| East Lothian Scottish Parliament county constituency |
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| East Lothian shown within the South of Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland |
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| Created: | 1999 |
| MSP: | Iain Gray |
| Party: | Labour |
| Council area: | East Lothian |
East Lothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the South of Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
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Electoral region
The other eight constituencies of the South of Scotland region are Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Cunninghame South, Dumfries, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Roxburgh and Berwickshire and Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale.
The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, part of the North 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[1].
The Holyrood constituency covers most of the East Lothian council area. A western (Musselburgh) portion of the council area is covered by the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency, which also covers an eastern portion of the City of Edinburgh council area.
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh is within the Lothians electoral region.
Boundary review
Following their first Periodic Review into Scottish Parliament constituencies, the Boundary Commission for Scotland has recommended the formation of a modified East Lothian constituency, with the Musselburgh electorate wards part of a redrawn Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
It has been represented by Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour Party leader, since the 2007 election. Gray was previously MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003.
| Member | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iain Gray | Labour | 2007 | present | |
| John Home Robertson | Labour | 1999 | 2007 |
Election results
| Scottish Parliament election, 2007: 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 | +0.5 | |
| Conservative | Bill Stevenson | 6,232 | 18.1 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 2,448 | 7.1 | |||
| Turnout | 34,471 | 56.2 | +0.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Scottish Parliament election, 2003: East Lothian | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | John Home Robertson | 13,683 | 43.85 | −7.29 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Judy Hayman | 5,508 | 17.65 | + 6.62 | |
| Conservative | Stuart Thomson | 5,459 | 17.49 | + 1.68 | |
| SNP | Tom Roberts | 5,174 | 16.58 | −5.44 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Hugh Kerr | 1,380 | 4.42 | + 4.42 | |
| Majority | 8,175 | 26.20 | −2.93 | ||
| Turnout | 31,204, | 52.69 | −11.47 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Scottish Parliament election, 1999: East Lothian | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | John Home Robertson | 19,220 | 51.14 | n/a | |
| SNP | Calum Millar | 8,274 | 22.02 | n/a | |
| Conservative | Christine Richards | 5,941 | 15.81 | n/a | |
| Liberal Democrats | Judy Hayman | 4,147 | 11.03 | n/a | |
| Majority | 10,946 | 29.13 | n/a | ||
| Turnout | n/a | ||||
Footnotes
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