Scottish Lib Dems eyeing up big gains in Edinburgh as full candidate list announced
Scottish Liberal Democrats have today said they are aiming to win big in Edinburgh and Lothians East at next May’s election, as they unveiled every candidate standing in the region’s constituencies and on the list in 2026.
Due to boundary changes, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP’s seat has been renamed Edinburgh North Western. At the 2021 election, he was re-elected to the seat of Edinburgh Western with the highest number of votes ever cast for a single candidate in a Scottish Parliament election.
Cllr Sanne Dijkstra-Downie is standing as the candidate for the target seat of Edinburgh Northern. She has also been selected as the party’s top candidate on the Edinburgh and Lothians East regional list.
Edinburgh Northern has undergone significant boundary changes since the last Scottish Parliament election. Ballot Box Scotland highlighted that Scottish Liberal Democrats won the area covered by the new seat in the 2022 local elections by 29.3% to the SNP’s 25.0%.
In 2022, Sanne was elected as an Edinburgh councillor for the Forth ward, topping the poll ahead of Scottish Labour’s then Edinburgh leader.
A recent poll for More In Common also found the Scottish Liberal Democrats could pick up two list seats on the peach regional ballot.
The full sweep of Scottish Liberal Democrat Edinburgh and Lothians East candidates is as follows:
1. Cllr Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, who is also contesting the seat of Edinburgh Northern
2. Jane Alliston Pickard, who is also contesting the seat of Edinburgh Southern
3. Charles Dundas, who is also contesting the seat of Edinburgh Central
4. Cllr Lewis Younie
5. Jenny Butler, who is also contesting the seat of Midlothian North
6. Liss Owen, who is also contesting the Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith
7. Alan Grant, who is also contesting the seat of Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent
Additionally, Andy Williamson will be standing in Edinburgh South Western, while Tim McKay will be standing in East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs.
Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, candidate for the target seat of Edinburgh Northern, said:
“It would be a huge privilege to represent the people of Edinburgh Northern. This will be a straight fight between the SNP and the Lib Dems.
“I’ve had so many conversations with people who are tired and fed up with the SNP: the spiralling waits to see a GP, the sky-high household bills, violence in our children’s classrooms and the state of the roads.
“They deserve change with fairness at its heart, which is what you get with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. If elected next May, I will work every single day for the people of Edinburgh Northern, fighting for access to first-rate healthcare, for help with the cost of living and getting Scottish education back to its best.”
Jane Alliston Pickard, who is standing alongside Cllr Dijkstra-Downie on the Edinburgh and Lothians East list, said:
“Across Edinburgh and the Lothians, people deserve better. NHS waiting lists have spiralled, the cost of living is squeezing households for every penny, all while our schools tumble down the international rankings.
“People here already know that with a Liberal Democrat, you get someone who will stand up to SNP neglect and get things done. They’ve seen that with Alex Cole-Hamilton, Christine Jardine and our 13-strong council group where we are the largest party after the SNP.
“Next May, everyone throughout the region can get more of that representation by backing our party on the second, peach-coloured regional ballot paper. That’s how we can end years of SNP failures and deliver change with fairness at its heart.”
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and candidate for Edinburgh North Western, said:
“Next May, we’re looking to make big gains in Edinburgh and across the Lothians. Council by-elections show that support for Labour, the SNP and the Conservatives is collapsing; they have all let people down.
“Candidates like Sanne and Jane have the energy and experience to speak up for people on the issues that matter most, from getting everyone the GP, dentist or mental health professional they need in good time to bringing down bills and giving every child the best start in life.
“In seats like Edinburgh North Western and Edinburgh Northern, the only way to deliver change with fairness at its heart is to back the Scottish Liberal Democrats. But wherever you are in the region, you can get that change too by marking a cross next to our name on the second, peach-coloured regional ballot paper.”
