Holyrood elections 2026: Inside the three-way fight for key Edinburgh Central constituency

And it is one of the most high-profile battlegrounds in the election, with the SNP, the Greens and Labour all claiming they could win.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson won the seat for the SNP at the last election in 2021 with a 4,732 majority over the Conservatives after the former MSP, ex-Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, stood down.

But major boundary changes have extended the seat dramatically to the south, creating the three-way marginal.

Edinburgh Central now stretches from Bellevue to The Grange, taking in Sciennes, Marchmont and Bruntsfield from the Edinburgh Southern constituency - which cheers Labour because of the loyalty which former Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has built up among voters in his Edinburgh South Westminster seat.

But it is this change in the geography of the seat which has also encouraged the Greens because of the increase in students, younger voters and tenement dwellers. Green candidate Lorna Slater says: "With the boundary changes, it's an absolutely winnable one for the Greens, so we've been throwing the kitchen sink at it and it's pretty exciting results - there are Green posters popping up everywhere, we've had massive great teams out canvassing, there seems to be a real buzz about it, we've had new people out every session.

“The big difference is it brings in more tenements. We know that Green supporters are substantially renters.

"I think it's between us and Labour. People tend to vote along constitutional lines so if they're looking for a left-wing, pro-independence party they're pretty open to the Greens in Edinburgh Central."

But that means the Greens are asking independence supporters to switch away from the SNP in a seat it currently holds.

Ms Slater says: "We know that in large parts of Scotland where the Greens don't stand in constituencies it is substantially people who vote SNP in constituencies who vote Green on the list, so we know people in many cases already think of us as a bit of a team, so I think that's an easy transfer in Edinburgh Central."

Nevertheless, the Greens have had to abandon their tried and tested 'List Vote Green' mantra and adopt a new 'Both votes Green' message for voters in Central.

The SNP has reason to welcome the boundary changes too. The areas that have moved out of the constituency - including Stockbridge, Orchard Brae, Ravelston and Murrayfield - were not traditionally strong SNP territory. The SNP’s strongest areas - like Gorgie/Dalry, Tollcross, the Old Town and Dumbiedykes - are still there. And the party does also have support in both the New Town and the new areas brought into the seat.

Polling projections for the constituency have been contradictory - one had the Greens winning, another said Labour.

But Angus Robertson dismisses the idea that the race is between the Greens and Labour. "That is not the situation on the ground," he says.

And he claims that far from SNP voters moving to the Greens, it's Green voters who are ready to back the SNP. He says: "It's the SNP that won Edinburgh Central from the Tories and we're working hard to do that again and also to lock out Reform. Only the SNP is fighting a serious campaign to win the election nationally, so every seat matters and Green voters know that.

"It's a very common conversation that Green supporters say they are voting SNP with their constituency vote and they're voting Green on the list because they understand that it makes no sense to endanger a pro-independence MSP being elected in Edinburgh Central and the Greens have never won a constituency seat in Scotland and have only ever won them off the list.

“It’s confusing to a lot of voters, why the Green candidate for Edinburgh Central is top of the Green list in the region and is going to be elected anyway. That's another reason why I say to people that if they are going to be voting Green to vote SNP in the constituency to get the best outcome.”

Labour candidate James Dalgleish is also sceptical about Green claims they could be on the cusp of a historic victory. “I think it's more of a fight between Labour and the SNP,” he says.

“Lorna and the Greens are shouting very loudly about their chances but I'm not convinced they have that real support they need for them to win. Although many people are scunnered with the SNP and their record in government there are others whose focus is still on independence. I think the Greens' ceiling is such that it's potentially not high enough to get them over the line. I think it’s more of a fight between myself and Angus.

“Our campaign is going really well, we’re getting a positive response on doors, and I think people are genuinely eager to get change. They realise the SNP has been in power for 20 years and if they were going to solve a lot of the problems they would have done it by now.”

There are a total of 11 candidates in Central. Long-serving City Centre councillors Jo Mowat is standing for the Tories, former City Centre councilor Charles Dundas for the Lib Dems and retired businessman Gary Neill for Reform.

Wildlife campaigner Robert Pownall, who dresses as a giant gannet, is calling for an end to the controversial Guga hunt, the last legal seabird hunt in the UK.

Human rights campaigner and former ambassador Craig Murray is the candidate for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland. Tam Laird is standing for the Scottish Libertarian Party. And there are two independents - election regular Bonnie Prince Bob and Chris Creighton, who says he stands for “the status quo”.

Jo Mowat, for the Tories, says most issues raised by voters come back to housing. “The Scottish Government has done nothing but interfere in the market and every time it does that it makes it worse. We’ve regulated our way into a housing crisis, we need to deregulate our way out of it.”

Lib Dem Charles Dundas says voters have lost faith both in Labour and in the SNP. “We're getting a lot of apathy around this election. That has opened the door to a lot of people being more open to the Lib Dems than perhaps they have been over the last decade.”

And Reform’s Gary Neill says he wants to cut taxes, “get oil and gas flowing again” and reduce government. "The first thing we would do is to have a review of every area of government spending because there's too much of it - there is too much government, too many NGOs, too many advisory bodies.”

Candidates

BONNIE PRINCE, Bob - Independent

CREIGHTON, Chris - Independent

DALGLEISH, James William - Scottish Labour Party

DUNDAS, Charles - Scottish Liberal Democrats

LAIRD, Tam - Scottish Libertarian Party

MOWAT, Jo - Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

MURRAY, Craig John - Alliance to Liberate Scotland

NEILL, Gary - Reform

POWNALL, Robert Neil - Independent

ROBERTSON, Angus - Scottish National Party (SNP)

SLATER, Lorna - Scottish Green Party

2021 result

Angus Robertson SNP 16,276

Scott Douglas Con 11,544

Maddy Kirkman Lab 6,839

Alison Johnstone Green 3,921

Bruce Wilson Lib Dem 2,555

Bonnie Prince Bob Independent 363