Why Lothian East is the wrong direction

“Good golly I’ve got it!” shrieked one of the Boundary Commission for Scotland boffins at their crunch meeting to decide the fate of the bloated East Lothian Westminster constituency.

“Just switch the name around and everything’s tickety-boo”!

Before the lawyer’s letter drops, these words are, of course, a complete work of fiction. In 30 years in this industry, I’ve made my first quotes up. Believe me!

But I can’t help wondering what was going through the minds of the commission high heid yins when they decided to consign the proud name of East Lothian to the Westminster constituency history books (read our story here).

It’s been part of the fabric of the House of Commons since 1950 when Labour’s Clement Attlee narrowly defeated Winston Churchill in the General Election of February 23 that year (initially as the Berwick and East Lothian seat and then as the standalone East Lothian constituency from 1983).

But let’s be clear: the commission does have a near impossible task. It’s only fair that each of our MPs represents a similar number of voters and the rush to build new homes in Scotland’s most beautiful county has resulted in too many voters for one constituency.

So, something had to give. Switching part of our largest town, Musselburgh, to a new Edinburgh East constituency was, in the circumstances, almost unavoidable. Sadly.

But why couldn’t the East Lothian Westminster constituency left behind keep the same name? A name we’re all proud to say whenever we’re asked, ‘Where are you from’?

Granted, all of the East Lothian Council area will no longer be in the ‘leftover’ constituency but, in terms of land mass, only a very small proportion of East Lothian’s near 700 km sq is being ceded, in UK Parliament constituency terms, to the neighbouring Portobello area. Look at the maps: in geographic terms it’s tiny; a few square kilometres.

Once the Westminster boundary changes are adopted, the western half of Musselburgh will join a new Edinburgh East seat. However, the vast majority of East Lothian's land mass will still be in the old East Lothian seat, as this Boundary Commission for Scotland map shows, so why change the name, says Courier Editor Robbie Scott. (Image: Boundary Commission for Scotland)

And although there has been extensive consultation on the commission’s previously suggested ‘new’ names for the constituency – East Lothian Coastal (rubbish) and East Lothian & Lammermuir (OK) – not one person has, or will, get the chance to comment on back-to-front Lothian East. And that’s wrong.

In 2009, when it was proposed that the East Lothian name would be dropped from the county’s Holyrood constituency, the Courier launched a ‘Save our Seat’ campaign and no fewer than 300 written objections from county residents were delivered, by me, to the Boundary Commission for Scotland’s Edinburgh HQ.

You may be Scottish, British or both, but one thing you're not is a Lothian Eastender

 

Do you know what? That equated to 10 per cent of the total number of representations the commission received for that Scotland-wide review.

And we won. And to this day, the East Lothian constituency at Holyrood is still called exactly that.

But does any of this matter? Yes, because identity matters.

A look at the Courier letters page each week shows that. You may be fiercely Scottish, British or both but one thing you’re not is a Lothian Eastender.

Just as I’m not Scott Robbie, despite getting the odd annoying email addressing me as such.

If we want our residents, and particularly our young people, to engage in politics, and the political process, and ultimately help improve our society, they must have an affiliation for where they live and what their communities stand for.

Lothian East sells our great county short.