 | 'It is essential that the Executive stops ring fencing resources and starts to trust local government to deliver the service.' Cosla president Norman Murray, whose East Lothian council announced an 8.7% increase in Council tax, 9 th March 2000. |  |
| 'It is essential that the Executive stops ring fencing resources and starts to trust local government to deliver the service.' Cosla president Norman Murray, whose East Lothian council announced an 8.7% increase in Council tax, 9 th March 2000. | |
While the Scottish press's headlines screeched that civil war had broken out in the Scottish National Party, the party continued undaunted to work for Scottish Independence. An ICM poll on the 19 th June must have sent shivers up the spine of Andrew Neil when it revealed the SNP and Labour neck-and-neck at 36 % in the first vote for the Scottish parliament, with the SNP leading Labour by 33 % to 30 % in the regional vote.
The icing on the cake came at the Brunton Hall in Musselburgh when, in a highly dramatic contest, Roger Knox won the Musselburgh East ward from Labour on the 22 nd of June. The by-election in Musselburgh East was the first for an East Lothian ward since reorganisation in 1995 and gave the Scottish National party their first ever councillor in Musselburgh.
Musselburgh, 'the Honest Toun' is in East Lothian, which used to be known as Haddingtonshire. Until regionalisation in 1977, however, the town was part of Midlothian County Council. To complicate matters even further, the town of Musselburgh was an (anonymous) part of the Edinburgh East parliamentary constituency until 1983, when it was transferred to East Lothian, where it remained until 1997, when it was returned to the new Edinburgh East & Musselburgh seat. Because of the latter change, the town of Musselburgh is part of the Lothians Regional constituency for the Scottish Parliament, while the rest of the county of East Lothian is, much to the confusion of local residents, not part of the Lothians, but of South of Scotland. To make things even more complicated, unlike the other four Musselburgh wards, Musselburgh East is not part of Edinburgh East & Musselburgh parliamentary constituency, but has remained in East Lothian. However, the ward boundary no longer corresponds exactly with the constituency boundary and minor parts of Musselburgh East are in fact in Edinburgh East & Musselburgh.... Confused yet? Just wait until the boundary commission start on reducing the number of Scottish parliamentary seats for even more upheavals!
The western corner of East Lothian around Prestonpans and Tranent is a former mining area however the western part around East Linton and Dunbar has more in common with rural Berwickshire, which used to be part of the parliamentary constituency until 1983. The county is now the most popular destination in Scotland, population growing at a faster rate than any other area. This applies as much to ex-mining Labour strongholds as to the more bucolic east. Tranent is changing beyond recognition, as is Port Seton. The ground is now shifting rapidly under sitting Labour numpties.
This demographic shift is obvious in Musselburgh South but has yet to hit Ward 5/Musselburgh East, which is primarily two council estates in reasonable nick (The Wimpies and The Windsors), with some professional-inhabited stone houses at Levenhall. Some ex-mining families live in the Wimpies but the ward more resembles a city Labour ward than a mining one. Labour has failed to deliver on manifesto pledges here (community centre) and suffers grass-roots Old Labour rumblings here as much as anywhere.
East Lothian council has remained in Labour hands for many a year. There were 5 regional council seats (including Musselburgh), and 17 District Council seats (including Musselburgh South, East, West and Central). In 1995, the number of wards increased to 18 for the Unitary Council elections and boundary changes in 1999 further increased this to 23.
In the 1982 regional council elections, K. Simpson held Musselburgh for Labour against a strong challenge by Edinburgh University Molecular Biology lecturer Dr Andrew Coulsen for the SDP. Labour consolidated its lead in 1986 when it swept back to power in Lothian region. Labour soon lost Musselburgh however, when Cllr K.A. Simpson resigned the Labour whip and sat as an Independent Labour Councillor. In the 1990 election, Labour's J. Ross won the ward back taking 3,136 votes, compared to 1,739 for Conservative C. Shaw, 1,682 for Cllr Simpson who stood as an independent, and 1,316 for the SNP's Joan Smith.
East Lothian District council was firmly in Labour hands in 1984, and remained solid until the 1992 elections when Labour's majority was slashed dramatically from seven to just a single seat as the Tory vote surged throughout the county. Three seats changed from red to blue with the closest-fought ward being Cockenzie & Port Seton where Conservative David Paton scraped in with just eight more votes than his Labour rival. Gladsmuir was the second Conservative gain from Labour, while in Dunbar, the presence of Independent Labour candidate Debbie Brunton allowed retired history teacher Stephen Bunyan, currently the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County, to win the ward from local publican Norman Hampshire.
The election of 1995 was a triumph for Labour who stormed to victory to take control of the new East Lothian Unitary Council, taking 15 seats compared to just three for the Conservatives. Haddington's Conservative district councillor Frances Crawford suffered defeat by Labour's Anne McCarthy in Haddington West, and the scene was repeated through the council as one Conservative councillor after another was ousted from power. David Paton the Tory Councillor for Cockenzie was beaten by Labour's Tom Lawrie in Cockenzie/Port Seton while in Dunbar, Tory Stephen Bunyan, who had ousted Labour's Norman Hampshire in 1992, was soundly beaten by his rival. Labour also won back Tranent, where SNP councillor George Thomson did not stand for the new unitary council. (He had stood as SNP candidate for the East Lothian parliamentary seat in 1992 and more than doubled the SNP vote).
In 1992, Labour comfortably took the four Musselburgh wards. In Musselburgh East/Pinkie, Labour's Chris Moohan polled 1,135 votes (69.6 %) while the SNP's Rachel Martin took 495 (31.4 %). Cllr Moohan said 'A head to head battle is always more difficult as you have to beat the anti-votes'.
Cllr Moohan appeared to be proved wrong in 1999, when in a three way contest in Musselburgh East, the vote for Labour's Simon Kennedy fell to 55.6%, while the SNP's Roger Knox increased their vote to 32.2 %, with the Lib Dems taking 12.3 %. Labour also won the four other Musselburgh wards, but in these seats, their nearest rivals, the SNP polled considerably less than their 32.3 % in Musselburgh East, taking between 22.9 % and 26.1 % of the vote.
Overall, the major boundary changes and addition of five wards to the council allowed each party to increase its representation in East Lothian. Despite a drop of 11.4 % in it's vote to 45.4%, Labour's representation increased two to 17, while the Tories, whose vote fell by 0.2 % to 17.8 %, were also up two to five. The election also saw the election of David Berry (North Berwick East) as the county's first SNP councillor since 1992 when former Labour Councillor George Thomson held Tranent North. The SNP vote increased by 7.1 % to 24.1 %.
The result of the 1999 council elections in East Lothian were another clear example of how the corrupt first past the post electoral system distorts the will of the people and encourages bad local government. Labour took no less than 17 of the 23 seats (73.9 %) and has an overall majority of 11 on the council. This allows the local Tinpot Dictators to impose whatever lunatic policies it wishes on the long suffering council tax payers of East Lothian. Yet, despite its overwhelming majority on the council, Labour only achieved 45.4 % of the vote here. Under PR (D'Hondt system), East Lothian Council would have no overall control with 11 Labour, 5 Scottish National Party, 4 Conservative and 3 Liberal Democrat councillors.
The crackpot Labour administration has increased Council tax in East Lothian by a massive 8.7 %, which was only surpassed by Orkney, Shetland and Stirling. This can be compared to a rise of just 2.9 % in neighbouring Edinburgh. The Labour Politburo in East Lothian blames the Labour governments on the Mound and at Westminster for the rises, while the latter blame local government. What appears clear, however, to the long suffering council tax payers of East Lothian is that Labour, be it East Lothian, Scottish, or London, stands for crippling increases in taxes, both overt and hidden, coupled with drastic cuts in services. Labour's incompetence and misgovernment in East Lothian must be one of the best possible adverts for PR for local government elections.
Simon Kennedy, although popular within Labour as one of their few thinkers, had made only minor public impact on his voters. Labour had problems finding a replacement and finally chose Jalal Chaudry. The SNP reselected Roger Knox who had contested Musselburgh East in 1999. A formidable candidate, Roger Knox had previously contested the East Lothian parliamentary constituency for the SNP in 1983, and Kirkcaldy in 1974.
The Lib-Dem candidate was Jenny Mallinson (wife of Dennis who contested the ward last year) who lives in Inveresk while the Conservatives, who did not stand last time around, had Richard Fairnie.
In this four way contest, Roger Knox obtained a swing of 13.0 % to take Musselburgh East from Labour with a majority of 27.
Alex Gunn the SNP Campaign Manager/Organiser commented:
'As the count continued it became increasingly obvious that Roger was going to win. The ranks of the Labour supporters suddenly adopted a hushed silence as they slowly retreated towards the back of the Brunton Hall and Norman Murray (COSLA President) whispered for calm - he knew they had lost. Labour were stunned, they really couldn't believe it.
'Roger Knox was indeed the star of the show, his experience in combination with a hard grafting and enthusiastic campaign team won the nigh for the SNP. We made all the right moves, worked hard and won....
If we can win in this ward with everything Labour can throw at us we can take any ward in East Lothian. This is just the start of our success.'
Cllr David Berry, who won North Berwick East for the SNP last May added:
'24 hours ago, I had the temerity to say:
I may have caught some candidatitis along the way but my money says Roger Knox to win by 50 votes on a 30% turnout. We'll see in 24 hrs.The look on Norman Murray's face was worth millions. Major credit to the activist team involved but the star was Roger himself. He ran a spirited local campaign that capitalised on his long community involvement. Labour threw everything they had at him ...and lost. Roger, a man who has fought (and lost) more campaigns than I've had hot dinners, put all his heart and experience into this... and won.
The turnout was 38 %. Following the Scottish National Party by-election win from Labour, the composition of East Lothian council is 16 Labour, five Conservatives and two Scottish National Party.
I am grateful to Cllr David Berry, Cllr Roger Knox and Alex Gunn, SNP Campaign Manager/Organiser for helpful corrections, additional information concerning the by-election and for sending the results.
Retired lecturer Robert Knox beat favourite Jalal Chaudry to win the by-election for the Musselburgh East seat on East Lothian Council.
A swing of 13 per cent towards the SNP saw a Labour majority of 396 wiped out and the SNP win with a majority of 27 over Labour. The Liberal Democrats came third and the Conservatives last. SNP leader Alex Salmond said it was a tremendous victory and showed the growing strength of the party in the run-up to the next General Election.
Mr Chaudry, a transport engineer, blamed his party's national difficulties over pensions, Section 28 and the cost of living for his defeat.
And he said Labour voters had stayed at home in protest at Government policies and had sent a very strong message to the Labour party.
Mr Knox said he was thrilled to have been elected as a councillor after many failed attempts, and added that his knowledge of local issues had been crucial.
He said he was only candidate to live in the ward - which is also home to Ms Deacon - and criticised Labour for nominating Edinburgh-based Mr Chaudry ahead of a local member.
Mr Salmond said: "This is a tremendous victory for the SNP, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 400, and returning an SNP councillor in the parliamentary seat of Health Minister Susan Deacon.
"The swing from Labour to the SNP was extremely impressive at over 13 per cent, from a high SNP base in May 1999.
"Roger Knox will deliver first-class representation for the people of Musselburgh East, and his success illustrates the strengthening SNP vote as we approach the General Election.
"In last night's other by-election - in Polmont - the SNP moved from third to second place, with Labour's vote collapsing."
Mr Knox said he was delighted to have captured the seat, especially as Ms Deacon lives there.
He said: "I was optimistic but I don't like to be confident. To say I'm delighted is an understatement.
"I think the fact that I live in the area was a crucial factor. I know the issues, like the community centre which has been promised but has yet to be built and other things, like children playing on scaffolding around the church.
"It may sound trivial but to some but these minor points all add up."
Mr Knox added that national issues had been a factor but were far outweighed by local concerns.
Mr Chaudry said: "It was a disappointing result, I had expected it to be close but I thought we would win with a small majority. People were concentrating on national issues on the doorstep. People said Labour had put up prices and there were some grievances from pensioners about the 75p rise being a disgrace.
"We also had a lot of orthodox people there, a big part of the community is Catholic, who were shouting at us what had we done repealing Section 28.
"All these things combined with the fact that council tax went up eight per cent in East Lothian, although it is still the lowest in Scotland," he said.
The turnout was 1045, around 37 per cent of the electorate. The Scottish Nationalists got 430 votes, Labour polled 403, the Liberal Democrats received 131 and the Tories were chosen by 77 people.
There were four spoiled votes.
It does not affect overall control of the council, which is still dominated by Labour with 15 councillors.
The Conservatives have five councillors and the SNP now has two.
The by-election was caused by the death of 39-year old councillor Simon Kennedy, who was tipped as a future leader of East Lothian Council.
SNP leader Mr Alex Salmond MSP said:
"This is a tremendous victory for the SNP, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 400, and returning an SNP councillor in the parliamentary seat of Health Minister Susan Deacon. The swing from Labour to the SNP was extremely impressive at over 13 per cent, from a high SNP base in May 1999.
"Roger Knox will deliver first-class representation for the people of Musselburgh East, and his success illustrates the strengthening SNP vote as we approach the General Election.
'In tonight's other by-election - in Polmont - the SNP moved from third to second place, with Labour's vote collapsing.'
| 22 nd June 2000 | 6 th May 1999 | ||||||
| Roger Knox |  |
430 | 41.3 % | Simon Kennedy |  |
939 | 55.6 % |
| Jalal Chaudry | |
403 | 38.7 % | Roger Knox | |
543 | 32.2 % |
| Jenny Mollinson |  |
131 | 12.6 % | Denis Mollinson | |
207 | 12.3 % |
| Richard Farnie |  |
77 | 7.4 % | ||||
| SNP gain from Lab | SNP maj. | 27 | 2.6 % | Lab win | Lab maj. | 396 | 23.4 % |
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