Labour announce candidate for Edinburgh marginal

Local councillor Ian Murray has been selected as Labour’s candidate for Westminster in Edinburgh South.

Mr Murray pledged to fight to keep the Tories out, warning of the damage they would do to Scotland’s economy.

However, Mr Murray faces a tough fight to win the seat which Labour currently hold with a majority of just 405 votes. Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrat candidates have been campaigning for months in an effort to win the seat.

On announcement of his candidacy Mr Murray said: “I am delighted to be fighting to keep the Tories out of Edinburgh.

“The Lib Dems are in a mess in Edinburgh. People are rightly furious with the local Lib Dem led council and the mess they are making in power, particularly their savage cuts to local schools."

The seat is currently held by Labour MP Nigel Griffiths who announced in February that he would be stepping down to take up a position at an international education institution.

Mr Murray represents the Liberton/Gilmerton ward and is a partner in the Aspen Bar and Grill on the city's South Bridge.

Mr Murray added: "Whether it is getting us out of the worst banking crisis for a generation or getting millions of parents back to work through tax credits, Labour has proven that it is taking the right approach to the country’s economy and building a fair future.”

The announcement comes after former Edinburgh council leader Ewan Aitken has been selected as the Labour challenger to the SNP's Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill in Edinburgh East for next year's Holyrood elections.

Mr Aitken is a former parish minister and councillor for Craigentinny and Duddingston. He said: "This community has been my home for 15 years and the chance to stand up and represent local people is exciting and demanding.

"People here are fed up of the sound of the SNP's broken promises shattering around their ears. Every day I meet people who say they are never voting SNP again because of the way they treat Edinburgh.”

MacAskill won the seat from Labour at 2007's Holyrood elections, turning a Labour majority of 6,158 into an SNP majority of 1,382. The seat is considered a key target for Labour if they are to return to government at Holyrood in 2011.