Constituency profile

Edinburgh South

Scotland · Burgh constituency · Edinburgh borough

Ian Murray MP
Sitting MP

Ian Murray

Labour

First elected May 2010

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
Scotland
Burgh constituency, Edinburgh council
Last 5 GE winners
LLLLL
Labour 5/5
EU referendum 2016
22.1% Leave
UK average 51.9%; -29.8pp below mean
Current outlook
Labour +18.5pp
vs SNP 19.2%
ScottishStrong Remain areaGraduate-heavy

About the Edinburgh South constituency

Edinburgh South is a burgh constituency in Scotland. The sitting MP is Ian Murray (Labour), first elected in May 2010. At the 2024 general election, Labour won with 53.3% to 16.5% for the SNP, a majority of 17,251 votes on a 66.1% turnout. PollCheck's current projection, at the seven-poll average, has Labour on 37.7% and the SNP on 19.2%, a margin of 18.5 points.

Who lives in Edinburgh South? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
22.1%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
61.5%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
8.5%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
67.2%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
31.7%
UK average ~36%
Median age
38.1
UK median ~40
Age 65+
20.9%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
37.2%
UK average ~28%

How did Edinburgh South vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab hold · majority 17,251 votes (36.8pp) · turnout 66.1%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Edinburgh South

Switch between GE2024 ward winners (modelled estimates, ~4pp average error) and a demographic view from Scotland's 2022 Census. Hover any area for detail. How the map is built ›

Holyrood 2026 layer

How Edinburgh South voted at the Scottish Parliament election (7 May 2026)

Edinburgh South crosses multiple Holyrood boundaries: Edinburgh Southern (89%), Edinburgh Central (6%), Midlothian North (4%). Scotland uses the Additional Member System: voters cast one ballot for a constituency MSP and a second for a regional list. The figures below are the constituency vote.

Holyrood constituencyShare of Edinburgh SouthWinnerRunner-upElected MSP
Edinburgh Southern89%Labour 42.9%SNP 30.3%Daniel Johnson
Edinburgh Central6%Green 36.0%Labour 23.0%Lorna Slater
Midlothian North4%SNP 38.9%Labour 30.3%Colin Beattie

Holyrood 2026 constituency results from official declarations. Overlap percentages are area-based using the post-2024 Westminster boundary against the new Holyrood second-review boundary (in force from 7 May 2026).

Council layer (not Westminster)

Edinburgh South within Edinburgh

Edinburgh South sits entirely within Edinburgh Council. Edinburgh was not due to vote in 2026, so the figures below are the most recent ward results available. About this layer ›

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
Edinburgh
1 LSOAs
100%

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward - May 2026 results where the council voted, otherwise the most recent available result. How this table is sourced ›

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout
Colinton / FairmileheadLabour 55.3%vs SNP 18.0%No council data--
Fountainbridge / CraiglockhartLabour 41.8%vs SNP 24.6%No council data--
Liberton / GilmertonLabour 58.7%vs SNP 20.3%No council data--
Meadows / MorningsideLabour 50.6%vs SNP 14.7%No council data--
Southside / NewingtonLabour 50.9%vs SNP 18.0%No council data--

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Edinburgh South at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Edinburgh South at past general elections?

2024 and notional 2019 rows are on current boundaries; 2010-2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time. More on boundaries ›

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010Lab holdIan Murray34.7%21.6%34.0%-2.0%-31673.8%
2015Lab holdIan Murray39.1%17.5%3.7%1.2% UKIP4.2%0.4%2,63774.9%+1.1
2017Lab holdIan Murray54.9%19.7%2.9%---15,51474.1%-0.8
2019notionalLabour winnerIan Murray 2019 MP, pre-review boundary46.2%16.8%8.2%--28.8%10,79574.7%+0.6
2024Lab holdIan Murray53.3%8.5%5.9%3.9% Ref9.1%2.7%17,25166.1%-8.6

Earlier years are on pre-2024 boundaries; comparable results on the new boundary will be added when sourced.

Constituencies most like Edinburgh South

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Edinburgh South. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

Every figure on this page is computed from the sources below. Read the full methodology ›

Show full source list
  • 2024 general election results · UK Parliament Election Results portal and House of Commons Library briefing CBP-10009.
  • Notional 2019 results on 2024 boundaries · UK Parliament Election Results portal. Recalculated by Parliament; carries assumptions about how 2019 voters would have distributed across the redrawn boundaries.
  • Historic general election results (2010-2017) · House of Commons Library historic results files (on the boundaries in force at the time).
  • Ward-level GE2024 estimates · Britain Elects / New Statesman - article by Ben Walker, underlying spreadsheet. Modelled from constituency totals; average ~4pp per-ward MoE.
  • May 2026 council ward results · Democracy Club via PollCheck's locals 2026 dataset.
  • Earlier council ward results (2014-2024) · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (Jason Leman, drawing on Andrew Teale's LEAP dataset and Democracy Club).
  • Demographics · ONS Census 2021 (England and Wales), aggregated to constituency level using the ONS LSOA21 -> PCON24 best-fit lookup.
  • EU referendum 2016 estimates · Constituency-level Leave vote estimates (Hanretty 2017 method).
  • MP details and Cabinet roles · UK Parliament Members API. MP photos are fetched live from the same source.
  • Boundary geometry and lookups · ONS Open Geography Portal (PCON24 boundaries, LSOA21 boundaries, LSOA21-WD24-LAD24 best-fit lookup).
  • Current projection and trajectory · PollCheck's demographic swingometer applied to the rolling 7-poll average from aggregated GB polls. Not a true MRP - vote-share movements are applied through per-constituency sensitivity multipliers derived from demographic regressions.

If you spot a data issue, please let us know.