West Lothian council by-election: Seven candidates in battle to replace Kirsteen Sullivan in Whitburn

They include the current chair of the town’s community council and a former serving councillor.

Councillor Sullivan was elected as Labour MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow in July, having served the Whitburn and Blackburn ward on West Lothian Council since 2017 alongside Labour veteran George Paul.

David Blackie Russell will defend the seat for  Labour,  facing  an independent candidate in local community council chairman Tam Lynch.

Kirsteen Sullivan won the Bathgate and Linlithgow seat for Labour at the general election.

Bruce Fairbairn held one of the four ward seats for the Tories from 2017 to 2022. Charles Kennedy hopes to regain that, standing for  the Conservatives. He served as a Tory councillor in Bathgate  from 2017 until 2022.  

The contest will also see  another bid for election by David McLennan, a Reform candidate in the recent General Election and also the neighbouring Armadale  ward contest, and  regular Green  candidate and campaigner Cameron Glasgow. 

The poll takes place on  Thursday, 14 November. The deadline for voter registration is midnight on Tuesday 29 October.

The deadline for applying to vote by post in this by-election is 5pm on Wednesday, 30 October 2024.

You cannot apply online for a postal vote for this by-election.   If you applied online for a postal vote for the General Election, you will not have a postal vote for the by-election. 

You will need to download and complete a paper application form to apply for a postal vote for this by-election.  If you are unsure if you have a postal vote in place for the by-election you can check by calling the Electoral Registration Office on 0131 344 2500.

The ward has four councillors, which after the 2022 local elections, were split  between Labour and the SNP,  Long serving councillor Jim Dickson was rejoined  by  his wife Mary who  served as an SNP councillor until 2017.

The full list of candidates is:-

Aileen Brown – Scottish National Party (SNP)

Douglas Thomas Butler – Scottish Liberal Democrats

Cameron Glasgow – Scottish Greens

Charles Kennedy – Scottish Conservative and Unionist

Thomas Robert Lynch – Independent

David McLennan – Reform UK

David Blackie Russell – Scottish Labour Party