Lothian East general election result: Meet new MP Douglas Alexander

Labour’s general election candidate Douglas Alexander has just been elected as the new MP for Lothian East.

He was formerly the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South and its predecessor constituency Paisley South from 1997 to 2015.

During his time in parliament, he held roles including International Development Secretary and Transport Secretary.

READ MORE: More profiles of new Labour MPs at the 2024 general election

The seat was a key battleground Labour that analysis suggests Labour had needed to win to secure an overall majority, assuming a uniform national swing.

To win the constituency, Labour had required a swing result of at least 2.2 percentage points from its tally at the 2019 general election.

Labour’s target seat list is not public, but this seat ranks 19th on LabourList‘s unofficial list of targets – based on the smallest swings required versus the 2019 election.

Nationally, experts suggest Labour needs a swing from the Tories of 8.2pp to be the largest party, 12.7pp to gain an overall majority and 13.8pp for a majority of 30+.

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