Edinburgh South West is one of five constituencies covering the
City of Edinburgh council area. All are entirely within the city council area. Prior to the 2005 general election, the city area had been covered by six constituencies and, of the six, there was one,
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, which straddled the boundary with the
East Lothian council area, to include
Musselburgh. Edinburgh South West is mostly a replacement for the former
Edinburgh Pentlands constituency, but excludes some of the east of that constituency. Also, it includes a south western portion of the former
Edinburgh Central constituency. The
Scottish Parliament uses different boundaries. Edinburgh South West is mostly contained within the
Edinburgh Pentlands constituency for elections to the Scottish Parliament, with some parts of the north and east of the seat being located in the constituencies of
Edinburgh Central,
Edinburgh Southern and
Edinburgh Western.
2005–2024: Under the
Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies which came into effect for the
2005 general election, the boundaries of the constituency were defined in accordance with the ward structure in place on 30 November 2004 and comprised the following
wards of the
City of Edinburgh Council:
Balerno,
Baberton,
Colinton,
Craiglockhart,
Dalry,
Firrhill,
Fountainbridge,
Moat,
Murrayburn,
Parkhead,
Shandon and
Sighthill. As a result of the
Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, in 2007 these wards were replaced with new wards which were not aligned with the constituency boundaries. Further minor changes were made to ward boundaries in 2017.
2024–present: Under the
2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the
2024 general election, the constituency boundaries were virtually unchanged and comprise the following wards or part wards of the City of Edinburgh Council: • The bulk of
Pentland Hills ward - excluding
Ratho and surrounding rural areas; • a small part of
Drum Brae/Gyle ward; • the bulk of
Sighthill/Gorgie ward - excluding the
Saughton area; • the majority of
Colinton/Fairmilehead - excluding the
Fairmilehead area; • the whole of
Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward; • two small areas of
Morningside ward; and • the southwestern part of
City Centre, including the
West End and
Tollcross areas. == Members of Parliament ==