Scottish Parliamentarians visit Mayfield and Easthouses

The Presiding Officer visited Mayfield and Easthouses in Lothian yesterday to meet local people to talk about their Scottish Parliament.

The Lothian visit is the last in a series of eight events across Scotland to mark the Scottish Parliament’s 25th anniversary.

The aim of event is to hear people’s reflections on the Parliament and to understand more about what they want from their Parliament in the future. It was also an opportunity to reflect on 25 years of devolution and the impact of the Parliament on local communities.

Yesterday’s event began with a visit to the Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust. The Presiding Officer, joined by constituency and regional MSPs from the Lothian Region, met with service users, volunteers and staff in their pavilion and café in Mayfield Public Park before visiting their Hub and Pantry.

Following this there was an event at Mayfield and Easthouses Church Hall where the politicians met representatives from local groups and projects.

The visit ended in Mayfield Community Club where Nourish Scotland hosted a public diner lunch.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP said: “I’m looking forward to meeting local residents and listening to their thoughts on the Parliament and their hopes for its future.

“We have met people across the entire country to commemorate the Parliament’s 25th anniversary, and visited inspirational community projects, from Shetland to Hawick.

“I’m pleased we’ve partnered with local groups on this visit to Mayfield and Easthouses, and I’m sure we’ll have great discussions about how the Parliament can best represent people in Lothian. I’m also excited to hear more about the various community projects that are taking place here.

“Scotland’s Parliament belongs to its people and it’s vital their voices are heard, to help shape the Parliament’s future.”

Sharon Hill from Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust said: “We are delighted to be facilitating the visit today. 

“Being chosen for the final visit has been lovely for us.  We are proud of the community and people we serve in Mayfield and Easthouses and are keen to engage with the Parliament to show them what is being done here and how we are fostering a sense of community pride through that work. 

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our community and all the groups and organisations that are active within it to show what they do and how they can be best supported to be even better.”   

Abigail McCall, Policy Officer at Nourish Scotland said: “We’re excited to host and join a lunch in Lothian. Food is always a good way to get people talking about the things that matter most to our everyday lives.

“For the past year, we’ve been travelling around Scotland talking with different communities about creating infrastructure for food – public diners – that mean our right to food can be protected and that people can have a hand in shaping their food environment.

“This public diner lunch is a great way to facilitate discussion around issues, but also potential solutions in the local area.” 

Edinburgh’s Scottish Parliament Election 2021 results

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.