Two former politicians are bidding for a comeback as the newly-named Lothian East seat is fought in next month’s General Election.
Douglas Alexander, who served in senior cabinet posts on Government for former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has been nominated as Scottish Labour’s candidate.
And former SNP East Lothian MP George Kerevan is seeking a return this time representing the Alba Party, after Kenny MacAskill, who was elected in the county in 2019 before defecting to Alba confirmed he is not restanding in the county.
East Lothian’s Westminster seat has been changed by the Boundary Commission ahead of the July 4 election to Lothian East with most of the county’s biggest town Musselburgh moved into a new Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency.
Whether the change will have an impact on the votes remains to be seen with East Lothian, or Lothian East as it is now known, changing hands between the SNP and Labour in recent years.
The seat was held by Labour for decades until 2015 when sitting MP Fiona O’Donnell saw her majority overshadowed by a triumphant George Kerevan as support for the SNP swept the county.
Two years later it was Mr Kerevan who lost support as Labour returned with MP Martin Whitfield. Then in 2019 former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was elected for the SNP before defecting to the Alba Party.
Mr MacAskill is not standing in Lothian East, instead opting to fight a seat in the central belt, but Mr Kerevan is taking his place for Alba with independence central to his campaign.
Launching his campaign he said: “Alba are now the only party with a credible strategy to deliver independence.”
While Mr Kerevan was swept into office in the 2015 SNP tsunami, Mr Alexander saw it end his 18 year role as MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire south as Mhairi Black won the election for the SNP.
Nearly 10 years on he is determined to win Lothian East for Labour.
He said: “Scottish Labour’s campaign to win in East Lothian will centre on our plan to deliver a decade of national renewal following 14 years of decline under the Conservative Party. It’s time for change. It’s time for Labour.”
The SNP candidate for the election is one of two councillors joining the fight. Lyn Jardine is the SNP group leader in East Lothian Council and has worked in public service for 25 years.
She said: “We need an MP who exhibits the competence and determination to bring about the changes necessary. I’ve worked all my life in housing, health and social care, across sectors as well as serving on community groups and voluntary boards.
“Just as I want the best for Scotland, I want to reverse the inequality
limiting the potential of current and future Scots.”
Fellow councillor Shona McIntosh became East Lothian’s first Scottish Greens elected member at the local authority elections in 2022 and is now standing for her party in the general election.
She said a vote for the Scottish Greens is a vote for immediate action on the climate emergency.
She said: “As a councillor, I’ve seen first-hand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis in East Lothian and we should be clear that this is driven by the price of oil and gas – it should really be termed a ‘cost of fossil fuel’ crisis.
“With recent confirmation that we have hit 1.5 degrees of warming, the urgency of the climate crisis demands a radical response from our politicians.”
A third councillor, this time from Scottish Borders Council, Scott Hamilton is the Scottish Conservative candidate for the Lothian East seat.
He took to Twitter after going door to door in the county slamming the council Labour administration.
He said: “Speaking to residents and hearing their concerns what is really coming through is that the Labour run council here aren’t delivering for our communities and I want to change that.”
Reform UK are also fielding a candidate in the election with retired North Berwick resident Robert Davies hoping to offer an alternative for voters.
He said: “I have become disillusioned with the traditional political parties and can no longer see any difference between them. They all seem to support the same crazy policies ie, Net Zero, mass illegal migration and ever more restrictive laws on free speech etc.
“I came across Reform UK Scotland and they just seem like a breath of fresh air with sensible policies that will help to get this country back on its feet.”
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are also hoping to have an impact in the election with their candidate Duncan Dunlop.
The CEO of Who Cares? Scotland which supports care-experienced people, Duncan lives in Dunbar.
He said: “I want to be Lothian East’s MP because I deeply care about our community and believe in taking real action to make our lives better.
“For most of the last fifteen years, I’ve been the CEO of Who Cares? Scotland. Where I fought for children in care who have been dealt the worst hand. Under my leadership we didn’t just talk about change—we made it happen.”
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
