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Edinburgh North — UK General Election Results

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

Edinburgh North was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 4,397 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Edinburgh North from 1918 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1918–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 James Avon Clyde (Unionist) 11,879 63.0% James Johnston (Liberal) 4,893 (25.9 pts) 53.0%
1922 Patrick Johnstone Ford (Unionist) 14,805 61.8% Peter Harvey Allan (Liberal) 5,640 (23.5 pts) 66.5%
1923 Peter Wilson Raffan (Liberal) 13,744 55.7% Patrick Johnstone Ford (Unionist) 2,835 (11.5 pts) 66.3%
1924 Patrick Johnstone Ford (Unionist) 14,461 49.3% Eleanor Stewart (Labour) 6,269 (21.4 pts) 78.0%
1929 Patrick Johnstone Ford (Unionist) 13,993 39.7% Eleanor Stewart (Labour) 2,653 (7.5 pts) 73.8%
1931 Patrick Johnstone Ford (Unionist) 26,361 75.0% Robert Gibson (Labour) 17,590 (50.1 pts) 74.4%
1935 Alexander Galloway Erskine-Hill (Unionist) 20,776 66.5% Gerald Walker Crawford (Labour) 12,122 (38.8 pts) 66.7%
1945 Eustace George Willis (Labour) 12,825 45.1% Alexander Galloway Erskine-Hill (Unionist) 555 (1.9 pts) 64.6%
1950 James Latham McDiarmid Clyde (Unionist) 17,826 51.2% Eustace George Willis (Labour) 4,143 (11.9 pts) 78.7%
1951 James Latham McDiarmid Clyde (Unionist) 20,836 58.8% Eustace George Willis (Labour) 6,232 (17.6 pts) 80.0%
1955 William Rankine Milligan (Unionist) 20,425 61.7% George Scott (Labour) 7,761 (23.4 pts) 72.0%
1959 William Rankine Milligan (Unionist) 19,991 64.0% George Gordon Stott (Labour) 8,756 (28.0 pts) 73.9%
1964 Walter Francis John Montagu Douglas Scott (Unionist) 17,094 58.2% Alexander D Reid (Labour) 4,830 (16.4 pts) 73.6%
1966 Walter Scott (Conservative) 13,765 50.3% Walter Dalgleish (Labour) 3,035 (11.1 pts) 73.9%
1970 Walter Scott (Conservative) 13,005 52.9% Robin Finlayson Cook (Labour) 3,878 (15.8 pts) 70.1%
Oct 1974 Alexander Fletcher (Conservative) 12,856 39.3% Martin O'Neill (Labour) 4,391 (13.4 pts) 69.2%
Feb 1974 Alexander Fletcher (Conservative) 16,417 45.8% Robert Cairns (Labour) 7,013 (19.6 pts) 76.4%
1979 Alexander Fletcher (Conservative) 14,170 43.6% Neil Lindsay (Labour) 4,397 (13.5 pts) 71.8%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Avon Clyde Unionist 11,87963.0% Yes
James Johnston Liberal 6,98637.0% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Johnstone Ford Unionist 14,80561.8% Yes
Peter Harvey Allan Liberal 9,16538.2% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Wilson Raffan Liberal 13,74455.7% Yes
Patrick Johnstone Ford Unionist 10,90944.3% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Johnstone Ford Unionist 14,46149.3% Yes
Eleanor Stewart Labour 8,19227.9% No
Peter Wilson Raffan Liberal 6,66922.7% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Johnstone Ford Unionist 13,99339.7% Yes
Eleanor Stewart Labour 11,34032.2% No
William Mitchell Liberal 9,87728.1% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Johnstone Ford Unionist 26,36175.0% Yes
Robert Gibson Labour 8,77125.0% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Galloway Erskine-Hill Unionist 20,77666.5% Yes
Gerald Walker Crawford Labour 8,65427.7% No
Chrystal Macmillan Liberal 1,7985.8% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Eustace George Willis Labour 12,82545.1% Yes
Alexander Galloway Erskine-Hill Unionist 12,27043.1% No
Charles Hampton Johnston Liberal 3,34411.8% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Latham McDiarmid Clyde Unionist 17,82651.2% Yes
Eustace George Willis Labour 13,68339.3% No
Ian Padruig Crawford Liberal 3,3029.5% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Latham McDiarmid Clyde Unionist 20,83658.8% Yes
Eustace George Willis Labour 14,60441.2% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rankine Milligan Unionist 20,42561.7% Yes
George Scott Labour 12,66438.3% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rankine Milligan Unionist 19,99164.0% Yes
George Gordon Stott Labour 11,23536.0% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Walter Francis John Montagu Douglas Scott Unionist 17,09458.2% Yes
Alexander D Reid Labour 12,26441.8% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Walter Scott Conservative 13,76550.3% Yes
Walter Dalgleish Labour 10,73039.2% No
Lawrence Oliver Liberal 2,87110.5% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Walter Scott Conservative 13,00552.9% Yes
Robin Finlayson Cook Labour 9,12737.1% No
Charles Alistair Dow Liberal 2,47510.1% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Fletcher Conservative 12,85639.3% Yes
Martin O'Neill Labour 8,46525.9% No
James Lynch SNP 7,68123.5% No
Murdoch MacDonald Liberal 3,67711.3% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Fletcher Conservative 16,41745.8% Yes
Robert Cairns Labour 9,40426.2% No
Ronald Guild Liberal 5,48715.3% No
James Lynch SNP 4,55012.7% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Fletcher Conservative 14,17043.6% Yes
Neil Lindsay Labour 9,77330.1% No
Ronald Guild Liberal 5,04515.5% No
Donald MacCormick SNP 3,52110.8% No

Margin Over Time

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

1918: Unionist margin 25.9 pts 1922: Unionist margin 23.5 pts 1923: Liberal margin 11.5 pts 1924: Unionist margin 21.4 pts 1929: Unionist margin 7.5 pts 1931: Unionist margin 50.1 pts 1935: Unionist margin 38.8 pts 1945: Labour margin 1.9 pts 1950: Unionist margin 11.9 pts 1951: Unionist margin 17.6 pts 1955: Unionist margin 23.4 pts 1959: Unionist margin 28.0 pts 1964: Unionist margin 16.4 pts 1966: Conservative margin 11.1 pts 1970: Conservative margin 15.8 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 13.4 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 19.6 pts 1979: Conservative margin 13.5 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Oct 1974 Feb 1974 1979

Trend

Edinburgh North has been contested at 18 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Unionist, Liberal, Labour, Conservative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Edinburgh North in the 1979 general election?

Conservative won Edinburgh North in 1979 with 14,170 votes (43.6%), a majority of 4,397 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Edinburgh North since 1918?

Since 1918, Edinburgh North has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Edinburgh North?

The closest result on record for Edinburgh North was 1945, when Labour beat Unionist by just 555 votes (1.9 percentage points).

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