THE General Election is proving difficult for Scottish Labour, but East Lothian is one of the few constituencies the party has a chance of winning.

Although the SNP’s George Kerevan won in 2015 by over 6,000 votes, Labour held on to the overlapping seat at last year’s Holyrood poll and came first in the council election.

Labour was also on the right side of public opinion in both referenda – the people of East Lothian rejected independence and voted to stay in the European Union.

Martin Whitfield, a primary school teacher, is on the on-message Labour candidate who is trying to dislodge the SNP.

“The general election, certainly from the national coverage, sits between those two big constitutional questions, Brexit on one side and a second independence referendum on the other,” he says. “I think it is fertile ground.”

He concedes Tory campaigners have a presence in the constituency, but insists: “It’s only the Labour party that can unseat the SNP.”

How, then, is Jeremy Corbyn playing on doorsteps? “Corbyn is doing remarkably well," he answers. “The manifesto has been very well received. His comments about poverty ring so true here in East Lothian.”

He is less forthcoming on who he voted for in the last Labour leadership contest – Corbyn or Owen Smith?

“Corbyn is the democratically-elected leader of the Labour party and I absolutely support him,” is his diplomatic response.

East Lothian encompasses former mining towns like Tranent and prosperous, easy-on-the-eye North Berwick. The constituency has a distinct identity and does want to become a commuter satellite for Edinburgh.

Kerevan, who has been a senior figure in the SNP Westminster team since winning the seat two years ago, is also confident about his chances.

Many of the seat’s towns are competitive between his party and Labour, but the Westminster seat, unlike the Holyrood constituency, includes Nationalist-friendly Musselburgh.

Part of his pitch, in common with other SNP candidates around the country, is warning about a Tory surge.

“The issue here is to stop the progressive vote splitting,” he says, reaching out to Labour voters. 

However, he is not banging the drum for a second independence referendum. His advert in a local newspaper stated: “This election is NOT about independence.”

Asked about the views of East Lothian voters on a second indyref, Kerevan says matter-of-factly: “You know what our line is. Our line is to offer a choice after we know what Brexit is.”

He adds: “It’s not at the forefront of my campaign and is certainly not at the forefront of what is being talked about on the doorsteps of the working-class areas.”

The SNP backs a “progressive alliance” after the election to stop the Tories and Kerevan says the links with Labour are already in place.

“For the last two years, we have had a de facto progressive alliance between the SNP and the Corbynites,” he says. “I have been in the lobbies often with Jeremy.”

Would he prefer Corbyn as Prime Minister to Theresa May? “Yes.”

The Tories are the wild card in the contest. Although the Conservatives came third in 2015 the party did well in the local council election and is surging in the polls in Scotland.

Sheila Low, a director of a commercial property development firm, is buoyant: “I am predicting a Tory win.”

Given recent election results, is Labour not a better bet in this seat for pro-Union voters? “The bookies have us above Labour – and mostly the bookies get it right,” she replies.

Her opposition to a second indyref chimes with some local voters, but Brexit is shakier ground for her. Nearly 65 per cent of East Lothian voters backed Remain, but Low voted to pull out.

“I voted to Leave because I felt that we needed to take back an element of control,” she says.

“And I also thought that what would happen is that if everyone [in Scotland] voted to stay, then Nicola Sturgeon would have the ammunition to hold another independence referendum and that’s exactly what happened. So I felt people might tactically vote and think ‘well actually let’s cut off that avenue’.”

What was the problem she was trying to solve by voting for Brexit? “I think the EU has been a success, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t have a strong view particularly, one way or the other. So I decided to, slightly, tactically vote on the issue.”

Elisabeth Wilson, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the contest, says Brexit is the “big one” on the doorstep and says her party is the natural home for people worried about leaving the European Union.

However, the Lib Dems only polled 2.6 per cent in the 2015 contest and are not expected to pull off a surprise.

At the 2011 Holyrood election a "bundle" recount was needed before Labour’s Iain Gray was announced as the winner. Don't discount a similar nail biter this week.