East Lothian (; sco, Aest Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is a
constituency of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...
(
Holyrood) covering most of the
council area of
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the hi ...
. It elects one
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the
plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the
South Scotland
South Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the S ...
electoral region, which elects seven
additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a 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 ...
for the region as a whole.
The seat has been held by
Paul McLennan of the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
since the
2021 Scottish Parliament election.
Electoral region
The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are
Ayr,
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley,
Clydesdale,
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
...
,
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire,
Galloway and West Dumfries,
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.
The region covers the
Dumfries and Galloway council area, part of the
East Ayrshire council area, part of the
East Lothian council area, part of the
Midlothian council area, the
Scottish Borders council area
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian ...
, the
South Ayrshire council area and part of the
South Lanarkshire council area
gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas
, image_skyline =
, image_flag =
, image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg
, image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg
, blank_emblem_type = Council logo
, image_map ...
.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The East Lothian constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
, with the name and boundaries of an existing
Westminster constituency. In
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...
, however, Scottish Westminster (
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
[See ]
The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland
'' Following their first Periodic Review into Scottish Parliament constituencies, the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended the formation of a modified East Lothian, with the Musselburgh electorate wards part of a redrawn
Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency, which was first used for the
2011 Scottish Parliament election
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.
The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...
.
The Holyrood constituency covers most of the
East Lothian council area. The remainder is represented by the
Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.
East Lothian is formed from the electoral
wards listed below. All of these wards are part of East Lothian.
*In full:
Dunbar and East Linton,
Haddington and Lammermuir,
North Berwick Coastal,
Preston, Seton and Gosford
*In part:
Tranent/Wallyford/Macmerry (shared with
Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Election results
2020s
This was the only SNP gain from Labour at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
2010s
2000s
1990s
Footnotes
External links
*
{{Authority control
Constituencies of the Scottish Parliament
Politics of East Lothian
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011
1999 establishments in Scotland
Constituencies established in 1999
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions 1999–2011
Prestonpans
Tranent
Haddington, East Lothian
Dunbar
North Berwick