'Keep Leith name on Edinburgh's electoral map' say MP, MSP and councillors

Leith’s MP and MSP have launched a petition to stop the port’s name being wiped off Edinburgh’s electoral map when new constituencies are introduced for the next Scottish Parliament elections.

SNP MP Deidre Brock and her Nationalist MSP colleague Ben Macpherson are calling for Boundaries Scotland to have a rethink and make sure Leith is included in the name of one of the new seats they are proposing for Edinburgh.

Ben Macpherson and Deidre Brock say the Leith name must be kept in the constituency name

They said the petition was gathering signatures from Leithers and beyond and would be handed in to the boundary commission before the consultation deadline of May 15.

Leith is currently part of a seat called Edinburgh Northern & Leith, and under the proposed shake-up the seat would be split between two new constituencies, Edinburgh Northern and Edinburgh North Eastern. However, most of Leith would be in North Eastern.

It’s not the first time the Leith name has been under threat. In 2002, a review of Westminster constituencies proposed renaming Edinburgh North & Leith as Edinburgh North East. More than 3,000 people sent in Evening News coupons calling for the Leith name to be kept and the planned change was abandoned.

Deidre Brock said: “It’s a daft suggestion to take Leith away from the name of this constituency. Previous attempts to wipe ‘Leith’ from the electoral map have never gone down well so I hope Boundaries Scotland will rethink this decision too – but the more folk that let them know the better.

“Keeping the name Leith is not just symbolic; it represents our shared history, our heritage and our community’s unique identity. Leith was an independent burgh until 1920 and retains its own distinct sense of place.

“As a historic docklands, Leith has always welcomed people from all corners of the globe and we are rightly proud of being part of this diverse community. I’ve put in my objection and I encourage others to do the same.”

And Ben Macpherson added: "Leith’s distinct identity, culture and community is not only historically important but continues to matter today. I believe that dropping ‘Leith’ in the constituency description is a mistake, and it should be added back into the name for the constituency that would include Leith – so something like Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith.

“I urge Leithers to share their views regarding these changes by responding to the consultation, which closes on 15 May.”

And all three Leith ward councillors have backed the campaign to keep the Leith name. 

Leith Green councillor Chas Booth said: “It's an absolutely bonkers proposal. The name of Leith must remain in the constituency because Leith has such a distinctive identity.  Just 100 years ago Leith was a separate civic entity from the city of Edinburgh, so the suggestion it should be lost from the name of the constituency is absolutely bonkers.  It's essential the boundary commission thinks again on this."

SNP councillor for Leith, Adam Nols-McVey, said:  “It’s ridiculous that the boundary commission are proposing to remove Leith from the name of the constituency again. People in Leith are rightly proud, and we’ve seen a strong reaction from people in discussions we’ve had locally. We’ve successfully fought it off before and I’m confident we will manage to do the same again this time.” And Leith Labour councillor Katrina Faccenda said: “It's not a difficult thing to make sure that one of the new constituencies still includes the name and I feel strongly that should happen. Leith is not just a district of Edinburgh, it's a part of Edinburgh that has its own separate history. And it’s important to people in Leith that they get that recognition.

“When Leith has not been its own constituency we've always managed to keep it in the other constituency names - and since the proposed North East one takes in more or less that historic area of Leith, I think it would be quite easy to add Leith into that.”