Latest headlines
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Victory for the SNP with 63 seats - two short of a majority
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Conservatives are the second largest party on 31 seats - but Labour on 24 lost 13 seats
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Scottish Greens are the fourth largest party with six seats, ahead of the Lib Dems who won five
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See the changing political map of Scotland
Scoreboard
Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Net percentage change in seats |
---|---|---|---|---|
Party
SNP Scottish National Party |
Candidates Gordon MacDonald | Votes 13,181 | 39.5% | Net percentage change in seats +2.3 |
Party
CON Scottish Conservatives |
Candidates Gordon Lindhurst | Votes 10,725 | 32.2% | Net percentage change in seats +0.7 |
Party
LAB Scottish Labour |
Candidates Blair Heary | Votes 7,811 | 23.4% | Net percentage change in seats −3.2 |
Party
LD Scottish Lib Dems |
Candidates Emma Farthing-Sykes | Votes 1,636 | 4.9% | Net percentage change in seats +0.2 |
Change compared with 2011 |
Turnout and Majority
Scottish National Party Majority
2,456Turnout
60.4%Constituency Profile
This seat takes in some affluent suburbs and picturesque countryside south west of Edinburgh. It is a socially diverse seat, and most inhabitants have a good standard of living and many work in well-paid non-manual jobs.
Also situated here is the Wester Hailes council-built estate, along with Sighthill, the growing Heriot Watt University and a chunk of the Pentland Hills regional park.
Former UK government minister Malcolm Rifkind was first elected Conservative MP for Pentlands in February 1974, and held it until 1997 when he lost to Labour's Lynda Clarke. The Holyrood seat has changed hands repeatedly. It was won by Iain Gray for Labour in 1999. but taken by David McLetchie, then leader of the Tories north of the border in 2003. He went on to retain the constituency at the 2007 poll, but lost to Gordon MacDonald of the SNP in 2011.