West Lothian Courier

SNP power home in glory night

Nationalis­t candidates dominate at the polls

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West Lothian has put its faith in the snp again in a triumphant night at the polls for the party.

Both snp candidates Hannah Bardell and Martyn Day have held their seats in Livingston and Linlithgow and East Falkirk respective­ly and with increased majorities.

But it was a bruising night for the Labour party which saw a disastrous showing in the polls reflected in West Lothian when they slipped to third place behind the Conservati­ves.

party nationally.

West Lothian was a former Labour stronghold but within 10 years both Livingston and Linlithgow and East Falkirk have become solid SNP.

And that support in the county saw Hannah Bardell poll 25,617 votes while Martyn Day polled 25,551.

These results were up from the 2017 election, when Ms Bardell took home 21,036 and Mr Day 20,388 were cast for Mr Day.

And both now enjoy hefty majorities of 13,435 and 11,266 respective­ly.

Turn-out for each constituen­cy was also up slightly from 2017 from 66.2 to 66.5 per cent in Linlithgow and from 64.8 to 66.5 per cent in Livingston.

Ms Bardell said: “I’m hugely grateful to have been given the opportunit­y to represent Livingston for the third time. It is an honour and a privilege, and I’d like to thank everyone who put their trust in me and the Scottish National Party.

“However you voted, I am your Member of Parliament and my team and I will continue to do all we can to serve each and every one of you.

“I’m also incredibly excited to have an increased number of Scottish

National Party colleagues but I have mixed emotions about going back to Westminste­r. Brexit has shone a light on the dysfunctio­nal nature of Westminste­r and a Conservati­ve majority is bad news for people in Livingston, particular­ly our poorest and most vulnerable.”

Mr Day said : “It is a huge privilege that the people of Linlithgow and East Falkirk have once again chosen to support and put their trust in me.

“Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to serve all my constituen­ts, however they may have voted, over the coming Parliament­ary term.

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SNP winners Hannah Bardell and Martyn Day after the count
picture: stuart Vance Two of a kind SNP winners Hannah Bardell and Martyn Day after the count
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