Holyrood elections 2026: All you need to know about Edinburgh North Western

Those 25,578 votes secured a majority of nearly 10,000 for the Liberal Democrats over the SNP with the Tories and Labour polling less than 3,000 votes each.

The boundaries of the seat have changed since last time and it has been given a new name, Edinburgh North Western, but the core of the old constituency around Corstorphine, Cramond, Kirkliston and South Queensferry remains.

The new boundaries mean the seat loses Blackhall, Davidson's Mains, Craigleith, Drylaw and Muirhouse, but gains Ratho, Ravelston and Murrayfield - changes which might arguably boost the Lib Dem vote even further.

Mr Cole-Hamilton, who became Scottish Lib Dem leader a few months after the last election, says: "This is one of the most diverse constituencies in the city - with rural farmland out to Kirkliston and the World Heritage site of the Forth Bridge - and it has been absolutely my pride and joy to represent this community for the last 10 years.

"I take nothing for granted, but with the SNP now asking for a third decade of power and the failure people can see in the health services, education services and the cost of living and the state of our roads, I think people have a dim view of the idea the SNP are the answer in North West Edinburgh and will make that clear at the ballot box."

The SNP candidate is Lyn Jardine, leader of the opposition on East Lothian Council, who has been working as head of office for Paul McLennan, SNP MSP for East Lothian in the last parliament.

She is not put off by Mr Cole-Hamilton's record vote in 2021. "We weren't too far off last time," she says. "And our support has solidified significantly this time. One of the things that's very different for us is we have a forward looking and hopeful prospect we're offering people, whereas some of the competition is just anti-SNP - that's their message, do whatever you can to keep the SNP out. I think that argument is wearing a bit thin on people.

"The key thing that's coming up is affordable housing, but alongside that, especially out to the west, is the explosion of new development of housing and the lack of facilities to go with it. It's all houses - so what do people do for shops and recreation? The local development plan was there about what was planned, but how are the council making sure that what is being delivered is meeting the needs of the community now? People are not getting the dream they were sold in terms of a new community.

"I think an MSP's role in that is to be trying to bring together the decision makers with the developers and trying to get commitments from them about how they are going to take it forward."

And she rejects the picture of universal hostility towards the SNP. "I think people realise the SNP are trying to make a positive difference. They recognise we don't have the full powers over everything an independent state would have, but even with what we've got we are trying to protect the folk who are most vulnerable in the community. The work we're doing on child poverty is particularly welcomed and work around winter fuel payments."

Tory candidate Rachel Cairns works for the Scottish Conservative MSPs and describes herself as "a child of the Union". "I'm 31 and I've spent roughly equal thirds of my life in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I'm originally Northern Irish, but I moved around quite a bit in my childhood, I've been in Edinburgh for seven years and before that I was at university in Dundee."

She says the cost of living and potholes are the hot topics on the doorstep along with the big new housing developments in different parts of the constituency.

"On the cost of living, we have a very clear package of policies, the main one being we would cut income tax for low and middle earners. That has gone down really well.

"And on potholes, we have a policy for a pothole action fund - which would be ring-fenced. And specifically we want it to be kerb to kerb resurfacing - when they just put a patch on it, it's back again in six months time because it's not a proper fix. And we would invest in leasing some of the 'pothole killer' machines."

She says the new developments - around Cammo and out at Queensferry - are causing concern because the infrastructure is not keeping pace with the housing and the new residents. In some cases it is a lack of GP provision, in others it is traffic problems. The Conservatives would increase funding for primary care, she says.

Asked about the likely large Lib Dem vote in the seat, Ms Cairns says: "Many people are motivated by not wanting the SNP to have another majority and voters in Edinburgh North Western are very smart with the way they vote. We are encouraging pople to vote for us with the peach ballot paper for the list, and people are very open to that message."

Labour’s candidate Irshad Ahmad - who is also number one on the party’s regional list - is a director of a Musselburgh-based convenience store company. He stood previously for the SNP on the Lothian list in the 2016 Holyrood elections and for Alba on the Lothian list at the last Scottish Parliament elections in 2021.

Retired police officer David Thomson is fighting the seat for Reform and says the biggest local issue is the problem of antisocial behaviour by boy racers in South Queensferry. “It’s young guys racing about the town in powerful cars and motorbikes and causing a social nuisance.”

He laments the move from eight police forces to the single Police Scotland and wants to see a return to perhaps five or six forces, with chief constables having autonomy over their own area and more police on the streets.

“Each town used to have its own police station and the station would be open. If we moved back to that kind of model and had more police resources, we could tackle antisocial behaviour.”

George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain is also standing a candidate, David Henry, a former member of Alba. He says: “I support equality, women's right to single sex spaces and I want to see every child protected from controversial teaching material.”

Candidates

AHMED, Irshad - Scottish Labour Party

CAIRNS, Rachel - Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

COLE-HAMILTON, Alex - Scottish Liberal Democrats

HENRY, David - Scottish Workers Party of Britain

JARDINE, Lyn Ann - Scottish National Party (SNP)

THOMSON, Davie (David) - Reform UK

2021 result

Alex Cole-Hamilton Lib Dem 25,578

Sarah Masson SNP 15,693

Sue Webber Con 2,798

Margaret Graham Lab 2,515