East Lothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)

East Lothian (/ˈloʊðiən/; Scots: Aest Lowden; Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Ear) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering most of the council area of East Lothian. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Not to be confused with East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency).

East Lothian
County constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
East Lothian shown within the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population79,505 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created1999
PartyScottish National Party
MSPPaul McLennan
Council areaEast Lothian

The seat has been held by Paul McLennan from the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region
See also: South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are: Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfriesshire, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Galloway and West Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The East Lothian constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[2] Following their first Periodic Review into Scottish Parliament constituencies, the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended the formation of a modified East Lothian, with the Musselburgh electorate wards part of a redrawn Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency, which was first used for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.

The Holyrood constituency covers most of the East Lothian council area. The remainder is represented by the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.

East Lothian is formed from the electoral wards listed below. All of these wards are part of East Lothian.

Member of the Scottish Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1999 John Home Robertson Labour
2007 Iain Gray
2021 Paul McLennan SNP

Election results

2020s
2021 Scottish Parliament election: East Lothian[3]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Paul McLennan 17,968 39.2 Increase4.4 15,498 33.8 Increase0.3
Labour Martin Whitfield[lower-alpha 1] 16,789 36.7 Decrease1.1 11,207 24.4 Decrease2.0
Conservative Craig Hoy[lower-alpha 1] 9,470 20.7 Decrease3.2 11,864 25.9 Decrease1.9
Scottish Green 3,801 8.3 Increase1.5
Liberal Democrats Euan Davidson 1,566 3.4 Decrease0.1 1,611 3.5 Increase0.2
Alba 552 1.2 New
All for Unity 481 1.0 New
Independent Green Voice 278 0.6 New
Scottish Family 196 0.4 New
Abolish the Scottish Parliament 96 0.2 New
Freedom Alliance (UK) 84 0.2 New
Reform UK 77 0.2 New
UKIP 59 0.1 Decrease1.5
Libertarian 51 0.1 New
Vanguard Party (UK) 9 0.0 New
Scotia Future 8 0.0 New
Valid Votes 45,793 45,872
Invalid Votes 138 58
Majority 1,179 2.5 N/A
Turnout 45,931 69.1 Increase6.6 45,930 69.1 Increase6.6
SNP gain from Labour Swing Increase2.8
Notes
  1. Elected on the party list

This was the only SNP gain from Labour at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

2010s
2016 Scottish Parliament election: East Lothian[4]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
Labour Iain Gray[lower-alpha 1] 14,329 37.8 Decrease1.2 10,020 26.4 Decrease5.2
SNP Douglas-James Johnston-Smith 13,202 34.8 Decrease3.7 12,729 33.5 Decrease4.1
Conservative Rachael Hamilton[lower-alpha 2] 9,045 23.9 Increase7.3 10,570 27.8 Increase11.9
Scottish Green 2,580 6.8 Increase2.1
Liberal Democrats Ettie Spencer 1,337 3.5 Decrease2.4 1,242 3.3 Decrease1.8
UKIP 590 1.6 Increase0.6
Solidarity 108 0.3 Increase0.2
Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent 71 0.2 New
RISE 70 0.2 New
Majority 1,127 3.0 Increase2.5
Valid Votes 37,913 37,980
Invalid Votes 118 47
Turnout 38,031 62.5 Increase5.2 38,027 62.5 Increase5.2
Labour hold Swing
Notes
  1. Incumbent member for this constituency
  2. Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency
2011 Scottish Parliament election: East Lothian[5]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
Labour Iain Gray[lower-alpha 1] 12,536 39.0 N/A 10,189 31.6 N/A
SNP David Berry 12,385 38.5 N/A 12,101 37.6 N/A
Conservative Derek Brownlee[lower-alpha 2] 5,344 16.6 N/A 5,131 15.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Ettie Spencer 1,912 5.9 N/A 1,643 5.1 N/A
Scottish Green 1,520 4.7 N/A
All-Scotland Pensioners Party 452 1.4 N/A
Socialist Labour 377 1.2 N/A
UKIP 312 1.0 N/A
Scottish Christian 198 0.6 N/A
BNP 174 0.5 N/A
Scottish Socialist 73 0.2 N/A
Solidarity 24 0.1 N/A
Majority 151 0.5 N/A
Valid Votes 32,177 32,194
Invalid Votes 117 71
Turnout 32,294 57.3 N/A 32,265 57.3 N/A
Labour win (new boundaries)
Notes
  1. Incumbent member for this constituency
  2. Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2000s
2007 Scottish Parliament election: East Lothian
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Iain Gray 12,219 35.4 -8.5
SNP Andrew Sharp 9,771 28.4 +11.8
Liberal Democrats Judy Hayman 6,249 18.1 +1.4
Conservative Bill Stevenson 6,232 18.1 +0.6
Majority 2,448 7.0 -19.2
Turnout 34,471 56.2 +3.5
Labour hold Swing
2003 Scottish Parliament election: East Lothian
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Home Robertson 13,683 43.9 −7.2
Liberal Democrats Judy Hayman 5,508 17.7 +6.7
Conservative Stuart Thomson 5,459 17.5 +1.7
SNP Tom Roberts 5,174 16.6 −5.4
Scottish Socialist Hugh Kerr 1,380 4.4 New
Majority 8,175 26.2 −2.9
Turnout 31,204 52.7 −11.5
Labour hold Swing

1990s
1999 Scottish Parliament election: East Lothian
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Home Robertson 19,220 51.1 N/A
SNP Calum Millar 8,274 22.0 N/A
Conservative Christine Richards 5,941 15.8 N/A
Liberal Democrats Judy Hayman 4,147 11.0 N/A
Majority 10,946 29.1 N/A
Turnout 37,582 72.2 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

Footnotes
  1. Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
  2. See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Scottish Parliamentary Election Results - 6 May 2021". East Lothian Council. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. "Scottish Parliamentary Election Results - 5 May 2016". East Lothian Council. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
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