Current MSP: Malcolm Chisholm (Labour) [MSP website]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | +/– | % | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Malcolm Chisholm * | 12858 | +2163 | 41.6 | +6.5 | |
| SNP | Shirley-Anne Somerville ^ | 12263 | +3772 | 39.7 | +11.8 | |
| Conservative | Sheila Low | 2928 | -131 | 9.5 | -0.6 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Dan Farthling | 2836 | -5328 | 9.2 | -17.7 | |
| Majority | 595 | Turnout | 30885 | Swing | +2.7% | Labour hold |
Malcolm Chisholm’s narrow win gave Labour its only constituency victory in Lothian region. The SNP’s other constituency successes meant Shirley Anne Somerville didn’t return via the list either, making her one of only three SNP MSPs to lose their seat. Some argued, based on national results, that Lib Dem votes moved entirely over to the SNP. This seat shows the weaknesses with that argument, although Chisholm clearly has a distinctive personal and anti-establishment appeal. In 2010 the Lib Dems were within 1,800 votes of taking the Westminster seat of North and Leith, although the boundaries are different.
Notes: Given boundary changes since 2007, variations in votes and share between seats with different boundaries would be misleading. We use the Denver figures, essentially a calculation of the 2007 votes cast within 2011 boundaries. More information on this here.
Symbols used:
* – Incumbent
^ – Challenger holding a list seat in previous Parliament
# – Lost deposit
| National | Central Scotland | Glasgow | Highlands & Islands | Lothian | Mid-Scotland & Fife | North East Scotland | South Scotland | West Scotland |
| Almond Valley | Edinburgh Central | Edinburgh Eastern | Edinburgh Northern & Leith | Edinburgh Pentlands | Edinburgh Southern | Edinburgh Western | Linlithgow | Midlothian North & Musselburgh |