Current council

City of Edinburgh council is currently run by a coalition of Labour and SNP councillors.

According to the 2020 Hands Up survey 59.5% of children in Edinburgh walked to school in 2020, 5.1% cycled and 5.4% scooted or skated. According to the 2021 Cycling Scotland annual monitoring report 13.2% of employees usually or regularly cycle to work and 41% of households have no access to a car. The council’s active travel budget for 2019/20 was £4,991,000 (capital) which works out as a total of £9.50 per person. The city has an Active Travel Action Plan which was last refreshed in 2016.

Local groups: Spokes, CTC Lothians and Borders (Cycling UK member group).

2022 local election

Find your candidates at Who Can I Vote For or consult the Notice of Poll.

Parties standing (in alphabetical order)

Endorsements of our three asks:

  • Edinburgh Greens responded: “We think your campaign is excellent, and all our 17 candidates across the city are super happy to support all three pledges. Please do take a look at our manifesto to see what we’re committing to in terms of walking wheeling and cycling: https://www.edinburghgreens.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Edinburgh-Greens-Manifesto-2022.pdf
  • Edinburgh Labour responded: “Edinburgh Labour is committed to investing in active travel. I want to highlight three key ways we’ve set out to do this in our manifesto by: increasing spending on Active Travel to 15% of the council’s transport budget; increasing the pedestrian crossing budget by 20%, and review timings to cut waiting time and ensure the less mobile have time to cross; and increasing the pavement maintenance budget by 20%. You can find out more about our transformative plan for Edinburgh here: edinburghlabour.org/manifesto
  • Kayleigh O’Neill, Green Party candidate for Forth Ward responded “As a wheelchair user and advocate for accessibility across Edinburgh, I am absolutely committed to @walkwheelcycle’s three asks..”
  • Ben Parker, Green Party candidate for Morningside responded: “As @scottishgreens candidate for Morningside ward, I’m happy to support the “Walk, Wheel, Cycle, Vote” campaign”.
  • Marianne G Mwiki, SNP candidate for City Centre responded: “Yes, I am absolutely supportive of these three pledges as a candidate”
  • Margaret Graham, Labour Party candidate for City Centre responded: “I am happy to support the objectives to increase active travel. Labour have committed to spending 15% of the transport budget on active travel”
  • Jule Bandel, Green Party candidate for Inverleith responded: “As @EdinburghGreens council candidate for Inverleith, I wholeheartedly support the asks by @walkwheelcycle. Let’s make it safer and easier to get around our city on foot, bike, and wheelchair!”
  • Scott Arthur, Labour Party candidate for Colinton, Oxgangs & Fairmilehead ward responded: “The next ten years or so will see 55,000 new homes built in Edinburgh, and many more will be constructed in the surrounding local authority areas. These homes, and the people that live in them, will put huge pressure on our capital. In Edinburgh we will have to ensure that they come with, for example, GPs and school capacity, and good transport links. Labour’s manifesto tackles this challenge head on. Giving people in these new developments in and around Edinburgh access to viable alternatives to using the car is essential if our city is to thrive. These developments must be designed with walking, wheeling and cycling at their heart. I hope and expect that the next 10 years will see a significant increase in active travel in our Capital, but it is clear that fully accessible public transport has the potential to deliver a real step change on the path to making Edinburgh a more liveable city. We are committed working with communities right across our Capital to make this vision reality, and I see your campaign as key part of that transformation.”
  • Finlay McFarlane, SNP candidate for City Centre responded: “As @theSNP candidate for City Centre, I believe wholeheartedly in the aims of @walkwheelcycle. They fit our own direction of travel in policy (pardon the pun) and I will be pushing our own group (always) to aim to go further faster. Our future depends on it”
  • Lesley Macinnes, SNP candidate for Liberton Gilmerton responded: “Happy to support the aims of @walkwheelcycle in this council election. the SNP led administration in Edinburgh is bringing real positive change to sustainable transport & is scheduled to deliver £118m active travel projects in next 5 yrs – if we get elected tomorrow!”