Scot Lib Dems win from 5th place in ultra-competitive Edinburgh bellwether

Scottish Liberal Democrats candidate Kevin McKay has won the highly contested Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election, a ward in which the party finished in fifth place at the 2022 election.

On first preferences, Labour got 20.8%, the Liberal Democrats 20.4% (almost trebling their vote share), Scottish Greens 18.2%, SNP 14.5% (losing more than a third of their vote share), the Conservatives 13.8% (losing almost half their vote share), while Reform UK polled just 7.9%.

However, once second preferences had been redistributed, the Lib Dems secured 2316 votes while Labour got 2219 votes.

Commenting on the result, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“I am delighted for Kevin, he will be a true local champion for people in Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart.

“This is a seat where all the major parties will have fancied their chances but in the end Reform underperformed, the SNP slumped and the Conservatives collapsed.

“Meanwhile Scottish Liberal Democrats delivered a campaign focused on the issues that mattered most to local people and that has delivered us a fantastic victory from fifth place.

“This result shows that we are on the up across the city and across the country ahead of next year’s election. Wherever you live you should vote to elect a Liberal Democrat local champion on your regional ballot next May.”

Kevin McKay said:

"I am delighted to have been successfully elected in this by-election, in such a diverse ward, that was closely contested by all the major parties as well as a number of independents.

"Serving on the Craiglockhart Community Council gave me a unique insight into the issues that really mattered to local people including the state of the roads, parking and our environment.

"I am proud to be part of an astonishing victory by the Lib Dems and I look forward to serving the people of Ward 9, Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart."