Nicola Sturgeon makes campaign visit to Prestonpans in SNP target seat of East Lothian

Nicola Sturgeon dropped in at shops in Prestonpans as she made a campaign visit to the SNP target seat of East Lothian.

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The First Minister first called at the Mercait Gait Centre before heading to the shops at Hawthorn Road, meeting staff and customers at Scotmid, then popping into That Guy Barber Studio, H&R Kurdish barbers and the Bankton Pharmacy.

Later she posed for selfies with pupils from Preston Lodge High School, including some first-time voters.

Nicola Sturgeon called in at several shops in Prestnpans

Former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray is standing down as East Lothian MSP at this election. He had a majority of 1,127 over the SNP in 2016 and the Nationalists hope to win this time.

Labour’s candidate is teacher Martin Whitfield, who was the area’s MP at Westminster from 2017 until 2019. The SNP is fielding former council leader Paul McLennan.

Mr McLennan said: “Prestonpans is a town that has so much potential but has been left behind by previous Labour governments and, in recent years, it’s been hit hard by Tory austerity policies. It’s in places like this where SNP policies can, and will, make a huge difference – whether that’s the doubling of our Scottish Child Payment to £1,040 per year, per child; the £275m we’ve allocated to community-led regeneration and our town centres; or our plans to establish a National Care Service. It will be in communities like this where policies such as these will have most impact.”

He said the election was about whom voters trusted to lead Scotland through the rest of the pandemic. “It’s about who you trust to drive our economic recovery and continue the incredible progress we’ve made so far. Only Nicola Sturgeon offers the experienced and strong leadership needed to keep us on the right path.”

The First Minister posed for selfies with supporters

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