Candidates lining up in the Colinton/Fairmilehead Ward

Candidates from various parties are already lining up to secure the Colinton/Fairmilehead seat which Cllr Scott Arthur is believed likely to vacate shortly.

This will cause a by-election in the three councillor ward currently represented by councillors from the SNP, Conservative and Labour groups.

Cllr Arthur was elected as an MP for Edinburgh South West with a majority of 6,217 votes in the recent General Election, and indicated that he would soon resign from his position as a councillor – although he has yet to formally offer his resignation. He was first elected to The City of Edinburgh Council in 2017, and became Transport Convener in 2022 after the local council elections.

The Conservative group was first to officially announce their candidate Neil Cuthbert, and the Liberal Democrat candidate will be Louise Spence who stood in the 2022 local elections. Both candidates stood in 2022 in this Ward – Mr Cuthbert gaining 1,100 first preference votes and Ms Spence gaining 1,416. The Labour Party candidate, Cllr Arthur, won 33.4% of the votes with the Scottish Conservatives second on 2,317.

Cllr Jason Rust who has represented the area for the past twenty years for the Scottish Conservatives said: “We have traditionally elected two Conservative councillors in our ward and I look forward to campaigning with Neil and continuing our track record of holding the Council to account and delivering for local people.”