East Lothian (UK Parliament Constituency)
The constituency was formerly known as East Lothian. It was renamed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. It is first being contested under the new name at the 2024 general election.
Constituency profile
The seat covers small towns to the east of Edinburgh including Haddington and Dunbar which have good commuting links to the capital city; and a more rural area extending south into the Lammermuir Hills. Residents' health and wealth are around average for the UK.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/EastLothianConstituency.svg/220px-EastLothianConstituency.svg.png)
The constituency was created for the 1983 general election. Until the SNP landslide victory in 2015, the seat had been continuously represented by MPs from the Labour Party since the constituency's creation 32 years earlier. The East Lothian Constituency Labour Party voted on 22 January 2010 to deselect the previous MP Anne Moffat. The National Executive Committee upheld the decision on 23 March 2010. Fiona O'Donnell was elected in 2010 with an increased majority for Labour compared to 2005. O'Donnell lost her seat to George Kerevan of the SNP at the 2015 general election; who was elected with a majority of 6,803 votes.
From 2015 until the snap general election in 2017, the constituency was represented by George Kerevan of the Scottish National Party; who was defeated by Martin Whitfield of the Labour Party by 3,083 votes. Two years later, at the 2019 general election, Whitfield was defeated by former Scottish National Party MSP and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. On 26 March 2021, MacAskill defected from the SNP to the Alba Party.
At the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, a majority of voters nationwide opted for Scotland to remain a part of the United Kingdom - with 61.72% of the electorate of East Lothian voting for staying in the United Kingdom and 38.28% voting for independence.
Boundaries
East Lothian
1983–1997: East Lothian District.
1997–2005: The East Lothian District electoral divisions of Fa'side, Haddington, Luffness, Preston/Levenhall, and Tantallon.
2005–2024: East Lothian Council area.
Lothian East
2024–present: East Lothian Council area, except for most of the Musselburgh ward.
Before the 1983 general election, the area lay in the Berwick and East Lothian constituency.
Members of Parliament
Election | Party | Member | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Labour | John Home Robertson | |
2001 | Anne Moffat | ||
2010 | Fiona O'Donnell | ||
2015 | SNP | George Kerevan | |
2017 | Labour | Martin Whitfield | |
2019 | SNP | Kenny MacAskill | |
2021 | Alba | ||
2024 | Labour | Douglas Alexander |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | Douglas Alexander | 23,555 | 49.2 | +18.7 | |
SNP | Lyn Jardine | 10,290 | 21.5 | -13.3 | |
Conservative | Scott Hamilton | 5,335 | 11.1 | -16.4 | |
Reform UK | Robert Davies | 3,039 | 6.3 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | Duncan Dunlop | 2,649 | 5.5 | -0.8 | |
Scottish Green | Shona McIntosh | 2,477 | 5.2 | New | |
Alba | George Kerevan | 557 | 1.2 | New | |
Majority | 13,265 | 27.7 | |||
Turnout | |||||
Labour gain from SNP | Swing |
Elections in the 2010s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Kenny MacAskill | 21,156 | 36.2 | +5.6 | |
Labour | Martin Whitfield | 17,270 | 29.5 | −6.6 | |
Conservative | Craig Hoy | 15,523 | 26.5 | −3.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Robert O'Riordan | 4,071 | 7.0 | +3.9 | |
UKIP | David Sisson | 493 | 0.8 | New | |
Majority | 3,886 | 6.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 58,513 | 71.7 | +1.1 | ||
SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +6.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Martin Whitfield | 20,158 | 36.1 | +5.1 | |
SNP | George Kerevan | 17,075 | 30.6 | −11.9 | |
Conservative | Sheila Low | 16,540 | 29.6 | +10.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Elisabeth Wilson | 1,738 | 3.1 | +0.5 | |
Independent | Mike Allan | 367 | 0.7 | +0.4 | |
Majority | 3,083 | 5.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 55,878 | 70.6 | −3.6 | ||
Labour gain from SNP | Swing | +8.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | George Kerevan | 25,104 | 42.5 | +26.5 | |
Labour | Fiona O'Donnell | 18,301 | 31.0 | −13.6 | |
Conservative | David Roach | 11,511 | 19.5 | −0.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ettie Spencer | 1,517 | 2.6 | −14.3 | |
Scottish Green | Jason Rose | 1,245 | 2.1 | +0.3 | |
UKIP | Oluf Marshall | 1,178 | 2.0 | +0.9 | |
Independent | Mike Allan | 158 | 0.3 | New | |
Majority | 6,803 | 11.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 59,014 | 74.2 | +7.3 | ||
SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +20.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Fiona O'Donnell | 21,919 | 44.6 | +3.1 | |
Conservative | Michael Veitch | 9,661 | 19.7 | +3.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Stuart Ritchie | 8,288 | 16.9 | −7.9 | |
SNP | Andrew Sharp | 7,883 | 16.0 | +2.9 | |
Scottish Green | James Mackenzie | 862 | 1.8 | −0.7 | |
UKIP | Jonathan Lloyd | 548 | 1.1 | +0.4 | |
Majority | 12,258 | 24.9 | +8.2 | ||
Turnout | 49,161 | 66.9 | +2.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −0.3 |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Anne Moffat | 18,983 | 41.5 | −7.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Chris Butler | 11,363 | 24.8 | +7.6 | |
Conservative | William Stevenson | 7,315 | 16.0 | 0.0 | |
SNP | Paul McLennan | 5,995 | 13.1 | −1.8 | |
Scottish Green | Michael Collie | 1,132 | 2.5 | New | |
Scottish Socialist | Gary Galbraith | 504 | 1.1 | -0.6 | |
UKIP | Eric Robb | 306 | 0.7 | New | |
Christian Vote | William Thompson | 178 | 0.4 | New | |
Majority | 7,620 | 16.7 | -12.9 | ||
Turnout | 45,776 | 64.5 | +3.6 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −7.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Anne Picking | 17,407 | 47.2 | −5.5 | |
Conservative | Hamish Mair | 6,577 | 17.8 | −2.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Judith Hayman | 6,506 | 17.6 | +7.1 | |
SNP | Hilary Brown | 5,381 | 14.6 | −1.1 | |
Scottish Socialist | Derrick White | 624 | 1.7 | New | |
Socialist Labour | James Herriot | 376 | 1.0 | New | |
Majority | 10,830 | 29.4 | -3.4 | ||
Turnout | 36,871 | 62.5 | −13.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1990s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Home Robertson | 22,881 | 52.7 | +6.2 | |
Conservative | Murdo Fraser | 8,660 | 19.9 | −8.3 | |
SNP | David R. McCarthy | 6,825 | 15.7 | +1.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alison MacAskill | 4,575 | 10.5 | −0.7 | |
Referendum | Norman S. Nash | 491 | 1.1 | New | |
Majority | 14,221 | 32.8 | +14.5 | ||
Turnout | 43,432 | 75.6 | -6.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Home Robertson | 25,537 | 46.5 | −1.5 | |
Conservative | James P. Hepburne-Scott | 15,501 | 28.2 | −0.1 | |
SNP | George R. Thomson | 7,776 | 14.2 | +6.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Tim McKay | 6,126 | 11.2 | −4.3 | |
Majority | 10,036 | 18.3 | −1.4 | ||
Turnout | 54,940 | 82.4 | +3.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −0.7 |
Elections in the 1980s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Home Robertson | 24,583 | 48.0 | +4.1 | |
Conservative | Stanley Langdon | 14,378 | 28.3 | −2.5 | |
Liberal | Andrew Robinson | 7,929 | 15.5 | −5.4 | |
SNP | Alexander Burgon-Lyon | 3,727 | 7.3 | +2.9 | |
Green | Angus Marland | 451 | 0.9 | New | |
Majority | 10,105 | 19.7 | +6.6 | ||
Turnout | 51,068 | 78.7 | +2.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Home Robertson | 20,934 | 43.9 | -7.4 | |
Conservative | Michael Fry | 14,693 | 30.8 | -0.9 | |
Liberal | Michael Kibby | 9,950 | 20.9 | +12.4 | |
SNP | Roger Knox | 2,083 | 4.4 | -4.1 | |
Majority | 6,241 | 13.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 47,660 | 76.4 | N/A | ||
Labour win (new seat) |