Colinton and Fairmilehead by-election to be held in January

City Chambers
Exterior of the City Chambers in Edinburgh.

A by-election will be held in the Colinton and Fairmilehead ward following the resignations of Councillor Marco Biagi and Councillor Louise Spence.

Residents will go to the polls on 23 January, 2025 to select two new councillors to represent the ward, which also covers Bonaly, Dreghorn, Oxgangs and Swanston. The current electorate is 19,907. 

On Friday 6 December, the formal Notice of Election will be published, and the Election Timetable, Election Notices and Nomination Papers will all be accessible on the Council website.

Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence said:

On 19 November I received the resignation of Councillor Marco Biagi, and we immediately began making arrangements for a by-election in the ward of Colinton and Fairmilehead.

Having now received the resignation of Councillor Louise Spence - who represented the same ward, voters will now be asked to select two councillors instead of one when they go to the polls on 23 January.

The formal notice of election will be updated and published as scheduled on Friday 6 December. The process and timetable will remain the same.

Candidates will be confirmed when nominations close at 4pm on Thursday 17 December.

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 23 January.

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.

Find out more about elections in Edinburgh and how to register to vote on the Council website.

Published: November 21st 2024