The Colinton/Fairmilehead by-election result has been announced at Waverley Court.
Louise Watson Spence, Scottish Liberal Democrat Party, has been duly elected to serve in the City of Edinburgh Council as a member for the Colinton/Fairmilehead Ward.
The declaration was made earlier today (Friday, 15 November) by Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence.
Paul Lawrence, said: “Thanks to everyone who took part in the by-election to elect a new councillor to represent their views on matters affecting the ward and the wider city. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Louise as a new councillor and I look forward to working with her.
“I also want to thank our elections team and council staff who have worked very hard over recent months to make sure this by-election ran so smoothly.”
The turnout for the by-election was only 37.4%.
| Candidate | Party | First Preference Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Bonnie Prince BOB | – | 22 |
| Mev BROWN | Independent | 50 |
| Mairianna CLYDE | Scottish National Party (SNP) | 800 |
| Neil CUTHBERT | Scottish Conservative and Unionist | 1,454 |
| Sheila GILMORE | Scottish Labour Party | 1,441 |
| David Ian HENRY | Independent | 57 |
| Tam LAIRD | Scottish Libertarian Party | 9 |
| Grant LIDSTER | Reform UK | 268 |
| Richard Crewe LUCAS | Scottish Family Party | 51 |
| Daniel Aleksanteri MILLIGAN | Scottish Greens | 393 |
| Louise Watson SPENCE | Scottish Liberal Democrats | 2,683 |
| Marc WILKINSON | – | 173 |
Following the loss of a Labour councillor (the by election was brought about by Labour councillor Scott Arthur’s election as an MP), the composition of the City of Edinburgh Council is now:
SNP 18
Lib Dems 14
Labour 11
Greens 10
Conservatives 9
Independent 1.
Despite being the third biggest group, Labour leads the council.
For further details of the results and the Colinton/Fairmilehead by-election, please see the Elections section of the Council website.