Dan Heap has been a councillor since 2022, representing the Sighthill/Gorgie ward.
He is now standing for the Edinburgh South West seat in the UK general election.
Mr Heap told The Edinburgh Reporter: “I’ve lived in the South West constituency for 10 years now – just coming up 10 years. I’ve been a councillor for two years, so I know the area very well. I know the challenges it has and I think, having been a councillor, I’ll be able to speak up in Westminster in the same way I’ve been able to in council.”
As an MP, Mr Heap’s primary focus would be on addressing the climate crisis.
He said: “I think the thing we can bring is a strong voice on the climate emergency. Just about 50 metres away from where we are now, we have the Water of Leith, and part of that has washed away further upstream in the constituency because of extreme rainfall. And that is showing in every constituency in Edinburgh, every constituency in the country. And here in Edinburgh South West we are seeing the effects of climate change.”
Asked if his familiarity with the constituency will stand him in good stead, the candidate was optimistic.
He said: “I would hope so. I’ve been a councillor for two years now and I think I have taken positive action locally. I’ve been involved in the highlighting of Gorgie Farm, they need to get that reopened as soon as possible. I actually passed the motion with unanimous support to make sure it wasn’t handed out to a private company, which was absolutely the wrong thing to do.”
Before entering politics, Mr Heap was a university lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University, specialising in social security. As a councillor, his roles have included positions on the Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee and the Culture and Communities Committee.
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