Scott Arthur (born 8 June 1969) is a British academic and Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Academic career

Since 2000, Arthur is a professor in the Institute for Infrastructure & Environment at Edinburgh's

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

. Arthur has been a co-editor of books covering the International Conference on Advances in Civil Engineering.

Political career

Councillor

Arthur was elected councillor for the Colinton/Fairmilehead at the 2017 City of Edinburgh Council election as a member of the Labour Party. In May 2022, Arthur was appointed the transport and environment convener in the Labour Party's minority administration of the City of Edinburgh Council. He said at the time that the position would be interim and he would be standing down in October of that year following a council reshuffle. As Transport and Environment Convenor in the Council, Arthur was instrumental in advocating a new north-south route for the tram, linking Granton in the North West of the city to the BioQuarter in the South East. A public consultation, originally due in Spring 2024 but since delayed, was promised on two proposed options for the route to Granton. One along what is currently the Roseburn path, and the other along a vehicular route known as ‘Orchard Brae’. Arthur was a strong proponent of the Roseburn option, stating it would link up the tram with the Western General Hospital, along with other congestion-based benefits. The Roseburn option was met with some controversy, with opponents saying the thousands of cyclists who currently use the path would be displaced, and biodiversity benefits to residents and the city’s climate plan would be lost.

Member of Parliament

In July 2024, Arthur was elected Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South West, beating the incumbent

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

candidate Joanna Cherry by 6,217 votes. In October 2024, he was elected as a member of the Transport Select Committee.

References

External links

* Living people Scottish Labour MPs UK MPs 2024–present Academics of Heriot-Watt University Councillors in Edinburgh British civil engineers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Scottish Labour councillors Year of birth missing (living people) LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Scottish gay politicians {{Labour-UK-MP-stub