The 2025 Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders march and rally will take place on Saturday 3rd May. Because of road works the assembly point will be at Parliament Square by St Giles on the Royal Mile. The march begins at midday – the rally is at the Pleasance main hall and starts at 1pm. As usual there will be stalls at the Pleasance.
The Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders May Day organising group is grateful for all the trade union branch donations and individual contributions to the collection at the rally that together made it possible to hold the May Day events. Here is the current summary of income and expenditure – there are a couple more union donations still to come in and we’ll add them when they arrive.
This year we ended up with a small surplus but costs are rising fast.
Donations to 26/04/24
Edinburgh T.U.C. £100.00
UNISON West Lothian Council £50.00
G.M.B. Edinburgh and Lothians £300.00
UNITE Borders N.H.S. £600.00
UNITE Edinburgh Not for Profit £100.00
R.M.T. Glasgow Shipping £100.00
R.M.T. Scottish Region £100.00
U.C.U. Scotland £250.00
UNITE City of Edinburgh Council £250.00
E.I.S. Midlothian £550.00
UNITE Lothian Retired Members £550.00
Midlothian T.U.C. £200.00
UNISON City of Edinburgh £150.00
UNISON Midlothian £50.00
Collection at the rally £200.30
total £3550.30
Expenditure
Pleasance £1485.00
May Day Cabaret £500.00
Insurance £127.33
Posters & cards £135.00
Pipe Band £660.00
Musicians etc £330.00
Brochure £35.00
Zoom co-hosting £32.00
total £3304.33
Photo credit Ian Mullen
March and Rally 5th May
Please note that the 2024 Edinburgh, Lothian’s and Borders May Day march and rally will be on Sunday 5th May. This is a break from the usual pattern of holding the events on the first Saturday in May – please spread the word around and put the date in your diary.
The march assembles midday at Johnston Terrace – then down the Royal Mile and St Mary’s Street and up to the Pleasance. The rally starts at 1pm upstairs at the Pleasance in the main hall.
Speakers and musicians at the rally are:
Susan Morrison introductions, Tasneem Ali (Muslim Women’s Association), Penny Stone (Musician), Amanda Fyfe (Living Rent), Mike Cowley (E.I.S. Fela) Elsie MacDonald (Musician), Mick Hogg (Ex Miner). Don’t miss it.
When you arrive at the Pleasance don’t forget that there will be stalls near the cafe/bar – organisations with stalls include sfbbooks, Scot.E 3, Stand up to Racism, Stop the War, Free Assange, Right to choose, Edinburgh IWW, Living Rent, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Edinburgh Action For Palestine, Morning Star, Unite, Edinburgh Climate Coalition
You can download a PDF copy of the flyer for the May Day events here.
Cabaret 2nd May
Get tickets for the May Day Cabaret: https://www.thestand.co.uk/news/the-great-edinburgh-may-day-cabaret-2024.
The Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders May Day Committee extends its unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine. We share the deep concerns of many people around the world over the ongoing conflict and the worsening impact it is having on civilians in Gaza.
In order for peace and justice to prevail, we urgently call for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further suffering and create a path towards a just and lasting resolution to this decades long conflict. Together, we hope for a future where all people in the region can live in peace, security, and dignity.
Thanks to all the union branches that provided financial support to the 2023 Edinburgh and Lothians May Day events and to all the individuals who contributed to the bucket collection at the Pleasance
G.M.B. Scottish Committee
Musicians Union
E.I.S. Midlothian
Edinburgh T.U.C.
UNISON Lothian Health
Unison West Lothian
Unite Edin. &Forth Valley Not for Profit
R.M.T. Scottish Committee
UNISON Midlothian
R.M.T. Glasgow Shipping
UNISON City of Edinburgh
UNITE Lothian Retired Members
Unite Edinburgh Area Activists
The final speaker at the rally was Derek Durkin from Trade Unions in Communities
Brian Reynolds from the RMT speaking at the rally
Edinburgh and Lothians May Day 