# Lothian East (UK Parliament constituency)

Lothian East (/ˈloʊðiən/; Scots: Lowden East; Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Ear) is a constituency in Scotland which returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system. The seat has been represented since 2024 by Douglas Alexander of Scottish Labour; he had previously been MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, formerly Paisley South, from 1997 to 2015.
The constituency was formerly known as East Lothian. It was renamed as a result of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies and was first contested under the new name at the 2024 general election.

## 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, which was transferred to the re-established constituency of Edinburgh East and Musselburgh.
Before the 1983 general election, the area lay in the Berwick and East Lothian constituency.

## 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

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 to 2017 the constituency was represented by George Kerevan of the Scottish National Party; he was defeated by Martin Whitfield of the Labour Party by 3,083 votes at the snap general election in 2017. Two years later, at the 2019 general election, Whitfield was in turn 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.
MacAskill did not defend his seat at the 2024 general election, contesting the Alloa and Grangemouth constituency instead, but gaining only 1.5% of the vote. In February 2023, Douglas Alexander, a former cabinet minister and MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South/Paisley South, was selected to stand for the Labour Party. He duly gained the seat with a majority of 28% on a swing of from the SNP of 16%.
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.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Party | Member |
| 1983 | Labour | John Home Robertson |
| 2001 | Labour | Anne Moffat |
| 2010 | Labour | Fiona O'Donnell |
| 2015 | SNP | George Kerevan |
| 2017 | Labour | Martin Whitfield |
| 2019 | SNP | Kenny MacAskill |
| 2021 | Alba | Kenny MacAskill |
| 2024 | Labour | Douglas Alexander |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Lothian East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Douglas Alexander | 23,555 | 49.2 | +18.5 |
| | SNP | Lyn Jardine | 10,290 | 21.5 | −13.4 |
| | Conservative | Scott Hamilton | 5,335 | 11.1 | −16.0 |
| | Reform UK | Robert Davies | 3,039 | 6.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Duncan Dunlop | 2,649 | 5.5 | −0.8 |
| | Scottish Green | Shona McIntosh | 2,477 | 5.2 | N/A |
| | Alba | George Kerevan | 557 | 1.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,265 | 27.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,902 | 63.4 | −8.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 75,546 | | |
| | Labour Co-op gain from SNP | Labour Co-op gain from SNP | Swing | +16.0 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 3,886 | 6.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,513 | 71.7 | +1.1 |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +6.1 | |
General election 2017: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 3,083 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,878 | 70.6 | −3.6 |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Swing | +8.6 | |
General election 2015: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 6,803 | 11.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,014 | 74.2 | +7.3 |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +20.1 | |
General election 2010: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 12,258 | 24.9 | +8.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,161 | 66.9 | +2.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.3 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 7,620 | 16.7 | −12.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,776 | 64.5 | +3.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −7.5 | |
General election 2001: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 10,830 | 29.4 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,871 | 62.5 | −13.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 14,221 | 32.8 | +14.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,432 | 75.6 | −6.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1992: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 10,036 | 18.3 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,940 | 82.4 | +3.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.7 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 10,105 | 19.7 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,068 | 78.7 | +2.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.3 | |
General election 1983: East Lothian :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 6,241 | 13.1 | −6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,660 | 76.4 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |