SNP celebrate clean sweep at the election
MSPsincreasemajoritiesasvoterskeepfaithinthem
The SNP stormed to an overwhelming victory in West Lothian at last week’s Scottish Parliament elections.
In Linlithgow, Fiona Hyslop was returned as MSP after winning 22,693 votes, while in the Almond Valley constituency her colleague Angela Constance also held her seat with 22,675 votes.
Both women saw their majorities increased from the election in 2016 following the count at West Lothian College, which was split between Friday and Saturday because of Covid restrictions.
In Linlithgow, Fiona now enjoys a majority of 10,105 – increased by more than nine per cent from 2016 – and with 22,693 votes Fiona secured one of the highest results in the country and picked up 62.2 per cent of the votes.
After the count she said: “I want to thank all the 22,693 voters across the towns and villages of West Lothian in the Linlithgow constituency for voting for me and I pledge to serve all my constituents, whether or not they voted for me, to the best of my ability and make sure their issues and concerns are heard at the heart of government.
“I did not get to make a speech at the count so I want to express here my gratitude to all the count workers, the presiding officer and his team and the police for the efficient and safe running of the count in such exceptional circumstances.
“My remarkable campaign team had to mobilise from lockdown and from a standing start we had a great campaign hand-delivering thousands of leaflets and letters to all parts of the constituency and I would like to thank them and my election agent Councillor David Tait and my campaign manager Kenny Anderson for a remarkable job.
“It has been an enormous privilege to serve the people of the Linlithgow constituency in the Scottish Parliament and, as we face into a period of recovery from covid, I will work with local communities to ensure jobs, the economy and the return of full health services and social renewal are my main focus going forward.
“This was an emphatic win for the SNP on an explicit manifesto stating that we would hold a referendum on independence so we can chart a better long-term recovery for Scotland, once the immediate covid crisis is over.
“That choice will come and it will be a choice for the people of Scotland as to the type of country they want Scotland to be and the values they want it to promote.
“Meanwhile, there is an exciting and bold series of policies from the SNP manifesto to improve the lives of the people of Scotland to implement.
“I can’t wait to get back to Parliament. There is so much work to do and together
with my small but dedicated constituency team, we are already working on casework for my constituents.”
In the Almond Valley constituency Ms Constance was re-elected for the fourth time, securing 54.3 per cent of the vote.
Angela increased her majority to 12,130, the fourth biggest of any MSP elected this year.
She also received the fourth highest number of votes in total. She said: “I am thrilled to
be re-elected for the fourth time to represent Almond Valley, the constituency I grew up in.
“My heartfelt thanks to the 22,675 people who voted for me securing the fourth highest vote and majority in the Scottish elections.
“I will be getting straight back to work, representing constituents, irrespective of how they voted, to the very best of my ability.
“As we look to life beyond the pandemic, there is much to do to ensure a fairer and
more prosperous Scotland and our recovery needs to be built in Scotland based on our priorities and values.
“The pandemic has certainly shone a light on what we still need to change in West Lothian and Scotland, but it has also shown what is possible and what can be done.
“I look forward to continuing to work with others to strengthen our communities of interest and place and want to put on record my thanks to the other candidates.”