Politics in Edinburgh

In terms of the local administration of Edinburgh, the city and its immediate surroundings constitute the zone administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The city, including the busy port of Leith on the Firth of Forth, lies within the historic county of Midlothian. The City of Edinburgh Council's jurisdiction also includes an area in the northwest, around South Queensferry, in the historic county of West Lothian.

Edinburgh is also the home of much of the central administration of Scotland. The headquarters of the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Law Courts, and the main political parties in Scotland are situated in Edinburgh.

The local scene

• For details on the different elections held in Edinburgh, from community council to UK Parliamentary, please visit the Elections page.
• Visit the list of Councillor and Surgery pages for more information about your representative on the City of Edinburgh Council and when you can meet them.
• For more information on the structure of the City of Edinburgh Council, please visit the Guide to Council Departments, which explains the departmental structure and introduces the various directors.

To keep up with politics in Edinburgh, some of the best sources of information are the following websites and newspapers:

• Scotsman: one of the two main national broadsheet newspapers in Scotland
• Evening News: part of the Scotsman group, this local daily is full of local news
• The Herald and Post: also part of the Scotsman stable of papers, it is a free paper delivered around Edinburgh
• The Herald: traditionally a Glasgow based national newspaper, it also contains news items relating to Edinburgh
• BBC Scotland: BBC Radio Scotland, the BBC website and Reporting Scotland (the BBC national daily TV news programme) all feature important news stories about Edinburgh
• Scotland Today: STV’s national news programme – their website includes video downloads of news stories.

Neighbouring local authorities

• Midlothian Council
• East Lothian
• West Lothian
• Fife Council