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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Marie Sharp

East Lothian Council election 2022: Musselburgh healthcare issues top the agenda

Healthcare has become a major issue in Musselburgh where the town has one of Scotland's biggest GP practices with an estimated 19,000 patients.

Reports of patients unable to book appointments or even get through to the Riverside Practice have dominated community council meetings and social media for years.

This week East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership announced it has ordered an external review of the practice which will talk to patients and look at the administration of it to try and establish how things can be improved.

READ MORE: East Lothian Election 2022: New town residents will have first chance to vote

It is a move which has been welcomed by local politicians who have been dealing with complaints from local residents about the service.

Known as the Honest Toun, Musselburgh is East Lothian's biggest town and is only going to get bigger.

It has played a key role in the council's housing strategy in recent years after the previous Labour-Conservative administration approved a Local Development Plan to build 10,000 new homes in the county with the bulk of land indetified in and around the town.

The 2017 council election saw two wards covering the town - Musselburgh West and Musselburgh East and Carberry merged to reduce the number of councillors representing it from six to four.

And more change is expected for the town with the Boundary Commission currently looking at intervening again to move part of the town into an Edinburgh East ward for future Westminster elections, creating a new East Lothian Coast ward for the rest of the town.

2017 results

  1. Stuart Currie SNP 22.12% FPv (1,683 total)
  2. Katie Mackie Conservative 19.34% FPv (1,570)
  3. Andy Forrest Labour 15.48% FPv (1,924 total)
  4. John Williamson SNP 11.04% FPv (1,583 total)

2022 candidates

Both Andy Forrest (Labour) and Katie Mackie (Cons)are sitting councillors who are standing to to keep their posts, however both of Musselburgh's SNP councillors have stood down.

SNP candidate Iain Whyte, who has worked in parliamentary politics, is hoping to win one of their seats along with Cher Cassini, a retired pensions administrator.

Labour are fielding a second candidate in the shape of part-time supermarket worker Ruaridh Bennett.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have one candidate in the election as do the Scottish Family Party, Alba Party and the Scottish Greens.

Full list of Musselburgh ward candidates

Ruaridh Bennett (Scottish Labour Party);

Susan Butts (Scottish Liberal Democrats);

Stephen Carter (Scottish Family Party);

Cher Cassini (Scottish National Party);

Andy Forrest (Scottish Labour Party);

Michelle Graham (Alba Party);

Katie Mackie (Scottish Conservative and Unionist);

Shona McIntosh (Scottish Green Party);

Iain Whyte (Scottish National Party)

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