Lothian

Lothian (/ˈloʊ.ði.ən/; Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other significant towns include Livingston, Linlithgow, Queensferry, Dalkeith, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Dunbar, and Haddington.

Historically, the term Lothian referred to a province encompassing most of what is now southeastern Scotland. In the 7th century it came under the control of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, the northern part of the later kingdom of Northumbria, but the Angles' grip on Lothian was quickly weakened following the Battle of Nechtansmere in which they were defeated by the Picts. Lothian was annexed to the Kingdom of Scotland around the 10th century.

Subsequent Scottish history saw the region subdivided into three shires—Mid, East, and West Lothian—leading to the popular term 'the Lothians'.

Etymology

The origin of the name is debated. It perhaps comes from the British *Lugudūniānā (Lleuddiniawn in Modern Welsh spelling) meaning 'country of the fort of Lugus', the latter being the pagan god of commerce. Alternatively it may take its name from a watercourse which flows through the region, now known as the Lothian Burn, the name of which comes from the British lutna meaning 'dark or muddy stream'.

Lothians (European Parliament constituency)

Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament each.

The constituency of Lothians was one of them.

When it was created in Scotland in 1979, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh East, Edinburgh Leith, Edinburgh North, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh West, Midlothian, West Lothian, although this may not have been true for the whole of its existence.

Members of the European Parliament

Election results

References

External links

Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The Lothians was one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) from 1999 to 2011. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Thus it elects a total of 16 MSPs.

The Lothians region shares boundaries with the South of Scotland and Central Scotland regions, and is connected with the Mid Scotland and Fife region by bridges over the Firth of Forth.

As a result of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries it is largely replaced by the Lothian region.

Constituencies and council areas

The City of Edinburgh and the West Lothian council areas are entirely within the region. Most of the East Lothian council area is outside, covered by the East Lothian constituency, which is in the South of Scotland region. A western portion of the Midlothian council area is covered by the Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency, within the South of Scotland region.