Balfour: “We need people that can stand up for a local area”

Former Lothians MSP Jeremy Balfour said that Edinburgh and the Lothians need “people that can stand up for a local area” as he bids to return to Holyrood as an independent.

Originally elected in 2016 with the Scottish Conservatives, Balfour left the party in 2025 following disagreements over Russell Findlay’s leadership. Balfour is not running in any constituency, instead opting to be reelected on Lothians list.

When asked whether there is a place for independents in modern Scottish politics, Balfour responded that “there generally is.”

He said: “We need people that can stand up for a local area. I am Lothian centric, I will make sure everything I do helps people in Edinburgh and the Lothians.”

Balfour listed funding he secured in the 2026 Scottish Budget for the King’s Theatre and first sector disabled charities among his work for the Lothians, as well as getting “more Changing Places toilets to be built across the city and across Scotland.”

Changing Places toilets are larger accessible toilets for severely disabled people, with equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches and space for carers.

On the campaign trail, Balfour has said that his lack of party affiliation has resonated with voters, who he says “are very weary that you’re just gonna get a clone of a politician.”

Balfour added: “If you are backbench MSP for any other parties, you are told what to do, how to vote, and even sometimes what to say.

“I don’t have that, I can literally speak what I think the people of Edinburgh and Lothians want to hear and need to hear.

“I’ll make sure that, if I’m fortunate enough to be elected, I will keep that open dialogue between me and my constituents over a 5 year term so that I can represent what they think and what they need to be told in Parliament.”

As a former Scottish Conservative MSP for nine years, Balfour says that he has personal experience of witnessing himself and colleagues influenced by the party whip.

He said: “I think people outside Parliament don’t understand how strong the whip is for all of the main parties.

“You don’t get a lot of options in regards to how you vote, and if you break that whip, it comes with consequences.”

Among his campaign policies have been to get the public to see GPs within five days as well as alleviating the housing crisis in the region by building more houses “which are affordable and accessible.”

Balfour, who is disabled, has said he will push to “make sure that the disabled voice is heard.”

He said: “There’s not enough disabled candidates and there’s not going to be enough disabled politicians, and that voice will be lost in the parliament if we’re not careful.”

The last independent candidate to be elected on the Lothian regional list was Margo MacDonald in 2011, with figures rarely showing successful independent candidates. 

While Balfour “hopes it’s not case”, he highlighted the “real privilege to serve the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians” should he not be reelected.

He said: “I hope I’ve made a difference to individual life by getting legislation changed. 

“But ultimately, I think there’s more that needs to be done, particularly on disability, in the parliament. 

“That’s why I think with another five years, I can make more for different in the parliament, for Edinburgh and for disabled people.”

Assisted Dying Bill 

Mr Balfour made a powerful contribution in the Stage 3 debate on the Assisted Dying Bill, speaking from his own experience.

He said: “Disabled people are frightened, and I ask my colleagues to put themselves in their shoes and my shoes. Imagine that you relied on your family and friends to make daily sacrifices to help you to get up, dress and be ready for the day. Imagine that you had been told by many people, including a number of politicians, that you were a burden on society and that the benefits that you rely on to survive could be better spent elsewhere. I want you to imagine that, on numerous occasions, you have heard the words, “I’d rather die than live like you.” How do you think you would feel, watching this debate? I think you would, rightly, feel terrified.

“I know that those on the other side will say that the bill will affect only those with terminal illness, but, as we have seen time and again in other jurisdictions, the bill would mark the beginning of the story but not the end. Take Jersey, for instance. Its bill was passed not even a month ago and there have already been attempts to broaden the criteria by which someone there becomes eligible for an assisted death.

“In passing the bill, we would be opening a Pandora’s box and the effects on the most vulnerable people in our society would be devastating. Despite what we have heard from those on the other side of the debate, there can be no meaningful protection against coercion and we cannot legislate against the feeling of being a burden. We cannot legislate for the throwaway comments that make me and others feel that our lives are worth less.

“I am very fortunate. I have had a loving family. I have a superb wife and loving children who would never let me go through that, even if I was at a low point, but many in our country are not so fortunate. The protections in the bill are not good enough and can never be good enough.”

The Assisted Dying Bill failed at Stage 3, but the Liberal Democrats have said they will seek to reintroduce it in the next parliamentary session.