 | 'I never lost an election - and not many Tories can say that.' Cllr Jim Gilchrist. |  |
| 'I never lost an election - and not many Tories can say that.' Cllr Jim Gilchrist. | |
There was a by-election for the Murrayfield ward of City of Edinburgh Council on the 10 th of November 2005 following the death of Cllr Jim Gilchrist on the 22 nd August 2005.
Murrayfield is in the Edinburgh West Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem John Barrett MP) and in the Edinburgh West Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem Margaret Smith MSP).
| 10 th November 2005 By-election Turnout 43.9 % (- 10.3 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Balfour |  |
Conservative | 1,327 | 50.0 % | - 0.4 % |
| Mike Crockhart |  |
Liberal Democrat | 859 | 32.4 % | + 10.5 % |
| Tina Woolnough |  |
Independent | 226 | 8.5 % | (+ 8.5 %) |
| Norma Hart |  |
Labour | 114 | 4.3 % | - 12.0 % |
| Jill Boulton |  |
Scottish Green Party | 58 | 2.2 % | (+ 2.2 %) |
| Sheena Clelland |  |
Scottish National Party | 52 | 2.0 % | - 5.7 % |
| Roy Isserlis |  |
Liberal Party | 12 | 0.5 % | (+ 0.5 %) |
| Mev Brown |  |
UK Independence Party | 4 | 0.2 % | (+ 0.2 %) |
| Conservative hold | |
Conservative majority | 468 | 17.6 % | - 10.9 % |
| 1 st May 2003 Turnout 54.2 % (- 10.1 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Jim Gilchrist | |
Conservative | 1,719 | 50.4 % | + 2.2 % |
| Peter Galetzka | |
Liberal Democrat | 749 | 21.9 % | + 2.4 % |
| Andrew Cochrane | |
Labour | 556 | 16.3 % | - 4.8 % |
| Marilyn Work | |
Scottish National Party | 263 | 7.7 % | - 3.5 % |
| Anne Edmonds |  |
Scotish Socialist Party | 126 | 3.7 % | (+ 3.7 %) |
| Conservative hold | |
Conservative majority | 970 | 28.5 % | + 1.4 % |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout 64.3 % (+ 22.3 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Jim Gilchrist | |
Conservative | 2,058 | 48.2 % | - 10.1 % |
| Robert B. Stewart | |
Labour | 899 | 21.1 % | + 0.9 % |
| Andrew H. H. Mitchell | |
Liberal Democrat | 833 | 19.5 % | + 5.9 % |
| Martin A. Hogg | |
Scottish National Party | 478 | 11.2 % | + 3.3 % |
| Conservative hold | |
Conservative majority | 1,159 | 27.1 % | - 11.0 % |
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 42.0 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Jim Gilchrist | |
Conservative | 1,514 | 58.3 % | |
| George McGregor | |
Labour | 524 | 20.2 % | |
| Derek Houston | |
Liberal Democrat | 353 | 13.6 % | |
| Mungo Bovey | |
Scottish National Party | 206 | 7.9 % | |
| Conservative hold | |
Conservative majority | 990 | 38.1 % | |
A LONG-SERVING Edinburgh councillor has died at home after suffering a heart attack.
Jim Gilchrist, 63, a Conservative councillor for more than 25 years, collapsed last night at his house in Heriot Row.
Colleagues and friends today paid tribute to the former director of sales at Scottish Life.
Fellow councillor Tom Ponton, who served in the Tory party with Cllr Gilchrist for many years, said the politician had been in council the morning before he died.
He said: "He was one of the most able politicians in Edinburgh. Everyone would agree that when Jim Gilchrist spoke, everybody listened.
"I have been a great friend of Jim's for many years and he was respected by everybody - he was a great man.
"He had a fantastic wit and a great deal of style about him. His wife June will be devastated - they really enjoyed life and recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary."
Almost exactly a year ago, Cllr Gilchrist delivered eulogies to his close friend and fellow Conservative councillor Brian Meek, who died of leukaemia, aged 65.
Cllr Gilchrist retired from his post at Scottish Life in 2003 and has since taken trips around the world with his wife - to places as far-flung as Bali, Singapore and Barbados.
He joined Scottish Life in 1968 from fellow Edinburgh life and pensions giant Standard Life, and was appointed as a director of the main board in 1994.
Alasdair Buchanan, head of communications at Scottish Life, paid tribute to his former colleague as a man who liked to "work hard and play hard".
He said: "It is a sad day for everyone who worked with Jim. He was great company - he was ebullient and funny, but was also very much focused on delivery and looking for results."
Cllr Gilchrist is survived by his three adult children and his wife, June, an advocate.
In April, the couple celebrated their ruby wedding with a dinner at the Dorchester Hotel and a second honeymoon in Rome.
Council leader Donald Anderson said: "Jim Gilchrist was one of the real political heavyweights in Scottish local government.
"It is a cruel loss for the council and particularly for the Conservative group. Losing Brian Meek and Jim Gilchrist in such a short space of time is the equivalent of what the Scottish Labour Party went through when they lost Donald Dewar and John Smith."
Cllr Gilchrist was born in 1942, but never knew his father who died with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in Burma in the war. He first went to school in his native Portobello, then switched to Heriot's.
He became a Tory councillor on Lothian Region in 1975 and was finance chairman in the early 1980s. But he stepped down for business reasons in 1990 before returning to local politics as councillor for Murrayfield on the city council in 1995.
He used to boast: "I never lost an election - and not many Tories can say that."
Cllr Gilchrist could be biting in his criticism and he was not afraid to direct his comments at his own party, commenting at one stage: "The biggest obstacle to the success of the Tory Party in Scotland has been the party itself."
He was on the shortlist to become the Tory candidate for Edinburgh Central at the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999, but failed to win the nomination.
Many believed his business acumen and solid political experience would have benefited both the party and the parliament.
JIM Gilchrist, one of Edinburgh's longest-serving civic leaders, has died at the age of 63. The Tory councillor for Murrayfield was first elected to the Lothian Regional Council in 1976.
Mr Gilchrist was formerly a governor of George Heriot's and vice-chairman of Napier University. He is survived by June, his wife of 40 years, three grown children and three grandchildren.
THE Liberal Democrats were today accused of being "callous and tasteless" after using their website to highlight a by-election in Edinburgh's Murrayfield ward just a day after the councillor had died.
Tory Jim Gilchrist, a respected and long-serving member of the city council, died suddenly of a heart attack on Monday night, aged 63. But within 24 hours, the Scottish Lib Dems' website was billing Murrayfield at the top of its list of forthcoming by-elections, complete with a breakdown of results from the past two polls.
Iain Whyte, Edinburgh's Tory group leader, said: "It seems callous and tasteless. The least they could have done was wait until after Jim's funeral. People I have spoken to have all been shocked they have done this. I'm sure the public would feel it distasteful."
And Labour council leader Donald Anderson agreed the website reference was inappropriate. "They have jumped the gun," he said. "I'm sure on reflection they will regret they have done it."
The website details the Murrayfield result in the 1999 council elections, when Councillor Gilchrist had a 1100 Tory majority over Labour and the 2003 result when the Lib Dems overtook Labour but were still nearly 1000 votes behind Cllr Gilchrist.
Councillor Tom Ponton, who defected from the Tories to the Lib Dems, said he was shocked by the website. "Jim was a friend and I would not have wished this. It is disrespectful and it certainly does not reflect the feelings of the Lib Dem group on the council."
Lib Dem group leader Jenny Dawe agreed the mention of the by-election had been premature. "This had nothing whatsoever to do with the city council group," she said.
"It was probably someone sitting in an office who thought they were being very clever.
"But they should at least have waited until after the funeral."
Councillors from all parties were among more than 300 mourners who joined family, friends and colleagues at Cllr Gilchrist's funeral at Mortonhall crematorium yesterday.
Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind also attended, along with Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie, Tory MSPs Lord James Douglas-Hamilton and Brian Monteith, Labour MP Nigel Griffiths and Lord Provost Lesley Hinds.
Cllr Gilchrist, first elected in 1975, spent most of his professional career with Scottish Life and was deputy chief executive when he retired two years ago. He is survived by his wife June, an advocate, and his three adult children, daughters Marianne and Tessa and son Ker. Dr Brian Lang, Cllr Gilchrist's brother-in-law and principal of St Andrews University, said: "He loved retirement - there just wasn't enough of it."
And former business colleague John Allison paid tribute to Cllr Gilchrist's professional effectiveness and off-the-cuff wit.
"No-one had a better sense of humour or a quicker series of one-liners, but he was never unkind. Despite his tough, sales director exterior, he always tried to see the best in people. He was a loyal friend and wise counsel."
THE death of long-serving Tory councillor Jim Gilchrist robs Edinburgh's City Chambers of one of its most effective, witty and colourful characters.
Described as a heavyweight in local government, his speeches were entertaining and to the point; he put his professional expertise in finance to good use in budget debates; and he displayed an independence of mind which rose above party lines.
Politicians of all sides have paid fulsome tributes, but his loss will be felt particularly keenly by the Tories, especially since it comes just a year after the death of that other big-hitter, Brian Meek.
The by-election to choose a successor to Councillor Gilchrist in Murrayfield may not be held until November, but the Liberal Democrats jumped the gun by tastelessly billing the contest on their website the day after his death.
The Tories believe they can hang on to the seat - Cllr Gilchrist took more than 50 per cent of the vote at the last local elections in 2003.
But the Lib Dems say at the General Election it was they who won the most votes in Murrayfield. And the party will be putting a lot of effort into trying to secure victory.
"No-one would have wanted to see this by-election - people across the spectrum thought Jim Gilchrist was a decent guy," says a Lib Dem insider.
"He was very well respected and a lot of people voted for him because he was a good local councillor.
"But recent by-elections in Edinburgh - in Hugh Fraser's Balerno seat and Brian Meek's Colinton one - show those personal votes do not transfer automatically to new Conservative candidates."
But the Lib Dems are focusing on Murrayfield for another reason. It is part of the Edinburgh Central constituency which the party has made its number one target at the next Scottish Parliament elections. A victory at council level would give them a unique boost in their efforts at capturing the Holyrood seat.
Labour's Sarah Boyack had a majority of 2666 last time, taking 32.4 per cent of the vote compared to the Lib Dems' 22.8 per cent.
But, based again on their analysis of the votes cast in this year's general election, the Lib Dems claim they are now ahead of Labour in the constituency.
Former Lib Dem chief executive Andy Myles had been lined up to stand in Central at the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections.
But he has just been made a special adviser to new Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen.
In some ways it was a surprise appointment - Mr Myles is instinctively anti-establishment and has not been afraid to speak out against Executive policies. But he was a key player in Mr Stephen's leadership campaign.
One Lib Dem source says: "Andy has always wanted to be in a position where he can make a difference. He has made a decision that the best way for him to do that is working on the inside as a special adviser for a Lib Dem Deputy First Minister.
"If the choice is between being an MSP, potentially on the backbenches, or being at the heart of the Scottish government, it is clear which he would choose."
And his decision has left a vacancy for what the party sees as a promising opportunity.
"People are already manoeuvring for the job," says the source. "From the votes we saw at the count in this year's general election, we are pretty certain we won Edinburgh Central fairly comfortably."
Insiders say there are three serious contenders for the nomination - the constituency party chairman, Derek Young, a long-standing Lib Dem activist who knows the seat well but has not stood before; Siobhan Mathers, another member of the local party, who works in PR and would help boost the party's female representation; and Mike Crockart, a former policeman who achieved a surprisingly good second place for the Lib Dems in neighbouring Edinburgh North and Leith at the general election.
A Lib Dem activist says: "One thing pretty certain is that all the would-be candidates for Edinburgh Central will be very keen to help out in any way they can in Murrayfield over the coming months."
A PREACHER and parliamentary lobbyist has been chosen as the Tories' candidate for the Murrayfield by-election.
Jeremy Balfour, who works as parliamentary officer for the Evangelical Alliance, hopes to be elected in place of long-serving Conservative councillor Jim Gilchrist, who died last month.
The by-election, due to be held on November 10, is expected to be a closely-fought contest.
Councillor Gilchrist had a majority of nearly 1000 at the last council elections in 2003, but the Liberal Democrats claim they outpolled the Tories at the general election earlier this year.
Mr Balfour, 38, who was born with a deformed arm, fought the Davidson's Mains ward at the last council elections in 2003 and reduced the Lib Dem majority.
But he said he was taking nothing for granted in Murrayfield.
Mr Balfour, who lives in Murrayfield Avenue, has worked as the Evangelical Alliance's lobbyist at the Scottish Parliament since the advent of devolution in 1999.
And he recently completed two years as interim pastor at Morningside Baptist Church.
He joined the Conservative Party while studying law at Edinburgh University. He qualified as a solicitor and worked in two different law offices before doing further studies at London Bible College.
He married last month and his wife Jude works as a speech therapist.
He stood for the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh East in 1999 and Westminster at the 2001 general election in Fife Central. He is chairman of Edinburgh West Conservatives.
The Tories recognise they are going to have to fight a good campaign to retain the seat in view of the strong personal vote which Councillor Gilchrist enjoyed.
The Colinton by-election last year caused by the death of long-serving Tory councillor Brian Meek saw the party's majority slashed from 2053 to just 150.
Mr Balfour said: "I was shocked when Cllr Jim Gilchrist died. He served this ward so diligently over many years.
"We are taking nothing for granted, but we hope the work Jim has done in the past and the policies of the Conservatives match the people of Murrayfield more closely than any other party.
"If elected, it would be a great honour to serve the residents of Murrayfield. Living in the area I am concerned about the issues that effect everyone locally, whether it is rat runs, car zoning or local crime levels."
Cllr Gilchrist was a member of Lothian Regional Council from 1975 until 1990, when he stepped down. He served as both education convener and finance convener on the region.
And he returned to local politics in 1995, after being elected to represent Murrayfield on the new single-tier city council.
The Liberal Democrats are expected to select their candidate for the by-election in the next couple of weeks.
LIBERAL Democrats have chosen a former bobby on the beat as their candidate in a crucial city council by-election.
Ex-policeman Mike Crockart has already notched up good results for the party in two previous election battles.
And now the Lib Dems are backing him to win the Murrayfield ward from the Conservatives in the by-election scheduled for November 10.
The contest follows the death of long-serving Tory councillor Jim Gilchrist, who had a majority of nearly 1000 at the last council elections.
The seat has long been seen as a Conservative stronghold, but the Lib Dems claim they won more votes there than the Tories in this year's General Election.
Mr Crockart spent eight years with Lothian and Borders Police, six of them on the beat, first in Princes Street and the city centre, based at Gayfield Square police station, and later in the Old Town area, based at St Leonard's. He is now a systems developer with Standard Life.
He was the Lib Dem candidate in the 2002 Balerno by-election for the city council, when he took the party from fourth to second place, beating Labour and reducing the Tory majority.
And in the General Election in May, he came a surprisingly strong second in Labour-held Edinburgh North and Leith.
Mr Crockart believes he has a good chance of winning Murrayfield.
He said: "We have seen with the by-elections in Balerno and Colinton just how much of the Conservative vote is a personal vote for long-serving councillors and I think that is true in Murrayfield too."
In the Balerno by-election, following the death of veteran Tory councillor Hugh Fraser, Mr Crockart increased the Lib Dem share of the vote by 12 per cent as Labour slumped.
And in last year's Colinton by-election, caused by the death of senior Tory Brian Meek, the Lib Dems tripled their support and slashed the Tory majority from 2053 to just 150.
The Murrayfield ward is very varied, stretching from Ravelston Dykes and the "millionaires' row" of Easter Belmont to the tenement properties of Roseburn and Haymarket.
And Mr Crockart said the issues concerning people also varied - from flooding in the Roseburn area to redevelopment in Haymarket, the extension of the controlled parking zone and the proposed new trams.
He said: "The Balerno by-election was my first contest as a candidate.
"I have learned a lot since then and now I'm, sometimes painfully, aware of the amount of work that needs to be done in a very short space of time and the organisation that is needed."
But he said the party had picked up a lot of supporters in the area and had established a good distribution network.
And he said he also took heart from the good result he achieved at the General Election.
"The result was a sign that views are changing, especially in areas like Edinburgh, and people are coming round to our way of thinking at a much greater rate than even we had hoped."
Last month the Tories chose preacher and parliamentary lobbyist Jeremy Balfour as their candidate for the by-election.
Councillor Gilchrist died in August after suffering a massive heart attack at his home in Heriot Row. He had represented the ward since the creation of the single-tier city council in 1995 and had previously served on the old Lothian Regional Council from 1975 to 1990.
The Lib Dems jumped the gun by tastelessly billing the contest on their website the day after his death.
But leading figures on the council agreed the move was disrespectful and insisted it was not their doing.
THE Liberal Democrats are bringing in activists from as far away as Cornwall in a bid to win this week's by-election for a seat on Edinburgh City Council.
They claim the contest in Murrayfield ward - caused by the death of long-serving Conservative councillor Jim Gilchrist - is so close just a few votes could separate the two parties.
The Lib Dems said their canvass returns, after speaking to nearly 1600 voters, put the Tories on 41 per cent, themselves on 40 per cent, Labour seven per cent, independent Tina Woolnough six per cent and the SNP four per cent.
The findings are disputed by the other parties, but major resources are being ploughed into the ward ahead of polling day on Thursday.
Kevin Lang, campaign manager for Lib Dem candidate Mike Crockart, said: "It is to all intents and purposes a tie.
"It makes what happens on polling day absolutely critical - it's down to which party gets the vote out. It could be quite a dramatic day. We are bringing in campaigners from London and as far away as Cornwall to help with our polling day operation. I think it could be really close - we could be into recount territory.
Mr Gilchrist, who died of a heart attack in August after a total of 25 years' council service, had a majority of nearly 1000 at the last elections in 2003.
But last year's Colinton by-election, caused by the death of his friend and fellow Tory Brian Meek, saw the Conservative majority slashed from 2053 to just 150.
Tory candidate Jeremy Balfour said his canvassing showed a bigger gap than the Lib Dems claimed, with support for him in the "high to mid forties" and the Lib Dems under 40 per cent.
But he said: "We are not taking anything for granted. We are very pleased with the campaign. We have had positive feedback from the doors we have knocked on."
Tina Woolnough claimed the Lib Dems were underestimating her support. "They have always portrayed this as a Tory-Lib Dem race. None of them have mentioned my existence, but the way they have run the campaign - being local, living here and talking about the trams - suggests I have been setting the agenda.
"I have a lot of support because of the tramline and the work I have done on the congestion charging referendum."
Ms Woolnough claimed both the Lib Dem and Tory candidates had moved away from their official party lines on the trams. "All the parties - Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories - voted for the tramline on the current alignment at the full council," she said.
"The Conservative candidate claimed at a hustings meeting that the Tories had voted against it - but they did not. He said he personally was against the tram in the Roseburn corridor.
"The Lib Dem candidate said he supported part of the trams proposal - Leith Walk, Princes Street and out to the airport - which would avoid Roseburn."
Labour candidate Norma Hart dismissed the Lib Dems' claims her party's vote had collapsed. "There is a strong Labour vote in the ward and we are concentrating on getting that out," she said.
And she was unashamed about her support for the tram scheme. "We need to find a solution to the congestion problem, but we have got to get it right." She said the city council was learning lessons from a National Audit Office report into similar schemes in England.
But Mev Brown of the United Kingdom Independence Party, who wants the trams scrapped, said he had conducted a survey which found more than 50 per cent of people were against the proposals.
Voting takes place on Thursday between 9am and 9pm.
Eight candidates will contest the Murrayfield by-election
Jeremy Balfour Con
Jill Boulton Green
Mev Brown UKIP
Sheena Clelland SNP
Mike Crockart Lib Dem
Norma Hart Lab
Roy Isserlis Lib
Tina Woolnough Indep
A CLOSELY-contested council by-election was plunged into chaos today after voters were turned away from a polling station because half the electoral register was missing.
Councillors hit out at the "ridiculous" blunder by council staff, warning that the election may have to be held again if it comes down to a recount tonight.
The mishap was discovered first thing this morning when staff running the Roseburn Primary School polling station found they had only received six out of the 12 pages of the electoral roll for the area.
Council officials said two voters were sent away without casting their vote and efforts were being made to trace them.
Party sources fear as many as six voters may not have cast their vote and demanded to know why election officials had not recorded the names and addresses of those affected.
The Murrayfield seat on the council was left vacant by the death of long-serving Conservative councillor Jim Gilchrist.
An extremely close result had been predicted, with almost the same number of voters planning to back Lib Dem candidate Mike Crockart as those who will put a cross beside Tory frontrunner Jeremy Balfour's name.
Earlier this week, the Lib Dems said their canvass returns, after speaking to nearly 1600 voters, put the Tories on 41 per cent, themselves on 40 per cent, Labour seven per cent, independent Tina Woolnough six per cent and the SNP four per cent.
Tom Ponton, Lib Dem councillor for Dean, condemned the mess-up.
"If it is something as simple as not being sent the full electoral register than that is totally unacceptable.
"This vote is going to be such a tight one, so if it comes down to a recount, they might have to go through the whole thing again."
Within hours of the blunder emerging, frantic council elections staff supplied the Roseburn polling station with the complete electoral roll.
An urgent hunt was immediately launched for the voters who had not managed to exercise their democratic right in the hope that they could be traced and given their chance to vote.
However, Councillor Jenny Dawe, the Liberal Democrat Leader, slammed the election system, since the polling booth officials had not taken down the names and addresses of the unsuccessful voters.
"It is absolutely ridiculous that voters should be disenfranchised in this day and age. It beggars belief. Even if they manage to track down most of the people who couldn't vote, there may still be someone denied the chance."
Her criticisms were echoed by the council's Tory leader, Iain Whyte.
He said: "I am always concerned with any mistake that causes a problem for people voting. It is a fundamental right in this country. I very much hope that the council staff manage to resolve the problem and contact all those voters before the polling station closes."
A council spokeswoman said:
"We are deeply concerned that the two people involved have not been able to exercise their right to vote. We are currently trying to trace them to offer them the opportunity to vote by secret ballot at work or return to the polling station."
TORIES were today celebrating victory in Edinburgh's Murrayfield by-election after they successfully held off a challenge from the Liberal Democrats.
And in Midlothian, the Scottish Nationalists scored a dramatic victory, defeating Labour's former council leader in another by-election Loanhead.
The Murrayfield result, which saw preacher and lobbyist Jeremy Balfour elected as the new city councillor, was a disappointment for the Lib Dems.
They had boasted they won the most votes in the ward at the General Election in May and forecast the result would be so close a result there might have to be a recount.
In the end, Mr Balfour had a comfortable majority of 468.
Labour was pushed into fourth place behind independent anti-trams campaigner Tina Woolnough.
The by-election was caused by the death of long-serving Tory councillor Jim Gilchrist. In his victory speech, Mr Balfour paid tribute to his predecessor and said: "This is a by-election none of us wanted."
He said the Tories had won because they fought a local campaign on local issues, including concerns about congestion caused by the council's traffic management plan.
Ms Woolnough said her campaign on the trams had forced all the other candidates to say they were unhappy about at least some aspects of the scheme.
"People who feel strongly about the trams have turned out to vote for me and they have sent a big message," she said.
Defeated Lib Dem candidate Mike Crockart claimed Labour were the biggest losers. He said: "The real story is the collapse of the Labour vote once again. Our vote has gone up by 13 per cent and it has all come from Labour."
But Labour's Norma Hart said her party was always going to have a hard fight in Murrayfield.
"There has been a lot of tactical voting," she said.
Edinburgh Tory group leader Iain Whyte acknowledged the party had had to fight hard to hang on to the seat, but said the result was a "stunning" victory.
He said: "The message we were putting forward on the city centre traffic situation and the need to improve the roads and pavements.
"Council by-elections in Edinburgh over the years have shown many of our councillors have a strong personal vote. We knew with a new candidate it was going to take a lot of work to secure those votes."
Lib Dem group leader Jenny Dawe claimed it was a good result for her party, but a "terrible" one for Labour: "It's a disastrous comment on the way they treat the city and its citizens," she said.
The Loanhead result, where the Scottish Nationalists increased their vote by almost 30 per cent, gives the party a seat on Labour-dominated Midlothian Council and means the SNP is represented on all Lothian councils for the first time since the 1970s.
SNP victor Owen Thompson had a comfortable 457 majority over George Purcell, former Labour leader of the council, who held the seat for 17 years until losing it to an independent by just 12 votes in 2003.
Mr Thompson said: "The SNP team worked hard for this result and I will work equally hard as SNP councillor for the people of Loanhead - regardless of how they voted.
"Two of the many urgent issues I will tackle are the shameful deaths of our pensioners from cold because they cannot afford today's fuel price increases; and the sharp increase in council tax."
LABOUR was left clinging to power by its fingertips in Scotland's capital after a council by-election.
The Scottish Conservative party held on to the city's Murrayfield ward in a by-election caused by councillor Jim Gilchrist's death.
The result of Thursday night's vote leaves Labour without overall control on the council, after last month's defection of Steve Cardownie, a senior Labour councillor, to the SNP.
With 29 councillors, the same as the opposition, Labour is dependent on the Lord Provost's casting vote.
The seat was won by Tory Jeremy Balfour with 1,327 votes, while Mike Crockart of the Scottish Lib Dems came second with 859.
In another by-election on Thursday, Labour held the seat vacated by Glasgow councillor Charlie Gordon, who became an MSP. Paul Rooney won with 973 votes.
A third council election saw the SNP's Owen Thompson win the Loanhead seat on Midlothian council.
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