Edinburgh council elections 2022: ward-by-ward analysis: Inverleith

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Labour and the Greens both lost their seats in this four-member ward last time when veteran Lesley Hinds stepped down and Nigel Bagshaw was defeated.

Instead, the Lib Dems won a seat with Hal Osler and the Tories got their second candidate Max Mitchell elected alongside Iain Whyte, who took the last seat by 257 votes over Nigel Bagshaw.

This time, Gavin Barrie – first elected for the SNP in 2012, but an independent since 2018 – is standing down and Cllr Whyte, a councillor since 1995, is moving to be Tory candidate in Craigentinny/Duddingston.

The Greens are hoping to win back a seat and have made the ward one of their top targets in the city. Their candidate, grassroots campaigner Jule Bandel is originally from Germany and works for a housing charity.

Labour will also be hoping to regain a seat and have chosen Mhairi Munro-Brian, a chemist in the whisky industry and daughter of retiring Leith councillor Gordon Munro, as their candidate.

But the Lib Dems are aiming not only to get Cllr Osler re-elected, but also to win a second seat with software engineer Malcolm Wood.

New SNP candidate Vicky Nicolson is a local area co-ordinator for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership and has served as a community councillor.

And in place of Cllr Whyte, the Tories are fielding associate quantity surveyor Stuart Herring alongside Cllr Mitchell.

The seat takes in Stockbridge, Comely Bank, Dean Village, Craigleith, Blackhall, Drylaw, Inverleith, Canonmills, Goldenacre and Warriston.

2017: Conservatives 36.9 per cent; SNP 19 per cent; Lib Dems 16.6 per cent; Labour 12.4 per cent; Green 12.3 per cent.

Current councillors: Hal Osler (Lib Dem), Max Mitchell (Con), Gavin Barrie (Ind), Iain Whyte (Con).

Electorate 24,487

Candidates

BANDEL, Jule – Scottish Green Party

HERRING, Stuart – Scottish Conservative and Unionist

HOLDEN, Phil – Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life

LAIRD, Tam – Scottish Libertarian Party

MCNAMARA, Stephen

MITCHELL, Max – Scottish Conservative and Unionist

MUNRO-BRIAN, Mhairi – Labour and Co-operative Party

NICOLSON, Vicky – Scottish National Party (SNP)

OSLER, Hal – Scottish Liberal Democrats

WOOD, Malcolm Alexander – Scottish Liberal Democrats