The Council has welcomed proposals by the Boundary Commission for Scotland to hold a local inquiry in East Lothian into its proposed changes to Scottish Parliament constituencies.

The inquiry will be held at the Brunton Hall, Musselburgh from Thursday 16 to 17 October. The inquiry will begin in the morning of the first day and finish on the second when those present and wishing to give evidence have done so.

In the East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders Council areas, the combined electorate of 223,580 is entitled to four constituencies. The Commission provisionally proposed four county constituencies with the following electoral numbers and names: Haddington 55,070; North Midlothian and Musselburgh 56,940; South Midlothian, Tweeddale and Lauderdale 57,430; and Roxburgh, Selkirk and Berwickshire 54,140.

Council Leader Dave Berry said: “The Council has called for the retention of East Lothian as the constituency name and we hope that other groups and individuals who agree with us will give evidence to the Commission. .

“We also believe that the Scottish Parliamentary boundaries for East Lothian should where possible, reflect the current local government boundaries but given the Commission's aim to have more or less the same number of voters in each constituency, we are prepared to compromise on this. However, for the sake of clarity, we would urge that the proposed constituency of North Midlothian and Musselburgh should be renamed Esk Valley.”

The inquiry will be conducted by a Sheriff Principal appointed as an Assistant Commissioner for the duration of the inquiry. Following the inquiry, the Commission will consider whether to modify its original proposals in light of the Assistant Commissioner's report and the representations received from interested parties. Information on the local inquiries is available on the Commission's website www.bcomm-scotland.gov.uk

ENDS Issued by Rob Sinclair, Corporate Communications, 24 July, 2008
T. 01620 827741 M. 07887675547 email rsinclair@eastlothian.gov.uk