EAST Lothian’s new Member of Parliament has pledged to put local people before party politics as he arrived in Westminster.

Retired economics lecturer George Kerevan, whose victory in last week’s General Election was part of a near-SNP landslide across the country, insists he will represent all the residents of the county, whether they voted for him or not.

And he described his first day at Westminster on Monday as being like “the first day at Hogwarts”.

Mr Kerevan, 65, of Brunstane, Edinburgh, said he was determined to champion East Lothian and work to promote business and the economic development of the county.

He said: “East Lothian has so much going on and such a variety of successful businesses and industry to promote.

“I will be a local politician putting the views of people ahead of my party. I will listen and consult with my constituents as widely and as much as I can.” He hopes to open offices in Musselburgh and Haddington, but he has revealed a desire to have an office in every town in East Lothian.

He said: “People have become so detached from politicians, we need to go to them.” Mr Kerevan wiped out a 12,000-plus Labour majority to win the seat by 6,803 votes – an incredible 26.5 per cent swing to the SNP.

He spent the weekend celebrating with local SNP members before heading to London.

He said: “We have five SNP branches in East Lothian and over the weekend I attended parties at most of them.” Mr Kerevan says he is committed to supporting jobs, the economy and farming in the county.

He is also a strong supporter of plans by Queen Margaret University for an innovation park to be built, describing it as “the big prize”.

Outlining his priorities, he said: “East Lothian needs more local jobs and jobs that pay well.

“I will be convening an East Lothian Economic Forum, involving local business leaders and entrepreneurs, to progress new ways of achieving this. “In particular, I will do everything I can to aid plans by Queen Margaret University to create an Innovation Park on their campus.” He said he would be fighting for the country to stay in the European Union, describing it as essential to the future of the farming industry in the county. He said: “I will argue that no vote on leaving the EU can be binding unless all four UK nations support it individually.

“Scotland and its farming community will, I am sure, want to stay in Europe, where our major market lies.” And he addressed the issue of independence for Scotland, saying: “The General Election was about giving Scotland a stronger voice at Westminster.

“It is not a mandate for a second independence referendum. My job is to represent all the people of East Lothian – before party of faction.” Mr Kerevan also pledged before the poll to hold regular “town hall” public meetings where voters can hold him to account; and to experiment with holding constituency online referendums to gauge public views.