Candidates announced for Edinburgh Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election

Thirteen candidates have been nominated to stand in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election on June 26.

The by-election was called last month after the unexpected death of long-standing Labour councillor Val Walker, who was remembered as a “gentle, yet fierce and loyal” champion for her city and community by her colleagues.

“With nominations now closed and just over a month remaining until polling day, residents of the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward can start thinking about who they will vote for in the upcoming by-election,” returning officer for the City of Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence said on Friday.

“Councillors play an important role in our democratic system, making crucial decisions that impact our city.

“I’d encourage as many residents as possible to take part in this by-election. Please make sure you register to vote before the deadline and make your voice heard.”

Scottish Labour candidate Catriona Munro will be fighting to hold the seat against 12 other candidates – including Murray Visentin for the SNP, Mark Hooley from the Scottish Tories, Gary Neill from Reform UK, Q Manivannan from Scottish Greens, Kevin Joseph McKay from the Scottish Lib-Dems, and others from the Scottish Libertarian Party, the Scottish Family Party and five independent candidates.

The candidates standing for election are:

Catriona Munro, Scottish Labour Party
Murray Visentin, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Mark Hooley, Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Kevin Joseph McKay, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Q Manivannan, Scottish Greens
Gary Neill, Reform UK
Derrick Emms, Independent
Bonnie Prince Bob, Independent
Mark Rowbotham, Independent
Steve Christopher West, Independent
Marc Wilkinson, Independent
Lukasz Furmaniak, Scottish Libertarian Party
Richard Crewe Lucas, Scottish Family Party

The election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, where voters rank candidates in order of preference by assigning numbers rather than just marking a single cross.

Residents will be able to choose to vote for as many or as few candidates as they wish.

Poll cards will be delivered to registered voters in the area from Friday May 23, including further information on when and where to vote.

City of Edinburgh Council warned that residents in the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward must be registered to vote by midnight on Tuesday June 10 if they wish to participate in the by-election.

For new postal vote applications, the deadline is 5pm on Wednesday June 11 and for new proxy votes its 5pm on Wednesday June 18.

The council will have polling stations at seven locations for the local by-election. Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm and will be at: