Daniel Johnson
Scottish Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern; only Labour member projected to win a constituency seat in 2026
On 7 April, Electoral Calculus projected Daniel Johnson to hold Edinburgh Southern as Scottish Labour's only constituency MSP in the 2026 Holyrood election.
Last refreshed: 24 September 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
How does one MSP hold a constituency when Scottish Labour cannot win any others?
Timeline for Daniel Johnson
Amended Harvie's motion to the version passed
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Scottish MSPs back data-centre planning pauseRuled himself out of standing
UK Local Elections 2026: Scottish Labour opens a contest Sarwar left earlyTories Projected to Hold Zero Scottish Constituency Seats
UK Local Elections 2026Background
Daniel Johnson is a Scottish Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern, a constituency covering Morningside, Marchmont and the Southside. He has represented the seat since 2016 and won it in 2021 with a majority of more than 1,000 votes.
His position matters because constituency representation gives a party a direct local mandate distinct from seats allocated through Scotland's regional list system. Electoral Calculus's 7 April 2026 projection treated Johnson's seat as Scottish Labour's only prospective constituency hold, making his local vote a useful measure of the party's ability to retain support in Edinburgh.
Johnson's constituency vote endures
On 7 April, Electoral Calculus projected Daniel Johnson to retain Edinburgh Southern while Scottish Labour's other projected seats came through the regional list. The model drew on 4,105 respondents surveyed between 13 and 31 March.
For Johnson, the projection distinguished a constituency base from his party's wider electoral position. It was a pre-election estimate, not a confirmed result, but it made Edinburgh Southern central to the question of whether Scottish Labour could preserve direct geographic representation at Holyrood in 2026.