news - East Lothian Labour

Plan to support 8,000 local over-75s pay their TV licence fee welcomed

Martin Whitfield has welcomed the announcement that Scottish Labour’s manifesto will commit to help every person aged 75 and over in Scotland pay their TV licence, supporting nearly 8,000 people in the East Lothian constituency. The flagship policy, announced by Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar, will effectively save the free…

Backing More for Scotland’s Animals pledge ahead of election

Local Labour candidate Martin Whitfield has pledged his support to the More for Scotland’s Animals campaign, a joint initiative by 11 leading animal welfare charities to ensure the welfare of Scotland’s animals is given greater priority in the next session of parliament. Candidates from all parties have been asked to…

Former MP’s defection raises more questions for East Lothian SNP

The news that former East Lothian SNP MP George Kerevan has joined Kenny MacAskill in jumping ship to the Alba party raises more questions for SNP here. Mr Kerevan announced his decision to join Alba just days after Mr MacAskill and appears to have been joined by at least one…

Will local SNP candidate back his party’s leadership on MacAskill resignation call?

More than 24 hours after Kenny MacAskill’s announcement that he was defecting to the Alba party, SNP candidate Paul McLennan appears to have made no comment on the decision, despite the party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford calling for MacAskill to resign. Mr McLennan has been one of the MP’s closest…

Comment on Kenny MacAskill

Commenting on the news that East Lothian’s MP has joined Alex Salmond’s Alba party, Martin Whitfield, Scottish Labour candidate for East Lothian, said: “Kenny MacAskill’s defection to Alex Salmond’s new party is not just an internal matter for the SNP, who were already in disarray before this latest bombshell, it…

Call for banking hub pilot in Prestonpans

Martin Whitfield, East Lothian Labour’s candidate for the Scottish parliamentary election, is calling for an innovative new banking hub concept to be piloted in Prestonpans. Mr Whitfield has contacted OneBanks, a UK startup that is working to put fully-staffed banking kiosks in places that high street lenders have left, to…

SNP rail plans must deliver on public sector operator promise

Iain Gray MSP and Martin Whitfield have welcomed the news that the Scottish Government intends to ensure ScotRail services will be run by the public sector at the end of the current franchise arrangements in March 2022. The announcement follows a long campaign by Scottish Labour and rail unions for…

Covid recovery is key message at campaign launch

Scottish Labour’s new leader Anas Sarwar was the guest speaker at yesterday’s official launch of Martin Whitfield’s Scottish Parliament election campaign. Mr Sarwar told the members present at the virtual event that a ‘national recovery plan’ for Scotland will be the centrepiece of Scottish Labour’s election campaign, covering key priority…

Launch of retail abuse awareness campaign welcomed

Iain Gray MSP and Martin Whitfield have welcomed the launch of a new campaign to raise awareness and help stop abuse of retail workers. The campaign follows the recent passage of Daniel Johnson MSP’s Protection of Workers Bill, and will be delivered by Crimestoppers, Fearless and the Scottish Grocers Federation.…

Draft budget supports children, education and communities

East Lothian Council’s Labour Administration draft budget is being set during the toughest year for residents, staff and local services, with communities, staff and local services all stretched to their absolute limit. The pandemic has placed massive additional pressures on families, finances, jobs, homes, businesses and created additional poverty across…

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