Elections to

East Lothian Council East Lothian Council is one of the 32 local government councils in Scotland covering the East Lothian area. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 22 councillors have been elected from 6 wards. History East Lothian District Council had been ...

were held on 4 May 2017 on the same day as the other

Scottish local government Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majori ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

. The election consisted of 6 wards electing three or four councillors using the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...

system form of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

, with 22 councillors elected. This election featured revised ward boundaries to three wards resulting in the reduction of the number of East Lothian councillors from 23 to 22. Two former Musselburgh wards were merged, while losing Wallyford and Whitecraig with 4 councillors being elected. The bulk of the previous Fa'side ward became Tranent/Wallyford/Macmerry. Haddington and Lammermuir ward expanded with the addition of Ormiston and Pencaitland and gained a councillor. Following the elections, Labour announced that they would form a minority administration. This replaced the previous coalition between Labour, the Conservatives and the one Independent councillor.

Election result

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Ward results

Musselburgh

*2012: **Musselburgh West (2xSNP; 1xLab) **Musselburgh East and Carberry (1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xLab) *2017: 2xSNP 1xConservative 1xLab *2012-2017 Change: 2 wards combined due to ward change resulting in one less councillor for Musselburgh. Conservative gain one seat.

Preston, Seton and Gosford

*2012: 2xLabour 2xSNP *2017: 2xLabour 1xSNP 1xCON *2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from SNP

Tranent/Wallyford/Macmerry

*2012: 3xLabour 1xSNP (as Fa'side ward) *2017: 2xLabour 1xSNP 1xConservative *2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Labour

North Berwick Coastal

*2012: 1xLabour 1xConservative 1xSNP *2017: 2xCon 1xLabour *2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from SNP

Haddington and Lammermuir

*2012: 1xConservative 1xLabour 1xSNP *2017: 1xConservative 2xLabour 1xSNP *2012-2017 Change: No change

Dunbar and East Linton

*2012: 1xLabour 1xConservative 1xSNP *2017: 1xLabour 1xConservative 1xSNP *2012-2017 Change: No change

Retiring councillors

Changes since 2017

*† On 26 February 2019, Haddington and Lammermuir Councillor Brian Small resigned his seat. A by-election followed was held on 9 May 2019. The seat was won by Craig Hoy of the Conservative Party. *†† On 24 October 2021, Preston, Seton and Gosford Councillor and Leader of East Lothian Council, Willie Innes, passed away after a long illness.

By-elections since 2017

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2017

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2017 Scottish local elections