Douglas Alexander, a former minister in the government of Tony Blair, is attempting to return to Westminster nearly a decade after losing his seat in 2015. Mr. Alexander, who served in both Mr. Blair’s and his successor Gordon Brown’s cabinets, will run as the Labour candidate for East Lothian in the upcoming general election.
Mr. Alexander announced his selection via Twitter: “He’s running! I am honoured and humbled to have been overwhelmingly selected as the Scottish Labour candidate for East Lothian by local party members today. Change is coming to our nation, and I’m determined to do my part by regaining East Lothian for Scottish Labour.”
Mr. Alexander was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997, when he won a by-election for the then-safe Labour seat of Paisley South. After his role in helping to coordinate Labour’s successful election campaign in 2001, he was appointed as a junior minister in Mr. Blair’s cabinet, where he served in a variety of capacities before being appointed transport secretary and Scottish secretary in 2006.
Unfortunately, Mr. Alexander was defeated in the 2015 general election by Mhairi Black, the SNP candidate who was only 20 years old and a student at the University of Glasgow. Ms. Black is the youngest elected representative since 1667.
In recent years, Mr. Alexander has served as Bono’s advisor. Bono has campaigned on issues such as global poverty and the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Additionally, he has served as a visiting professor at New York University and King’s College London.
Douglas Alexander is seeking a return to Westminster nearly a decade after losing his seat to Mhairi Black in 2015. He will run as the Labour candidate for East Lothian in the next general election. The former minister in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown hopes to reclaim the seat currently held by Kenny MacAskill, the former Scottish justice secretary. In a 1997 by-election, Mr. Alexander was first elected to the House of Commons, winning the then-safe Labour seat of Paisley South. Since then, he has collaborated with Bono, the lead singer of U2, on global poverty and AIDS crisis issues, and served as a visiting professor at both New York University and King’s College London.
