Constituency profile

The Edinburgh West constituency covers 96.2 square km and is divided into 5 Council wards: Almond, Corstorphine/Murrayfield (part), Drumbrae/Gyle, Forth (part), and Inverleith (part).

SOME FACTS:

It is mainly a suburban residential constituency, with a large proportion of owner-occupied houses (77%).

The Forth Bridges, the Gyle Shopping Centre, Edinburgh Zoo, The Western General Hospital, Royal Highland Showground, the HQ of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Edinburgh Airport all contribute to the constituency's place of importance within Edinburgh.

The economy of the constituency is dominated by the service industry and the area supports approximately 1050 businesses.

The west of the city has witnessed a major expansion in recent years with new housing and offices, including a major business park at South Gyle (Edinburgh Park) where many blue chip companies have relocated their corporate headquarters.

The Gyle Shopping Centre - housing 70 businesses and shops - and increases in traffic levels have made transport a definite issue on this side of the city.
The constituency is diverse in terms of the varying needs of its residents.

The population of Edinburgh West was 79222 in 2007, with around 60% of working age and 9850 pupils in schools. There were 35092 households and an electorate of 59546. At February 2008, 2.7% of the working age population were claiming benefits, lower than the Scottish average.