General Election: Lothian East candidates aiming to win your vote

Seven hopefuls will battle it out when residents go to the polls on Thursday, July 4: Douglas Alexander (Labour), Robert Davies (Reform UK), Duncan Dunlop (Lib Dems), Scott Hamilton (Conservatives), Lyn Jardine (SNP), George Kerevan (ALBA) and Shona McIntosh (Scottish Greens).

Current East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill – who was elected in 2019 as a member of the SNP but switched to ALBA in 2021 – is not standing in Lothian East and is instead a candidate for Alloa & Grangemouth.

The new Lothian East constituency consists of the majority of the county except a sizeable chunk of Musselburgh, which is in the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency.

The candidates for that seat are: Charles Dundas (Liberal Democrats), Jane Gould (independent), Amanda Grimm (Scottish Greens), Marie-Clair Munro (Conservatives), Chris Murray (Labour), Tommy Sheppard (SNP) and Derek Winton (Reform UK).

Douglas Alexander. Image: PA

Mr Alexander, who represented Paisley South and then Paisley and Renfrewshire South from 1997 to 2015, said: “We’ve been out and about across the county listening to voters and hearing their concerns.

“What we keep hearing across all communities is that people feel it’s time for change and that people are fed up with both the Conservative and SNP-led governments in a country where everything seems more expensive and nothing seems to work.

“With dozens of activists out and about, we’ve welcomed UK Labour’s Shadow Cabinet member Bridget Phillipson and Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet member Pam Duncan-Glancy who both joined one of our door-knocking sessions in Pencaitland.”

Robert Davies

Mr Davies, who lives in North Berwick, said: “Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working hard to ensure my nomination and others in the Reform Party are completed across Scotland.

“Hustings and radio interviews are in the pipeline, the first in Dunbar Parish Church [yesterday (Wednesday)].

“It is a great opportunity to discuss the key issues of our time: freedom of speech, the attack on our democracy, the appalling handling of the Covid pandemic, getting the truth out about the injections, and the climate change scam. We have so many exciting new policies.”

Duncan Dunlop

Mr Dunlop added: “I have been canvassing daily and it is clear that people desire the change and stability offered by the Liberal Democrats.

“There is growing recognition that the political instability other parties offer hinders economic growth. We can grow our economy while prioritising climate action and fairer taxation to improve public services.

“I’ve been speaking at meetings, addressing issues like pollution from the Valencia landfill, HGV parking in Dunbar, and the closure of Edington Hospital and The Abbey care home. I also requested a community meeting on the closure of Belhaven Hospital and have written to the new head of Dunbar Grammar School about mobile phone use.”

Scott Hamilton

Mr Hamilton, a councillor on Scottish Borders Council, has attended events including the Haddington Festival fun day and NSA ScotSheep at Innerwick.

He said: “Whilst East Lothian is an amazing place to live and work, it is not without its issues.

“I am hearing about the everyday frustrations of worsening potholes to worrying concerns over diminishing health and social care provisions in the county. High Street businesses are concerned about the impact of proposed parking charges and residents are increasingly noticing cuts to public services.

“They are rightly feeling let down by the SNP Government, who are underfunding this growing county, and by the Labour-run council, whose financial mismanagement has led to eye-watering levels of debt and consequently public service cuts.”

Lyn Jardine

Ms Jardine, who represents the Dunbar and East Linton ward on East Lothian Council, said: “To say it’s been a whirlwind would be an understatement.

“Over the last couple of weeks, the most significant bit of work has been getting organised, both for the formal process and the range of output needed to engage voters.

“I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has been working away to create and distribute various communications and making sure I hit deadlines. Keeping our activists’ energy up will be crucial but I could do without having pulled a back muscle myself... sadly, it has meant I’ve had to pull out of a couple of things.”

George Kerevan

Mr Kerevan was East Lothian MP between 2015 and 2017, when he was a member of the SNP.

He said: “Since a rain-soaked Rishi Sunak called the election, it’s been a whirlwind printing and delivering leaflets, chapping doors and getting round the county. This is my third campaign in the county and I always love meeting people.

“On the doorstep, folk mention the lack of GPs, high energy bills, and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I’ve been arguing ALBA is the only party with independence on the ballot paper and that we need more power devolved to the county itself.”

Shona McIntosh

Ms McIntosh became East Lothian Council’s first Green councillor when she was elected in 2022.

She spoke at a national candidate launch in Glasgow and said: “In East Lothian, the question of energy is huge in this election. People who are suffering from fuel poverty and mould can look out of their window and see wind farm infrastructure being built, they can see prime agricultural land being subject to applications for battery storage sites – and many people feel like we’re missing the window for a just transition.

“It is wrong that commercial interests should be driving these developments with no regard for energy provision for the communities directly impacted. Instead, these projects must be guided by principles of community wealth building and of recognising energy as a public utility, to be provided affordably to all without burning the planet.”