Contents

Overall 2022 Result

Council-Wide Results

Labour’s only vote share lead in 2017 maintained that status in 2022, and in fact the proportion of the vote for them and the SNP was effectively unmoved. Both parties did however gain a seat, taking them to totals of 10 and 7 respectively, because the Conservatives lost a lot of support and three councillors, leaving them with 4. Amongst the shifts, the SNP picked up a seat in the North Berwick Coastal ward which had been one of their few mainland gaps.

The big winners versus expectations then were actually the Greens, who had a massive increase in their vote and were a hair away from making this their third mainland council with double-digit share. That led to their first councillor here, and very strong results in two other wards that could offer further opportunities in 2027. For the Lib Dems there was a little boost to their share, but no seats.

Administration

After the election, a Labour minority administration was formed.

Interactive Map

Overview

East Lothian is something of a mixed area. On the one hand, it is home to some of the mining and industrial towns and villages that you’ll find across the rest of the Lothians. On the other, it has a much more substantial rural component and a lengthy coastline, also giving agriculture and fisheries a lot of local importance. The modern area varies compared to the historic county of the same name largely by the inclusion of Musselburgh, which had previously been in Midlothian.

Politically, East Lothian became pretty solidly Labour through the last century, bar a brief Conservative stint in the first of the 1974 elections. Swept up in the SNP’s 2015 landslide, East Lothian was one of Labour’s briefly reclaimed seats in 2017, before the SNP again retook it in 2019. They might currently somewhat wish they hadn’t, as the MP they elected then was one of the two to join Alba in early 2021. The Holyrood seat (which lacks Musselburgh) proved resilient through the SNP’s earlier victories, though the then-leader of Scottish Labour, Iain Grey, was to be seen looking very nervous on count night in 2011. Labour’s luck finally ran out in 2021, when the SNP nabbed the seat.

Labour were similarly comfortable in local elections, winning a clear majority throughout ever election in the district era and in the FPTP years of the current unitary. In that time their main opposition was always the Conservatives, perhaps reflecting that mixed nature I mentioned earlier. It wasn’t until 2003 that they ever faced more than one non-Conservative opposition councillor at a time.

Previous STV Elections

2007
2012
2017

Individual Ward Results

Musselburgh (Ward 1)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Cher Cassini
🔴Labour: Andy Forrest
🟢Green: Shona McIntosh
🔴Labour: Ruaridh Bennett
Change vs 2017: +1 Green, +1 Labour, -1 Conservative, -1 SNP
Electorate: 16636
Turnout: 45.0%
Valid: 7356 (98.3%)
Spoiled: 126 (1.7%)
Quota: 1472

Candidates

🔴Labour: Ruaridh Bennett
🟠Lib Dem: Susan Butts
🟣Family: Stephen Carter
🟡SNP: Cher Cassini
🔴Labour: Andy Forrest
Alba: Michelle Graham
🔵Conservative: Katie Mackie
🟢Green: Shona McIntosh
🟡SNP: Iain Whyte

Musselburgh: First Preferences
Musselburgh: Transfers
Musselburgh: Results by Polling District
Musselburgh: Second Preferences
Musselburgh: Two-Candidate Preferred

Preston, Seton and Gosford (Ward 2)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🔴Labour
: Colin Yorkston
🔵Conservative: Lachlan Bruce
🔴Labour: Brooke Ritchie
🟡SNP: Neil Gilbert
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 43.4%
Electorate: 6421
Valid: 6421 (97.9%)
Spoiled: 136 (2.1%)
Quota: 1285

Candidates

Alba: Paul Brown
🔵Conservative: Lachlan Bruce
🟡SNP: Neil Gilbert
🟠Lib Dem: Ben Morse
🟢Green: Tim Porteus
🔴Labour: Brooke Ritchie
🟡SNP: Janis Wilson
🔴Labour: Colin Yorkston

Preston, Seton and Gosford: First Preferences
Preston, Seton and Gosford: Transfers
Preston, Seton and Gosford: Results by Polling District
Preston, Seton and Gosford: Second Preferences
Preston, Seton and Gosford: Two-Candidate Preferred

Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry (Ward 3)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🔴Labour: Fiona Dugdale
🟡SNP: Kenny McLeod
🔴Labour: Colin McGinn
🟡SNP: Lee-Anne Menzies
Change vs 2017: +1 SNP, -1 Conservative
Turnout: 39.6%
Electorate: 15497
Valid: 5984 (97.6%)
Spoiled: 148 (2.4%)
Quota: 1197

Candidates

🔴Labour: Fiona Dugdale
🟤TUSC: Jimmy Haddow
Alba: Hazel Hamilton
🔵Conservative: Gordon Mackett
🔴Labour: Colin McGinn
🟡SNP: Kenny McLeod
🟡SNP: Lee-Anne Menzies
🟢Green: Marnie Stirling
🟠Lib Dem: Elisabeth Wilson

Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry: First Preferences
Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry: Transfers
Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry: Results by Polling District
Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry: Second Preferences
Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry: Two-Candidate Preferred

North Berwick Coastal (Ward 4)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🔴Labour: Carol McFarlane
🟡SNP: Liz Allan
🔵Conservative: Jeremy Findlay
Change vs 2017: +1 SNP, -1 Conservative
Electorate: 12181
Turnout: 56.9%
Valid: 6849(98.9%)
Spoiled: 78 (1.1%)
Quota: 1713

Candidates

🟡SNP: Liz Allan
🟣Family: Alison Carter
🟢Green: Jacq Cottrell
🟤UKIP: George Cowen
🔵Conservative: Jeremy Findlay
🔵Conservative: Judy Lockhart-Hunter
🔴Labour: Carol McFarlane
🟠Lib Dem: Stuart Smith

North Berwick Coastal: First Preferences
North Berwick Coastal: Transfers
North Berwick Coastal: Results by Polling District
North Berwick Coastal: Second Preferences
North Berwick Coastal: Two-Candidate Preferred

Haddington and Lammermuir (Ward 5)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🔴Labour: Shamin Akhtar
🔵Conservative: George McGuire
🔴Labour: John McMillan
🟡SNP: Tom Trotter
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 49.1%
Electorate: 16205
Valid: 7830 (98.5%)
Spoiled: 121 (1.5%)
Quota: 1567

Candidates

🔴Labour: Shamin Akhtar
Independent: David Barrett
🟠Lib Dem: Stuart Crawford
Alba: Morgwn Davies
🟡SNP: Graeme MacGregor
🔵Conservative: George McGuire
🔴Labour: John McMillan
🟢Green: Jackie Swailes
🟡SNP: Tom Trotter

Haddington and Lammermuir: First Preferences
Haddington and Lammermuir: Transfers
Haddington and Lammermuir: Results by Polling District
Haddington and Lammermuir: Second Preferences
Haddington and Lammermuir: Two-Candidate Preferred

Dunbar and East Linton (Ward 6)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Lyn Jardine
🔴Labour: Norman Hampshire
🔵Conservative: Donna Collins
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 43.9%
Electorate: 9797
Valid: 4256 (98.9%)
Spoiled: 46 (1.1%)
Quota: 1065

Candidates

🟣Family: Timothy Anderson
🟠Lib Dem: Jacquie Bell
🔵Conservative: Donna Collins
🔴Labour: Norman Hampshire
🟢Green: Mark James
🟡SNP: Lyn Jardine
🟤Independence for Scotland: Cris Thacker

Dunbar and East Linton: First Preferences
Dunbar and East Linton: Transfers
Dunbar and East Linton: Results by Polling District
Dunbar and East Linton: Second Preferences
Dunbar and East Linton: Two-Candidate Preferred

Data Notes

Changes in Affiliation

Kenny McLeod (Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry) from 🟡SNP to ⚪Independent; no detailed public information given beyond a wish to represent his community as an Independent instead.