A TOTAL of 50 candidates representing 10 different political parties will battle it out for the 22 seats on East Lothian Council in May's election.

The deadline for nominations for the 2022 East Lothian Council election passed at 4pm this afternoon (Wednesday) and the full list of candidates has now been published, with exactly 50 names on the ballot.

The current make-up of East Lothian Council sees Labour operate as a minority administration with nine councillors, the Conservatives as the official opposition with seven, and the SNP the third largest party with six. No other parties have any councillors.

The list of candidates for this year's election sees no party put forward enough candidates for a majority (a minimum of 12 candidates would be required to achieve this), meaning that either a coalition or a minority administration is guaranteed following the vote.

Labour and the SNP are standing the most candidates, 10 each, followed by the Conservatives with seven, then the Greens and Liberal Democrats with six each.

The ALBA Party are standing four candidates, the Scottish Family Party three, while UKIP, the Scottish Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (STUSC) and the Independence for Scotland Party each have one candidate. There is also one independent standing.

Voting information

Voting takes place on Thursday, May 5, with East Lothian split into six separate wards and residents voting for the candidates in the ward in which they live.

The election uses the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, where voters can rank candidates in order of preference rather than a single cross. Voters can choose to vote for as many or as few candidates as they like.

The count will be carried out electronically on Friday, May 6, and the results will be announced later that day after the completion of the count.

Candidates

The full list of candidates, broken down by ward, is as follows:

Ward 1 – Musselburgh (nine candidates, four seats available)

  • Ruaridh Bennett (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Susan Butts (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
  • Stephen Carter (Scottish Family Party)
  • Cher Cassini (Scottish National Party)
  • Andy Forrest (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Michelle Graham (ALBA Party)
  • Katie Mackie (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • Shona McIntosh (Scottish Green Party)
  • Iain Whyte (Scottish National Party)

Ward 2 – Preston, Seton and Gosford (eight candidates, four seats available)

  • Paul Brown (ALBA Party)
  • Lachlan Bruce (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • Neil Gilbert (Scottish National Party)
  • Ben Morse (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
  • Tim Porteus (Scottish Green Party)
  • Brooke Ritchie (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Janis Wilson (Scottish National Party)
  • Colin Yorkston (Scottish Labour Party)

Ward 3 – Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry (nine candidates, four seats available)

  • Fiona Dugdale (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Jimmy Haddow (Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
  • Hazel Hamilton (ALBA Party)
  • Gordon Mackett (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • Colin McGinn (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Kenny McLeod (Scottish National Party)
  • Lee-Anne Menzies (Scottish National Party)
  • Marnie Stirling (Scottish Green Party)
  • Elisabeth Mary Wilson (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

Ward 4 – North Berwick Coastal (eight candidates, three seats available)

  • Liz Allan (Scottish National Party)
  • Alison Carter (Scottish Family Party)
  • Jacq Cottrell (Scottish Green Party)
  • George Henry Cowen (UKIP)
  • Jeremy Findlay (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • Judy Lockhart-Hunter (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • Carol McFarlane (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Stuart Smith (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

Ward 5 – Haddington and Lammermuir (nine candidates, four seats available)

  • Shamin Akhtar (Scottish Labour Party)
  • David Barrett (Independent)
  • Stuart Crawford (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
  • Morgwn Davies (ALBA Party)
  • Graeme MacGregor (Scottish National Party)
  • George McGuire (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • John McMillan (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Jackie Swailes (Scottish Green Party)
  • Tom Trotter (Scottish National Party)

Ward 6 – Dunbar and East Linton (seven candidates, three seats available)

  • Timothy Anderson (Scottish Family Party)
  • Jacquie Bell (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
  • Donna Collins (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
  • Norman Hampshire (Scottish Labour Party)
  • Mark James (Scottish Green Party)
  • Lyn Jardine (Scottish National Party)
  • Cris Thacker (Independence for Scotland Party)