Lothian East (; ; ) 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 served as the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, formerly Paisley South, from 1997-2015. He has served as Secretary of State for Scotland since 2025.
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.Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report
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 2015-17 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 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, Kerevan stood as the Alba Party's candidate instead, and polled last out of all the candidates at that year's general election. 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 16% from the SNP.
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 part of the United Kingdom and 38.28% voting for Scottish independence.
Members of Parliament ElectionPartyMember 1983 John Home Robertson 2001 Anne Moffat2010 Fiona O'Donnell2015 George Kerevan2017 Martin Whitfield2019 Kenny MacAskill2021 2024 Douglas Alexander
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s 2019 notional result Party Vote %SNP 17,671 34.8 Labour 15,464 30.4Conservative 13,956 27.5Liberal Democrats 3,193 6.3UKIP 493 1.0Majority2,2074.4Turnout50,77771.2Electorate71,287
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Notes
References
External links East Lothian UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2005 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Lothian East UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK