FOUR candidates will battle it out next month to become East Lothian’s next MSP.

Euan Davidson (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Craig Hoy (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), Paul McLennan (SNP) and Martin Whitfield (Scottish Labour Party) were confirmed as the four candidates for the seat at the Holyrood election when nominations closed yesterday afternoon.

Whoever is elected will follow in the footsteps of Iain Gray, who announced last month he was stepping down after nearly 14 years as MSP for East Lothian.

Mr Davidson works as a caseworker for Christine Jardine, MP for Edinburgh West, and is a former president of Liberal Youth Scotland.

Meanwhile, Mr Hoy, a former journalist, represents the Haddington and Lammermuir ward on East Lothian Council, having won a by-election to succeed Brian Small in May 2019.

Mr McLennan is also a member of East Lothian Council and represents the Dunbar and East Linton ward, having been a previous leader of the local authority.

Finally, Mr Whitfield was East Lothian’s MP from June 2017 until November 2019, when he lost the seat to Kenny MacAskill.