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Edinburgh Council 2027

City of Edinburgh Council election 2027


We are currently selecting candidates for the 2027 City of Edinburgh Council election. This page explains all that you need to know to submit your nomination to be selected as a candidate for the election.

Timeline

  • Nominations open: Monday 14 September
  • Close of nominations: Sunday 4 October, 11.59pm
  • Nominations published: Wednesday 7 October
  • Campaigning period: Wednesday 7 October - Friday 16 October
  • Candidate hustings: TBC
  • Voting opens: Friday 16 October (online via OpaVote)
  • Voting closes: Sunday 1 November, 11.59pm
  • Results counted/verified: Monday 2 - Tuesday 3 November
  • Candidates informed of results: Wednesday 4 November
  • Results and candidates shared with membership: Friday 6 November

Requirements for selection

  • Candidates must pass a vetting interview. If you have not been vetted before, you must contact anne.scott@scottishgreens.org.uk to complete the vetting interview. For information about vetting, see here.
  • Candidates must live, work, or be registered to vote in Edinburgh, and must meet the legal eligibility requirements to be a candidate. You can find more information on this here.

  • You are able to stand for selection for as many wards as you wish. When completing the form, please add the names of the ward(s) you want to stand for selection for, in order of preference. If you are standing for multiple wards, you only need to complete one nomination form.

We would encourage candidates to consider preferencing more than one ward, as it increases the chances of you being selected, even if not for your top preference of wards. If you would like information or advice about which wards to preference, contact anne.scott@scottishgreens.org.uk

Wards

We will be selecting at least one candidate for each of the 17 wards in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Greens use an election strategy called 'Target to Win' in which we focus campaign resources on those areas most likely to result in a councillor being elected.

The following are target wards. In these wards we will be actively campaigning to elect the selected candidates as councillors. In some of the target wards, we will be selecting two candidates with the aim of electing both.

  • Morningside (2 target candidates)
  • City Centre (2 target candidates)
  • Leith Walk (2 target candidates)
  • Leith (2 target candidates)
  • Southside/Newington (2 target candidates)
  • Portobello/Craigmillar (2 target candidates)
  • Almond (1 target candidate)
  • Pentland Hills (1 target candidate)
  • Forth (1 target candidate)
  • Inverleith (1 target candidate)
  • Sighthill/Gorgie (1 target candidate)
  • Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart (1 target candidate)
  • Craigentinny/Duddingston (1 target candidate)
  • Liberton/Gilmerton (1 target candidate)

In target wards with two candidates, the vote will select a nominal first and second candidate. How resources are shared between the two candidates in practice is still to be determined. We expect that this will be decided during the nomination period and will update this page with further information in due course.


The following wards are non-target wards. We are very unlikely to elect a councillor in these wards, so will not be actively campaigning in these areas. Although the candidates selected for these wards will be on the ballot paper, you will be asked not to campaign there..

This would suit someone who is not looking to be elected as a councillor, but wants to support the wider campaign in other wards.

  • Drum Brae/Gyle (1 non-target candidate)
  • Corstorphine/Murrayfield (1 non-target candidate)
  • Colinton/Fairmilehead (1 non-target candidate)


Information about being a candidate and a councillor

To help prospective candidates think about if they want to put themselves forward for election, the Green group of Councillors have run a candidate training programme over the past few months.

You can also watch back recordings of the training sessions here:

Session 1 - the difference a Green Cllr can make / what's on a Cllr CV
Session 2 - a week in the life of a Green Cllr / elected member wellbeing and safety

Written resources are also available:

  1. A guide to local democracy in Edinburgh
  2. An FAQ on how to be a Green Councillor

There are other resources from other organisations available:

Additionally, if you are disabled, the Access to Elected Office Fund can provide support for you to run – find out more here or speak to the branch: Access to Politics - Inclusion Scotland.

For women, Elect Her have run a number of excellent online sessions to explore the particular challenges which women can face as elected members: Support in Scotland — Elect Her.

If you are thinking about putting yourself forward, we encourage you to engage with all of these resources in advance of submitting your nomination.

Voting and selection process

  • Voting for the Edinburgh wards will be carried out by Edinburgh members. Members will be able to vote for all of the wards.
  • Voting will be online using Opavote
  • In wards where we are selecting one candidate, the candidate who gets a majority of votes, after transfers, for each ward will be selected.
  • In wards where we are selecting two candidates, candidates who get more than one third of the vote, after transfers will be selected. The count will then be re-run for one place, to determine which is the nominal first placed candidate for the ward.
  • If a candidate wins more than one ward, they will be selected for the ward they won that they preferenced the highest. The other wards will be re-counted with the candidate who had already been selected elsewhere withdrawn and their votes re-allocated.


Equality, diversity and inclusion

The Scottish Green Party seeks to select candidates who reflect the diversity of Scotland, with the aim of electing candidates from groups which have been under-represented in politics and public life.

To address the under-representation of candidates from an ethnic minority in party leadership roles, and to address the additional barrier faced by disabled candidates, there will be two quotas applied to the candidates selected for the target wards listed above.

  • Three of the 20 target candidates must identify as disabled
  • Two of the 20 target candidates must identify their race as African, Arab, Asian, Black or Caribbean, Gypsy/Roma/Traveller, Jewish, Mixed or multiple, or another race other than White

These quotas will be implemented based on race and disability data collected through the Equalities Monitoring form. When the results of selection votes have been compiled, the process for application of quotas will be as set out below. Quotas will be applied city-wide across all wards, and the characteristics of the 20 target candidates are to be determined on that basis.

  1. If the quotas have been by the voting result, no further action is required.
  2. If not, the race quota is to be applied first. The candidate who has come closest to one of the 20 target positions (defined in terms of the percentage of first preference vote share from the selection vote) will be moved up into the nearest target position. Other candidates will be moved down to accommodate this.
  3. The disability quota will then be applied, using the same methodology as above. If applying the disability quota would cause the race quota to no longer be met (i.e. moving up a disabled candidate would cause a candidate of a racial minority to be moved out of a target position), the next-ranked disabled candidate would be moved up instead, and so on and so forth.
  4. No incumbent councillor candidates will be balanced down by these quotas.

While we are not currently able to use formal quotas for other characteristics, we continue to aim to ensure that at least 50% of our candidates - both our target candidates and our overall candidates - are women. For other characteristics, we aim to ensure that our candidates reflect the diversity of our communities.

Where our aim for candidate diversity, particularly gender balance, has not been achieved by a selection, prior to publication of selection results, members who are selected may be invited to reflect on how their candidacy contributes to the Scottish Green Party’s commitment to diversity and representation.

Submitting your nomination

  1. A candidate statement (max 1500 characters)
  2. Two members to support your nomination - one as a proposer, the other as your seconder
  3. A photo of yourself

FAQs

What should I put in my candidate statement?
Your candidate statement will be published in the candidates booklet alongside the statements of all other candidates, and sent to all party members who are eligible to vote. We suggest you:

Tell us about yourself
Things you may want to mention include:

  • What you care about
  • Your involvement in the Scottish Green Party and other political and campaign activities
  • Your job/volunteering experience
  • Your family, hobbies and passions

Tell us why you are standing in this election
Things you may want to mention include:

  • Particular issues you want to focus on
  • Why you are standing specifically for local government
  • Why you are standing in this area (if appropriate)

Tell us why you would make a good candidate
Things you may want to mention include:

  • Your skills and experiences (including in professional and personal life)
  • Any specific election experiences (as candidate or in a campaign team)
  • Any training you have taken or planned
  • Your views about what makes a good candidate and how you meet that
  • Anything about your personal circumstances which mean you will be able to fulfil the duties of a candidate

Other tips to keep in mind when writing your candidate statement

  • Please stick to the character limit - answers will be cut off if you do not.
  • You cannot include links to paid websites.
  • You may include line breaks and up to 6 bullet points across the whole of your nomination form
  • It’s a good idea to get someone else to look over your form before submitting it
  • You can include one contact method for members to contact you: e.g. email, Facebook, Bluesky.

Who can be my nominator / seconder?
These should be two people who have an active membership with the Scottish Green Party. They do not need to live in the ward or be members of the Edinburgh branch. If you need help finding a nominator or seconder, contact the ERO (rob.gowans@scottishgreens.org.uk).

How do I submit my nomination?
The screenshot below explains how to submit your nomination. Please note that "gender" has been removed as a question, but there is a field for pronouns above the statement field.