East Lothian Labour Party has welcomed the result of last week’s European Parliament election, which saw the party top the poll locally with 8,145 votes. The SNP, who had come out on top in the 2009 Euro poll, dropped to second place with 6,781. Labour increased its share of the vote by 7.5 per cent compared with 2009.

Speaking after the result was announced, Iain Gray MSP said:

“Labour achieved a great result in East Lothian this time. We suffered disappointment in 2009 but have bounced back this year to top the poll with nearly 30 per cent of the vote. This success really reflects the strength of the Labour team we have at every level in East Lothian and how effectively we all work together. It was also pleasing to see the turnout increase locally in this year’s poll.”

Fiona O’Donnell MP said:

“We fought hard in East Lothian for every vote and that helped us secure a big increase in our share of the vote compared with 2009. We are grateful to everyone who voted Labour here and helped re-elect our two excellent Scottish Labour MEPs, David Martin and Catherine Stihler. We will build on this positive result as we approach the referendum poll and next UK general election.”