Edinburgh council elections 2022: ward-by-ward analysis: Portobello/Craigmillar

Ward 17: Portobello/Craigmillar

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Three out of the four councillors here are standing down at this election, leaving the SNP’s housing convener Kate Campbell as the only one seeking re-election.

Labour’s Maureen Child, who topped the poll in 2017, has been a councillor for 27 years, which included a spell as finance convener and an almost unbroken stint on the planning committee, but she has decided to bow out this time.

Labour had two councillors in the ward between 2012 and 2017 and is fielding two candidates again. Jane Meagher is a retired community worker and active in many local organisations and Heather Pugh is a wheelchair user and former civil servant, who previously stood with Cammy Day in Forth ward.

Tory Callum Laidlaw was elected last time and has been his party’s education spokesman, but he is stepping down because his husband is relocating and they are moving away from Edinburgh. Replacing him as Conservative candidate is recently-retired Tim Jones, who used to work for the British Council.

And Green Mary Campbell is also standing down after five years. The party has chosen Alys Mumford, who works for a national women’s equality charity, as its new candidate.

The SNP is also standing two candidates, as it has before. Along with Kate Campbell on the ballot paper will be Simon Clark Shedden, who has a background in housing and welfare rights and works for Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard.

Portobello recorded 86 cases of coronavirus last week which was a rate of 1,932.2 cases per 100,000 people. This area has a population of 4,451.

The Lib Dem candidate is Jill Reilly, who stood for the party in Edinburgh Eastern at last year’s Holyrood election and in the equivalent Westminster constituency at the 2019 general election. An Alba candidate and one independent complete the line-up.

2017: SNP 32.6 per cent; Labour 30.4 per cent; Conservatives 19.5 per cent; Greens 15.1 per cent; Lib Dems 2.5 per cent.

Current councillors: Maureen Child (Lab); Callum Laidlaw (Con); Kate Campbell (SNP); Mary Campbell (Green)

Electorate 26,005

Candidates

CAMPBELL, Kate – Scottish National Party (SNP)

JONES, Tim – Scottish Conservative and Unionist

MCDONALD, Andrew – Independent

MEAGHER, Jane Elizabeth – Labour and Co-operative Party

MUMFORD, Alys – Scottish Green Party

PUGH, Heather – Labour and Co-operative Party

REILLY, Jill – Scottish Liberal Democrats

SHEDDEN, Simon Clark – Scottish National Party (SNP)

TODD, Anne – Alba Party for independence