Tag: Local Government Elections

Election Latest

Results in so far:

ALMOND: Paterson (Con), Work (SNP) and Shields (LD) elected.

DRUMBRAE/GYLE: Cairns (SNP), Aldridge (LD) and Keils (Lab) elected. Labour gain.

CORSTORPHINE/MURRAYFIELD: Balfour (Con), Edie (LD) and Ross (SNP) elected.

State of play: SNP 3, LD 3, Con 2, Lab 1.

NOTE: Congratulations to independent candidate Professor Pongoo (not pictured, that’s a penguin) who gained over 400 votes in Pentlands, beating one of the mainstream parties!

 

 

Election predictions at midday

Following on from the previous post, my predictions for the two local wards are:

FORTH:

Labour to return two councillors, SNP one (Steve Cardownie) and Conservative Allan Jackson will also be successful. The Lib-Dems to lose out.

Labour almost returned two Forth councillors (Billy Fitzpatrick just lost out) at the 2007 local council elections and can do so this time if the traditional vote has come out – turnout is pretty poor, though.

INVERLEITH:

Currently has one each of Labour, Conservative, Lib-Dem and SNP, but both the Tories and the SNP are adopting the risky strategy of fielding two candidates.

This could backfire – my prediction is that the Green’s Nigel Bagshaw will pick up a seat – whether that’s at the expense of one of the SNP pair, Lib-Dem Tim McKay or Conservative Iaian Whyte is difficult to say.

More later …

Crunch time for Council candidates as count begins

You’ve had your say and the count of votes cast in yesterday’s local council elections is now underway at Meadowbank Stadium, where Edinburgh will elect 58 councillors.

Early indications are that voter turnout is not as bad as first feared – there were gloomy predictions of 30% or even less in some areas yesterday. The political parties certainly can’t blame poor weather if the turnout is low – yesterday’s weather was fine.

The composition of the outgoing Council was: Lib-Dem 16, Labour 15, SNP 13, Conservative 11 and Green Party 3. Following that last council election in 2007, the Lib Dems and SNP entered into a coalition to form the administration, and despite directly opposing views on Edinburgh’s controversial tram project, the partnership held firm for the full five year term.

Last night’s results from England show a resurgent Labour party, but this is unsurprising given Labour started from a very low base, having been drubbed in the previous council elections down south. The current Conservative/Lib Dem coalition at Westminster is also particularly unpopular just now; party managers will claim the local election results are ‘mid-term protest votes’ – they usually do!

In Scotland, there is a different dynamic with the rise of the SNP and the party’s historic victory in last year’s Holyrood election. The challenge for the Nationalists is to maintain that momentum, or was last May the high-water mark?

Here in Edinburgh, it’s hard to tell what impact, if any, the trams fiasco had on the way voters cast their ballots. It does appear likely that the Lib Dems will pay the price for both being a partner in an unpopular Westminster government and, locally, the main party heading up a weak and indecisive administration.

What will happen to the Lib Dem vote if, as some predict, it collapses? Hard to say, but it could be the Green Party who are the main beneficiaries of disaffected Lib Dems.

Whatever the turnout, the result will be very tight and before the count no-one really knows how this is going to play out. If forced to make a prediction, I would say Labour will finish as the biggest party with perhaps sixteen councillors. The Greens in particular, the SNP and the Tories could all also pick up a seat or two at the Lib-Dems expense; my guess – and it is a guess – is that the Lib Dems could lose six seats.

One thing for certain is that no one political party can have an absolute majority in the City Chambers, and after the count (or perhaps even before!) the horse-trading begins. We will know the composition of the new Council by late this afternoon, but we may have to wait a while longer to find out who will be running our city.

NEN’s Thomas Brown will be ‘tweeting’ from Meadowbank throughout the course of the day

 

Polling Day information

With the local council elections tomorrow (Thursday 3 May), the City of Edinburgh Council is reminding voters what they need to know to have their say on polling day:

  • Check where you should vote. Details of your local polling station will be on your poll card or are available from the online maps. If you have not received it or are unsure of where to go call: 0131 200 2315. Polling stations will be open from 7am – 10pm.
  • Bring your poll card with you to the polling station, it may speed things up. But don’t worry if you don’t have it, you can still vote without it.
  • Remember that this year you vote using numbers instead of using an X. Just put a 1 next to your first choice, a 2 next to your second choice, a 3 next to your third choice and so on. You can choose how many candidates to number from one, to as many as you would like.
  • If you’re unsure of how to complete your ballot paper, a member of staff will be able to help you. You can also watch a video of Victor the Voter, who can show you how.
  • If you applied for a postal vote, make sure it is returned by 10pm on Thursday 3 May. If you have left it too late to post back, you can drop it off at your local polling station or at the City Chambers on the High Street or to reception at the Council Headquarters on East Market Street.

City of Edinburgh Council

Where have all the voters gone?

Last week's Blackhall hustings

The Local Goverment Elections take place a week tomorrow, but so far hustings meetings have failed to attract local voters.

A Forth hustings held at Muirhouse Millennium Centre last week attracted just twelve people, while Inverleith events have fared little better – fourteen people attended Craigleith Blackhall Community Council’s event and just ten hardy souls turned up at Drylaw Telford’s hustings last night.

Candidates from across the political spectrum have expressed concern at the level of apathy ahead of next week’s vote, and with all political parties having agreed that there will be no lamp-post posters reminding the electorate to vote, there are gloomy predictions about the turnout next Thursday.

Forth voters have another opportunity to meet their candidates when Royston Wardieburn Community Centre stages a hustings event tomorrow evening at 6.15pm. All welcome.

Are hustings events still relevant? Will you be voting next Thursday? If not, why not? Let us know!

Inverleith Hustings

Two Inverleith Ward community councils have organised hustings for the forthcoming council elections, giving you an opportunity to meet and hear the candidates and get your questions answered.

Craigleith Blackhall CC will hold their hustings on Thursday 19 April at 7.30pm in St. Columba’s Church on Queensferry Road, while Drylaw Telford CC’s election event takes place on Tuesday 24 April at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre (off Groathill Road North).

All welcome.

Get in touch if you know of any more hustings events in Forth or Inverleith.

Edinburgh voters urged to register

With the Independence Referendum being the main focus of political discussion across the country it’s easy to forget that the Local Government Elections are now only ten weeks away.  Edinburgh residents are now being urged to join the thousands already registered to vote in the Local Government elections on Thursday 3 May 2012 – and you only have until 18 April to make sure you have your say on how Edinburgh is governed.

Almost 60,000 people have already registered to vote by post, out of more than 330,000 electors. This is the highest number of postal voters registered for any council in Scotland.

Sue Bruce, Returning Officer for Edinburgh said: “We are pleased to see that so many people have already registered to vote. For those who have not yet done so, I would urge you to make sure you register by the deadline of 18 April.

“Registering is quick and easy and makes sure that you will be able to vote in a way that is most convenient for you – by post, at a polling station near your home or even in exceptional circumstances, by proxy – so that you can have your say in the elections on Thursday 3 May.”

You can check if you are registered by phoning the Electoral Registration Office on 0131 344 2500.  If you are not already a postal voter and wish to apply you can download a form from www.lothian-vjb.gov.uk or phone 0131 344 2500 and ask for a form to be posted to you.

In the forthcoming Local Government election, voters will be electing 58 councillors to represent them across the city’s 17 wards. There are 7 four-member and 10 three-member wards in Edinburgh.  The election will be conducted under a voting system called the ‘Single Transferable Vote’ (STV). Voters can vote for as many candidates that they like, ranking them 1, 2, 3 etc in order of preference. A formula then calculates who is elected based on those preferences.

Further details on the 2012 Local Government election will be available on the city council’s website over the coming weeks.