Date set for Edinburgh council by-election in Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart following death of Val Walker

Councillor Walker, who was convener of the council’s culture and communities committee, died unexpectedly during the council’s Easter recess last month.

The by-election to fill her seat on the council will take place on Thursday 26 June 2025. There are currently 18,563 voters on the electoral register in the ward.

Labour councillor Val Walker was elected in May 2022 | Edinburgh council

At the last council elections in 2022, the Conservatives topped the poll in the ward and the SNP narrowly beat Labour for second place.

Edinburgh council chief executive and returning officer Paul Lawrence said: “I want to reiterate my condolences to Councillor Walker’s family, friends, and colleagues. The tributes we saw last week at the council meeting shows the esteem in which she was held across all sides of the chamber, and she will be sorely missed.

“Her passing has resulted in the vacancy for the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward. I’d urge all residents in the ward to make sure they are registered and have their details or preference of how they would like to vote up to date in plenty of time. Details on how to register, where to vote or how to vote by post can be found on the council website.”

Nomination papers for candidates can be submitted from 10am on Monday 19 May until 4pm on Friday 23 May.

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 26 June.

The election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system where voters can rank candidates in order of preference rather than using a single cross. Voters can give a rank to as many or as few candidates as they like.

The deadline to register to vote in this by-election is midnight on Tuesday June 10. For new postal vote applications, it’s 5pm on Wednesday June 11 and for new proxy votes its 5pm on Wednesday June 18.