General Election 2024: All the latest updates from across Edinburgh and the Lothians
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Labour now hold all seats in Edinburgh and the Lothians bar one, with Lib Dems’ Christine Jardine having held her seat in Edinburgh West.
This means former SNP MPs Tommy Sheppard, Joanna Cherry and Deidre Brock lost their seats in Edinburgh East & Musselburgh, Edinburgh South West and Edinburgh North & Leith respectively.
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Hide AdThe picture is similar across the UK, with a landslide victory for Labour meaning Keir Starmer is now the new Prime Minister. He arrived at 10 Downing Street earlier today and has appointed his new cabinet.
We had the latest updates in the General Election throughout the night and you can read through the highlights from Edinburgh and beyond below.
General Election 2024: Live updates from across Edinburgh and the Lothians
Key Events
- SNP loses all seats in Edinburgh as Labour sweeps in
- All the results from Edinburgh and the Lothians in full
- Joanna Cherry says Labour must 'deliver on promises' as she loses seat
- Tommy Sheppard talks of 'very bad night' for SNP as he loses to Labour
- Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray appointed Scotland Secretary
Edinburgh South result
Labour’s Ian Murray has held his seat in Edinburgh South, with almost 25,000 votes.
Addressing the crowds at the count and referencing the projected Labour landslide, Mr Murray said: “We’re going to need a bigger boat!”
Edinburgh North & Leith result
Labour have taken Edinburgh North & Leith from the SNP, with a majority of more than 7,000 votes.
Tracy Gilbert is the new Labour MP for the area, having received 20,805 votes.
Sturgeon: Exit poll 'may have overestimated'
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she is hearing from SNP candidates on the ground that the exit poll’s predication of 10 seats for the party may have been overestimated.
Speaking on ITV News, she said she thought SNP seats would be into single figures.
Edinburgh South West result
Joanna Cherry has lost her seat in Edinburgh South West.
Labour have taken Edinburgh South West from the SNP, with Scott Arthur, who is currently Edinburgh council’s transport convener, having received 18,663 votes.
Edinburgh East & Musselburgh result
Tommy Sheppard has lost his seat in Edinburgh East & Musselburgh.
Labour’s Chris Murray won with a majority of 3,700 votes. It means that Labour has taken all three city seats which were previously held by the SNP.
Here is Tommy Sheppard speaking after his loss.
Results are now in
All the results for Edinburgh and the Lothians are now in.
The seven seats which were previously held by the SNP have been won by Labour, with Tommy Sheppard having said it was a ‘very bad night’ for his party.
You can read the results from all the Edinburgh and Lothians seats in full here.
Swinney - SNP must 'rebuild trust' with public
Speaking in Leith this morning, SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney said the party needed to ‘rebuild trust’ with voters after a crushing electoral defeat which left them with just nine seats.
He promised to focus on ‘delivering on the issues that matter to people’ and accepted that they had ‘failed to convince people of the urgency of independence’ during the campaign.
Keir Starmer officially Prime Minister
Keir Starmer has become the Prime Minister after meeting the King at Buckingham Palace this morning.
Keir Starmer arrives in Downing Street
Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria have arrived at No.10, where they were greeted by crowds of people waving flags, including the Saltire, and cheering.
Speaking on the steps of No.10 he said: “My government will serve you. Politics can be a force for good, we will show that.
“We changed the Labour party, returned it to service and that’s how we will govern: country first, party second.”
Edinburgh reacts to election result
Edinburgh residents this morning awoke to the news that the SNP had been wiped out in seats across not only Edinburgh and the Lothians, but much of Scotland.
We went out and about to ask residents what they thought of the result.
Angela Rayner arrives in Downing St
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour party, has arrived at No.10 Downing Street.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to start appointing his new cabinet, and it is predicted that Rayner will be made Deputy Prime Minister.
Ian Murray arrives at Downing St
Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray has arrived at Downing Street amid Keir Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle.
He is expected to take up the role of Scotland Secretary.
The new cabinet
Keir Starmer is currently appointing his new cabinet, with many Labour MPs having arrived at Downing Street this afternoon.
These are the roles which have been announced so far:
Angela Rayner - Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Rachel Reeves - Chancellor of the Exchequer
Pat McFadden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
David Lammy - Foreign Secretary
Yvette Cooper - Home Secretary
John Healey - Defence Secretary
Shabana Mahmood - Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary
Wes Streeting - Health Secretary
More appointments
More postions within Keir Starmer’s cabinet have been announced.
Bridget Phillipson - Education Secretary
Ed Miliband - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Liz Kendall - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Jonathan Reynolds - Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade
Peter Kyle - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Ian Murray appointed Scotland Secretary
Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray has been appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
He previously served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland since.
Other appointments have also been announced:
Louise Haigh - Transport Secretary
Steve Reed - Environment Secretary
Lisa Nandy - Culture Secretary
Hilary Benn - Northern Ireland Secretary
Jo Stevens - Wales Secretary
Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Baroness Smith of Basildon - Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
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