Gilchrist's shoes will be hard to fill for seat hopefuls

Described as a heavyweight in local government, his speeches were entertaining and to the point; he put his professional expertise in finance to good use in budget debates; and he displayed an independence of mind which rose above party lines.

Politicians of all sides have paid fulsome tributes, but his loss will be felt particularly keenly by the Tories, especially since it comes just a year after the death of that other big-hitter, Brian Meek.

The by-election to choose a successor to Councillor Gilchrist in Murrayfield may not be held until November, but the Liberal Democrats jumped the gun by tastelessly billing the contest on their website the day after his death.

The Tories believe they can hang on to the seat - Cllr Gilchrist took more than 50 per cent of the vote at the last local elections in 2003.

But the Lib Dems say at the General Election it was they who won the most votes in Murrayfield. And the party will be putting a lot of effort into trying to secure victory.

"No-one would have wanted to see this by-election - people across the spectrum thought Jim Gilchrist was a decent guy," says a Lib Dem insider.

"He was very well respected and a lot of people voted for him because he was a good local councillor.

"But recent by-elections in Edinburgh - in Hugh Fraser's Balerno seat and Brian Meek's Colinton one - show those personal votes do not transfer automatically to new Conservative candidates."

But the Lib Dems are focusing on Murrayfield for another reason. It is part of the Edinburgh Central constituency which the party has made its number one target at the next Scottish Parliament elections. A victory at council level would give them a unique boost in their efforts at capturing the Holyrood seat.

Labour's Sarah Boyack had a majority of 2666 last time, taking 32.4 per cent of the vote compared to the Lib Dems' 22.8 per cent.

But, based again on their analysis of the votes cast in this year's general election, the Lib Dems claim they are now ahead of Labour in the constituency.

Former Lib Dem chief executive Andy Myles had been lined up to stand in Central at the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections.

But he has just been made a special adviser to new Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen.

In some ways it was a surprise appointment - Mr Myles is instinctively anti-establishment and has not been afraid to speak out against Executive policies. But he was a key player in Mr Stephen's leadership campaign.

One Lib Dem source says: "Andy has always wanted to be in a position where he can make a difference. He has made a decision that the best way for him to do that is working on the inside as a special adviser for a Lib Dem Deputy First Minister.

"If the choice is between being an MSP, potentially on the backbenches, or being at the heart of the Scottish government, it is clear which he would choose."

And his decision has left a vacancy for what the party sees as a promising opportunity.

"People are already manoeuvring for the job," says the source. "From the votes we saw at the count in this year's general election, we are pretty certain we won Edinburgh Central fairly comfortably."

Insiders say there are three serious contenders for the nomination - the constituency party chairman, Derek Young, a long-standing Lib Dem activist who knows the seat well but has not stood before; Siobhan Mathers, another member of the local party, who works in PR and would help boost the party's female representation; and Mike Crockart, a former policeman who achieved a surprisingly good second place for the Lib Dems in neighbouring Edinburgh North and Leith at the general election.

A Lib Dem activist says: "One thing pretty certain is that all the would-be candidates for Edinburgh Central will be very keen to help out in any way they can in Murrayfield over the coming months."