Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'The moment the BBC starts kow-towing to government, you might as well close it down.' Gavyn Davies, who resigned as Chairman of the Board of Governors on the 28 th January 2004.

Edinburgh North & Leith

Candidates

	Labour	Marek Lazarowicz MP
	Scottish National Party	David Hutchison
	Conservative & Unionist	Cllr Iain Whyte
	Liberal Democrat	Michael Crockart
	Scottish Socialist Party	William Scott
	Scottish Green Party	Mark Sydenham

Candidates

The Labour candidate is Marek (Mark) Lazarowicz who has represented Edinburgh North & Leith since 2001. Lazarowicz was born in Romford in 1953 and educated at St Benedict's School in London and St Andrew's University, where he studied moral philosophy and medieval history, and Edinburgh University, where he studied law. He has worked for SEAD, the British Youth Council, and as a solicitor. He was a member of Edinburgh District Council from 1980 until 1996, leading the council from 1986 until 1993, and Edinburgh City Council from 1999 until 2001. He contested Edinburgh Pentlands at the 1987 and 1992 Westminster elections, coming second behind Malcolm Rifkind with 30.0 % and 31.1 % respectively. He failed to be selected for Cumbernauld & Kilsyth in 1997, with Rosemary McKenna being imposed upon the constituency. It was no doubt a complete coincidence that McKenna's notorious selection committee found that Lazarowicz was not good enough to become a prospective Labour MSP at the 1999 elections. Lazarowicz made a comeback in 2001 when he succeeded Malcolm Chisholm, who departed to the Scottish Parliament, as MP for Edinburgh North & Leith. He voted against the war in Iraq.

Scottish National Party candidate, David Hutchison is the youngest SNP candidate selected so far. He was born in Glasgow in 1981, was educated at Greenfaulds High School, Cumbernauld and holds and MA(Hons) in Politics and Contemporary European Studies from Dundee University. David is the Organiser of the Edinburgh SNP City Association and a member of Edinburgh branch. The forthcoming Westminster election will be David's first as a candidate. After graduating in 2002 David moved to Edinburgh to work as a Press Researcher and since November 2003 David has been employed as a Researcher and Constituency Officer for Lothians MSP Kenny MacAskill. He is a member of the Edinburgh Youth Council. Outside of politics David is a member of the Scottish Society of Playwrights and the National Union of Journalists.

Tory candidate Cllr Iain Whyte is the leader of the Conservative group on City of Edinburgh Council and is constituency assistant to Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie MSP. At the 1999 Scottish parliament elections he stood in Edinburgh South, coming fourth with 15.9 %. At the 2001 Westminster election, he contested Edinburgh West, which was held by the Tories until 1997, coming third behind Labour with 22.5 %.

Lib Dem candidate Mike Crockart was born in 1966 and went to school in Perth before attending Edinburgh University. He has worked as a policeman and a systems analyst for an insurance company. He stood as a Lib Dem candidate for the Ciry of Edinburgh Council at a by election in 2000 and in 2003. Divorced with one son, his interests include photography, jazz and classical music.

The SSP candidate is Bill Scott who has been a socialist for over 30 years. He is also an active trade unionist and has been a shop steward with CPSA, the TGWU and NUJ. A campaigner on many social justice issues, Bill has worked extensively in the voluntary sector and is the past director of Lothian Anti-Poverty Alliance. Currently a Parliamentary Researcher for the SSP, Bill lives in Leith with his wife and daughter.

The Scottish Green Party candidate is Mark Sydenham who is a recycling project manager based in the city centre. He has been active in many local campaigns including the Edinburgh Fairtrade City Initiative and working with local residents to make sure that they get the best deal from new developments such as the trams, and the plans for Leith Docks and the Waterfront. He is an active member of Wardie Bay Residents' Association.

Notional 2001 result

Logo	Party	Denver			Baxter
		Votes	%		Votes	%
	Labour	16,872	41.87 %		17,110	42.20 %
	Liberal Democrat	8,184	20.31 %		8,388	20.69 %
	Conservative & Unionist	7,515	18.65 %		7,367	18.18 %
	Scottish National Party	5,799	14.39 %		5,816	14.34 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	1,465	3.64 %		1,432	3.53 %
	Others	463	1.15 %		435	1.07 %
Notional Labour win	Notional Labour majority	8,688	21.56 %		8,722	21.51 %

Local Government wards in the constituency

This new constituency consists of the whole of the the old Edinburgh North & Leith seat, to which is added one ward from the old Edinburgh Central seat, one ward shared between the old Edinburgh Central and Edinburgh West seats, and one ward partly in the old Edinburgh West seat.