine Cherry, SNP
Edinburgh West Constituency: Michelle Rhonda Thompson SNP
Speaking earlier this morning, Returning Officer Sue Bruce (above) said: “I’d like to pay tribute to the work of the Council’s election team who have put months of hard work and planning into delivering the election. I would also like to thank Police Scotland, the candidates and their agents and the media for working constructively with us to conduct proceedings properly and efficiently.”
“This is the first time the EICC has been the venue for an election count and I would like to thank Marshall Dallas, Chief Executive, and his team for all their support.”
Turnout: 73.01%
Electorate: 357718
Votes cast: 261165
For further details of the results and the General Election, please see the Elections section of the Council website.
Scotland wakes up to a Tory government
‘It is an extraordinary statement of intent from the people of Scotland. The Scottish lion has roared this morning across the country’ – Alex Salmond MP
Scots are waking up to another Conservative government this morning. A night of high drama has seen David Cameron’s party creep ever closer to an overall majority – despite an unprecedented surge of support for the SNP which saw the party sweep to a remarkable victory in 56 of 59 seats in Scotland.
All of the Scottish results are now in and the map of Scotland is now a bright SNP yellow – only Alistair Carmichael (LibDem), David Mundell (Conservative) and Labour’s Ian Murray survived the SNP onslaught.
Among the big names to taste defeat in Scotland are Jim Murphy, Margaret Curran, Danny Alexander, Charles Kennedy and Douglas Alexander.
On what was a truly dreadful night for the Labour Party in Scotland Ian Murray’s victory in Edinburgh South was the one bright spark on an evening of unrelenting misery as safe seat after safe seat fell to the SNP – Labour lost 40 seats. The LibDems also paid the price for their coalition with the Tories, losing ten of their 11 MPs in Scotland.
Locally, both sitting MPs lost their seats. The result of the 2010 general election saw Labour return five MPs and the LibDems one, but from early in the campaign it’s been clear that change was coming. It came with a vengeance – LibDem Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) and Labour’s Mark Lazarowicz (North & Leith), Sheila Gilmore (East) and Ricky Henderson – in Alistair Darling’s former South West seat – all lost, swept away in an SNP landslide.
Nationally, Labour did not make the vital gains in marginal seats required to wrest power from the Tories and, as predicted, the LibDems lost heavily across the country. Polls barely shifted throughout a lacklustre campaign down south and at 8am David Cameron is on course to form the next government – the Tories may even scrape to a narrow majority and so would not need the support of Northern Ireland’s DUP.
The more things change, the more they stay the same …
LOCAL RESULTS:
EDINBURGH NORTH & LEITH
DEIRDRIE BROCK (SNP) 23, 742
Mark Lazarowicz (Labour) 18, 145
Iain MacGill (Conservative) 9378
Sarah Beattie-Smith (Green) 3140
Martin Veart (Lib Dem) 2634
Alan Melville (UKIP) 847
Bruce Whitehead (Left Unity) 122
EDINBURGH WEST
MICHELLE THOMSON (SNP) 21, 378
Mike Crockart (Lib Dem) 18, 168
Lyndsay Paterson (Conservative) 6732
Cammy Day (Labour) 6425
Pat Black (Green) 1140
George Inglis (UKIP) 1015
Don’t leave it too late – five hours left to cast your vote
Edinburgh’s vote is in full swing, and while the city’s 145 polling places have not experienced the record numbers of last year’s referendum, business has been described as ‘steady’. Residents have until 10pm tonight to cast their vote.
Around 80% of postal voters have already returned their papers, with a total of 357,929 people registered to take part in the election.
And with barely five hours left to cast your ballot, citizens are being urged to make sure they know where, when and how to vote so they don’t miss out.
Sue Bruce, Returning Officer for Edinburgh, said: “We already have an 80% turnout for postal votes which I think demonstrates the interest in the election.
“We don’t want anyone missing out on this important vote because they are not sure how to. I would urge voters to leave plenty of time to visit their local polling station, and to take great care when filling out their ballot papers.”
Polling places will be open until 10pm tonight, Thursday, 7 May
Information on local polling places can be found on the polling card delivered to homes or on the Council website.
Postal voters who have not yet returned their ballot paper by post will still be able to hand it in at Waverley Court or City Chambers receptions or at any Edinburgh polling place on Thursday.
Those planning to take part in the Election are also being advised to take great care when filling out their ballot paper, by marking a single X next to their choice. Additional comments, marks or mistakes can result in a vote not being counted.
The secrecy of ballot papers is important as it ensures no one feels under pressure to vote in a particular way.
Once your vote has been cast
All votes are secure and accounted for so that the final result can be trusted. Every ballot paper, whether used, unused or spoilt, is accounted for and treated as highly sensitive and confidential. Votes will be counted as soon as possible after the close of the poll at 10pm.
Full details of vote security and counting are available on the Council website.
General Election 2015: It’s Time …
Around 50,000 polling stations across the country have opened their doors as the General Election vote gets underway, and if pollsters are correct this could be the closest result in many years.
A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with almost 50 million people registered to vote. The magic number for parties looking to form a government is 326.
Local candidates:
EDINBURGH NORTH AND LEITH
Sarah Beattie-Smith (Green)
Deidre Brock (SNP)
Mark Lazarowicz (Labour)
Iain McGill (Conservative)
Alan Melville (UKIP)
Martin Veart (Liberal Democrat)
Bruce Whitehead (Left Unity)
EDINBURGH WEST
Pat Black (Green)
Mike Crockart (Liberal Democrat)
Cammy Day (Labour)
George Inglis (UKIP)
Lindsay Paterson (Conservative)
Michelle Thomson (SNP)
Polls are open from 7am – 10pm – don’t leave it too late to vote!