Election 2024: Focus on Lothian East
Part of our series looking at key constituencies in the local area ahead of the General Election.
Taking in the towns and rural communities to the east of Edinburgh, such as Prestonpans, North Berwick and Haddington, stretching out beyond Dunbar - this was a Labour stronghold for more than three decades before the SNP unseated them in the wake of the independence referendum the previous year. The most recent MP to win the seat for the SNP though - Kenny MacAskill - defected to Alex Salmond’s fledgling Alba party in 2021.
This time round, Labour are eyeing Lothian East among a number of target seats across Scotland. Following boundary changes, Musselburgh is no longer part of the constituency, a move which many believe could hurt the SNP’s chances most.
Labour’s candidate in Lothian East is Douglas Alexander, a former cabinet member under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown:
“For almost the last 17 months I’ve been knocking on doors across the county, and if I’ve heard one message repeatedly, it’s that people feel it’s time for change, and a vote for Labour I believe can end the chaos, turn the page and start the process of recovery”
Douglas Alexander is widely tipped for a role in Keir Starmer’s cabinet in the event of a Labour victory, but the SNP’s candidate Lyn Jardine says that shouldn’t be the priority for a local candidate:
“I want to make sure that the constituents of Lothian East have someone dedicated to delivering quality services and holding any government accountable, rather than having an eye to something else.”
George Kerevan was the SNP MP for the constituency between 2017-2019, though he’s standing for Alba this time round. Despite poor polling, he reckons this is a fight between him and Labour’s Douglas Alexander:
“He comes with baggage, which does not go down well in East Lothian. He comes as an ex Blairite minister, Douglas wants to be Foreign Secretary, he’s never apologised for the illegal war in Iraq, so I’m holding him to account on that”
The full list of candidates standing in Lothian East is as follows:
Douglas Alexander (Labour & Co-operative)
Robert Davies (Reform UK)
Duncan Dunlop (Liberal Democrats)
Scott Hamilton (Conservative)
Lyn Jardine (SNP)
George Kerevan (Alba)
Shona McIntosh (Scottish Green)