Edinburgh has been named the best place in the country to live by Channel 4 television property show Location, Location, Location.

The show analysed data on crime, education, employment, environment, lifestyle and health across the country and found that Edinburgh performed well in all of them.

The show''s presenters, Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp, commented: "It''s the flower of Scotland – and the rest of the UK now. What makes it even more a winner is that the typical house goes for just £205,000! That''s £5,000 below the UK average."

Winchester, last year''s number one area, slipped one place to come second, with the show commenting that high standard of education, a strong local economy and an "exemplary record on health" still make it a good place to live.

This week, it was announced that Ms Allsopp, who also runs her own property business, would be taking up an advisory role with the Conservative party to help make home buying easier.

"I vote homebuyer, it''s as simple as that," she told the Observer, commenting that she would work with any politician that believed home information packs are unnecessary.