Politics – Page 135 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

First meeting of new parliament to take place on Thursday

The first meeting of the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament will take place on Thursday 13 May.

Writing to party leaders following the weekend election count, the Parliament’s Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh, has announced that newly elected MSPs will be sworn in on Thursday 13 May. The elections for the Parliament’s new Presiding Officer will also take place that day.

The Presiding Officer has the power to set the date under the Scottish General Election (Coronavirus) Act 2021. In deciding on the date the Parliament will first sit, the Presiding Officer consulted with both the Electoral Commission and Electoral Management Board.

Further details of the Parliament’s first days will be issued early this week.

TEXT OF LETTER FROM PRESIDING OFFICER TO PARTY LEADERS

I am writing in relation to my role under Section 9 of the Scottish General Election (Coronavirus) Act 2021 to “fix the day on which the Parliament is first to meet after the poll for the 2021 election”.

Following consultation with the Electoral Commission and Electoral Management Board, as required under the Act, I am pleased to announce that I am now able to fix the date of the first meeting of Parliament as Thursday 13 May, when newly elected Members will be sworn in and elect a new Presiding Officer.

Colleagues can expect to receive further information on the arrangements for both items of business from the Parliamentary Business Team in the coming days.

This date will now be made public and announced in the Business Bulletin.

I understand that this is a time of mixed emotions and fortunes for your parties and candidates. I would however like to take the opportunity to thank you for your support and co-operation throughout the last session and to also pass on my best wishes for whatever the next five years hold for you and your parties and for the Parliament.

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.

Johnson to Sturgeon: Let’s Talk

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.

Holyrood Elections 2021: SNP’s Ash Denham doubles her majority in Edinburgh Eastern

SNP’s ASH DENHAM has retained Edinburgh Eastern with a significantly increased majority of over 10,000.

Ms Denham’s vote was 22658 and the turnout was 60.99%

RESULT

ASH DENHAM (SNP) 22 658

Bill Cook (Labour) 12 541

Graham Hutchison (Conservative) 5 970

Result in 2016:

ASH DENHAM (SNP) 16760; Kezia Dugdale (Lab) 11673; Conservatives 5700.

Majority was 5057.

Holyrood Elections 2021: Big increase in Ben MacPherson’s majority in Northern and Leith

SNP’s BEN MACPHERSON has emphatically increased his majority in Edinburgh Northern and Leith.

Ben’s resounding victory was the last constituency declaration of the 2021 elections and rounded off a superb campaign for the SNP.

RESULT

BEN MACPHERSON (SNP) 22 443

Katrina Faccenda (Labour) 10 874

Lorna Slater (Scottish Greens) 6 116

SNP HOLD

Majority 11 569

Turnout 63%

Result last time (2016):

BEN MACPHERSON (SNP) 17322; Lesley Hinds (Labour) 10576; Ian McGill (Conservative) 6081.

Majoruty was 6746.

Holyrood Elections 2021: Gordon Macdonald returned in Pentlands

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.

Holyrood Elections 2021: The count continues

SNP hopes of an absolute majority are hanging in the balance this morning as counting continues in the Scottish Parliament elections.

The SNP have gained three seats so far with no other party making any gains. Overnight the SNP sits on 39 seats (+3), the Liberal Democrats four (-), the Tories on three (-2) and Labour on two (-1). The ‘magic number’ for an overall majority is 65.

The final three Edinburgh Constituencies will declare this morning. All three are currently held by the SNP, and while pro-Union tactical voting has undoubtedly been a feature of this year’s election Gordon MacDonald (Pentlands, majority 2456), Ash Denham (Eastern, 5057) and Ben MacPherson (Northern and Leith, 6081) look likely to return to Holyrood.

Gordon MacDonald faces the toughest challenge – from the Tories – and if tactical voting is to feature here, Pentlands could be vulnerable. If there are to be any changes in Edinburgh this afternoon this would be the most likely upset.

Pentlands is due to declare between 5 – 6pm.

But despite being roundly defeated in the vast majority of constituency votes – with a handful of notable exceptions – opposition parties will see their seat numbers increase significantly today when the regional list results, calculated using a proportional representation system, are announced.

Ironically Holyrood’s ‘fair’ hybrid voting system punishes success. Any SNP constituency gains could be wiped out by resultant losses on the regional lists, and it’s not inconceivable that the new Scottish Parliament could look exactly the same as the 2016 one, with the SNP falling just short of an overall majority.

With 31 constituencies still to declare there’s no doubt the SNP will again be the biggest party – quite an achievement in itself – but if the SNP don’t quite win an overall majority, they will need the support of pro-referendum Green MSPs, voted in through the regional lists, to get them over the line.

2016 all over again? We’ll find out this afternoon.

Holyrood Elections: Labour holds on to Edinburgh Southern

LABOUR’s DANIEL JOHNSON has strengthened his grip on the Edinburgh Southern seat with an increased majority.

The result is one of two bright spots for Labour on what has been a disappointing day, the other being Jackie Baillie’s survival in Dumbarton, where she had Scotland’s smallest majority.