VETERAN Fa’side councillor Jim Gillies has confirmed he will be standing in the May local government elections as a candidate in the newly formed Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry ward.

Mr Gillies, who has represented the Tranent area since 2007 and served as Depute Provost on East Lothian Council, is one of three Labour candidates selected to represent the party at the election on May 4.

He will be joined in the battle for the four seats available in the new ward by former Tranent and Elphinstone community councillor Colin McGinn and current community councillor Fiona Dugdale.

Mr Gillies said: “I’m really honoured that local colleagues have again put their faith in me to lead our election campaign in this ward.

“Having served two terms as a councillor, and spent years as a community councillor before that, I know local communities here inside out. We have made real progress here over the last few years, not least with our schools, including a new primary school on the way for Wallyford, and the £9m state-of-the-art facility Crookston Care Home.

“I want to continue to stand up for the whole of this area, including the new additions to the ward, Wallyford and Whitecraig. Local folk here know that I will always put the interests of communities first.”

Mr McGinn is from Tranent and lives in the town with his wife and two grown-up sons.

He is a senior social worker and member of Unison and has served as a former chairperson of the town’s children’s gala committee, as well as being a long-standing supporter of Tranent Colts FC and being involved in numerous other local groups and organisations.

He said: “As long as I can remember my family have tried to do their bit to help make Tranent a great place in which to live. That was how I was brought up and I have always sought to bring that commitment to my involvement in various aspects of the town’s community life.

“To be able to represent Tranent and the rest of this ward on the council would be a great honour. My main objective as a councillor would be to use my grassroots experience and contacts to work with the local community and residents to keep improving Tranent and the rest of the ward and make the changes people want to see.”

Fiona Dugdale also lives in Tranent with her husband and young son and serves on Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council.

Mrs Dugdale, who is a member of Unite the union, stood for the Labour Party at last year’s Holyrood elections on the South of Scotland list, which includes East Lothian.

She said: “I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to ask people to support me to become one of their local councillors. I have lived in Tranent for many years and love the town and the wider local area. I will be working hard over the next few months to talk to as many people as possible about myself and why I’m standing. With a young son at a local primary school, one of my priorities would be to support schools in the ward to continue making progress and delivering the best quality education for our children. I also want to ensure that the council does more to listen to women and families and respond to their needs.”

Changes to the council wards approved by the Scottish Government last year mean Fa’side ward has been scrapped, with Pencaitland and Ormiston moving into Haddington and Lammermuir ward, and a new Tranent, Wallyford and Macmrry ward being created, which also incorporates Whitecraig.

Grant Dugdale, chairman of the Labour Party’s Tranent branch and husband of candidate Fiona, said they would be working hard to repeat the success they had in the last local government elections. He said: “The Tranent branch pulled off a real coup in 2012 by managing to elect all three Labour candidates in Fa’side. With the first-rate candidates we have chosen this time, I believe we have given ourselves a chance of repeating that achievement on May 4.

“However, we are far from complacent. We’ll be campaigning incredibly hard across the ward over the next four months to tell local people about our candidates and why they will be stronger for our area.”

Previously, the Conservatives announced Gordon Mackett as their candidate for the ward. Other parties are still to name their candidates.