Midlothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Midlothian was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it was one of nine constituencies in the Lothians electoral region, which elected seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Not to be confused with Edinburghshire (Parliament of Scotland constituency).

Midlothian
Former county constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Midlothian shown within the Lothians electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Former constituency
Created1999
Abolished2011
Council areaMidlothian
Replaced byMidlothian North & Musselburgh,
Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale

For the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the Midlothian constituency was abolished, with the creation of two new constituencies called Midlothian North and Musselburgh, and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

Electoral region
See also: Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the Lothians region from 1999 to 2011 were: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh West, Linlithgow and Livingston.

The region covered the City of Edinburgh council area, the West Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, and part of the East Lothian council area.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The Midlothian constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of the then existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[1]

The Holyrood constituency was one of two covering the Midlothian council area. The other constituency, Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, covered a western portion of the Midlothian council area, and straddles its boundary with the Scottish Borders council area. Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale was within the South of Scotland electoral region.

Boundary review
See also: Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011

Following their First Periodic review of constituencies to the Scottish Parliament, the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended extending the current Midlothian constituency into a newly formed seat of Midlothian North and Musselburgh with the western boundary to the south of Auchendinny. The other constituency now covering the Midlothian council area is a modified Midlothian South, Tweedale, and Lauderdale constituency.

Member of the Scottish Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1999 Rhona Brankin Scottish Labour Party
2011 constituency abolished: replaced by Midlothian North and Musselburgh

Election results
2007 Scottish Parliament election: Midlothian
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rhona Brankin 10,671 42.5 -4.8
SNP Colin Beattie 8,969 35.7 +11.9
Liberal Democrats Ross Laird 2,704 10.8 -0.7
Conservative P J Lewis 2,269 9.0 -1.8
Had Enough Party George McCleery 498 2.0 New
Majority 1,702 6.8 -16.7
Turnout 25,111 51.6 +2.9
Labour hold Swing
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Midlothian
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rhona Brankin 11,139 47.29 −1.33
SNP Graham Sutherland 5,597 23.76 −6.29
Liberal Democrats Jacqui Bell 2,700 11.46 +0.76
Conservative Rosemary Macarthur 2,557 10.85 +2.30
Scottish Socialist Bob Goupillot 1,563 6.64 +6.64
Majority 5,542 23.53 +4.96
Turnout 23,556 48.75 −12.76
Labour hold Swing +8.4
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Midlothian
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rhona Brankin 14,467 48.62 N/A
SNP Angus Robertson 8,942 30.05 N/A
Liberal Democrats John Elder 3,184 10.70 N/A
Conservative George Turnbull 2,544 8.55 N/A
Independent Douglas Pryde 618 2.08 N/A
Majority 5,525 18.57 N/A
Turnout 29,755 61.49 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

Footnotes
  1. See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 2007-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
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