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Edinburgh Leith — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Edinburgh Leith was won by Labour at the 1992 general election, with a majority of 4,985 votes over SNP. This page covers every general election in Edinburgh Leith from 1950 to 1992.

Full Election History, 1950–1992

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1950 James Hutchison Hoy (Labour) 18,111 49.2% Eoin Cameron Mekie (Conservative) 2,270 (6.2 pts) 80.7%
1951 James Hutchison Hoy (Labour) 19,308 50.1% Eoin Cameron Mekie (Conservative) 72 (0.2 pts) 84.0%
1955 James Hutchison Hoy (Labour) 16,337 49.4% I Hamilton Shearer (Conservative) 5,644 (17.1 pts) 77.8%
1959 James Hutchison Hoy (Labour) 15,092 47.8% Gershom Stewart (Conservative) 3,074 (9.7 pts) 79.5%
1964 James Hutchison Hoy (Labour) 15,934 55.5% Gershom Stewart (Unionist) 3,157 (11.0 pts) 77.9%
1966 James Hoy (Labour) 15,407 56.8% Walter Elliott (Conservative) 3,964 (14.6 pts) 76.1%
1970 Ronald Murray (Labour) 12,066 46.3% Walter Archibald Elliott (Conservative) 1,384 (5.3 pts) 73.2%
Feb 1974 Ronald Murray (Labour) 12,604 40.6% William Percy (Conservative) 721 (2.3 pts) 79.3%
Oct 1974 Ronald Murray (Labour) 11,708 39.7% William Percy (Conservative) 3,445 (11.7 pts) 74.8%
1979 Ron Brown (Labour) 12,961 46.3% Aidan McLernan (Conservative) 4,017 (14.3 pts) 75.2%
1983 Ronald McLaren Brown (Labour) 16,177 39.7% David Graham (Social Democratic Party) 4,973 (12.2 pts) 67.3%
1987 Ron Brown (Labour) 21,104 49.3% Duncan Adam Young Menzies (Conservative) 11,327 (26.5 pts) 70.9%
1992 Malcolm Chisholm (Labour) 13,790 34.2% Fiona Hyslop (SNP) 4,985 (12.4 pts) 71.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Hutchison Hoy Labour 18,11149.2% Yes
Eoin Cameron Mekie Conservative 15,84143.0% No
Thomas McGill Frew Liberal 2,8467.7% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Hutchison Hoy Labour 19,30850.1% Yes
Eoin Cameron Mekie Conservative 19,23649.9% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Hutchison Hoy Labour 16,33749.4% Yes
I Hamilton Shearer Conservative 10,69332.3% No
Sir Andrew Hunter Arbuthnot Murray Independent Liberal 6,05518.3% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Hutchison Hoy Labour 15,09247.8% Yes
Gershom Stewart Conservative 12,01838.0% No
Sir Andrew Hunter Arbuthnot Murray Liberal 4,47514.2% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Hutchison Hoy Labour 15,93455.5% Yes
Gershom Stewart Unionist 12,77744.5% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Hoy Labour 15,40756.8% Yes
Walter Elliott Conservative 11,44342.2% No
Honor Arundel Communist 2791.0% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ronald Murray Labour 12,06646.3% Yes
Walter Archibald Elliott Conservative 10,68241.0% No
Mary Gibson Thomson SNP 1,8277.0% No
Joyee Shein Liberal 1,4905.7% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ronald Murray Labour 12,60440.6% Yes
William Percy Conservative 11,88338.3% No
Hugh Miller SNP 6,56921.2% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ronald Murray Labour 11,70839.7% Yes
William Percy Conservative 8,26328.0% No
Robert Scott SNP 7,68826.1% No
Arthur Squair Liberal 1,8366.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ron Brown Labour 12,96146.3% Yes
Aidan McLernan Conservative 8,94432.0% No
Keith Aitken Liberal 3,38212.1% No
William Platt SNP 2,7069.7% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ronald McLaren Brown Labour 16,17739.7% Yes
David Graham Social Democratic Party 11,20427.5% No
Brian Cooklin Conservative 10,70626.3% No
John Young SNP 2,6466.5% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ron Brown Labour 21,10449.3% Yes
Duncan Adam Young Menzies Conservative 9,77722.9% No
Shelia Rose Wells Social Democratic Party 7,84318.3% No
William Scott Morrison SNP 4,0459.5% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Chisholm Labour 13,79034.2% Yes
Fiona Hyslop SNP 8,80521.8% No
Mohammed Bin Ashiq Rizvi Conservative 8,49621.1% No
Hilary Campbell Liberal Democrat 4,97512.3% No
Ron Brown Independent Labour 4,14210.3% No
Alan Swan Natural Law 960.2% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1950: Labour margin 6.2 pts 1951: Labour margin 0.2 pts 1955: Labour margin 17.1 pts 1959: Labour margin 9.7 pts 1964: Labour margin 11.0 pts 1966: Labour margin 14.6 pts 1970: Labour margin 5.3 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 2.3 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 11.7 pts 1979: Labour margin 14.3 pts 1983: Labour margin 12.2 pts 1987: Labour margin 26.5 pts 1992: Labour margin 12.4 pts 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979 1983 1987 1992

Trend

Edinburgh Leith has been contested at 13 general elections on record since 1950. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Edinburgh Leith in the 1992 general election?

Labour won Edinburgh Leith in 1992 with 13,790 votes (34.2%), a majority of 4,985 votes over SNP in second place.

Which parties have won Edinburgh Leith since 1950?

Since 1950, Edinburgh Leith has been won by: Labour.

What was the closest result in Edinburgh Leith?

The closest result on record for Edinburgh Leith was 1951, when Labour beat Conservative by just 72 votes (0.2 percentage points).

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