THINGS are looking interesting as the House of Lords rejects the Brexit bill.

The Tories will not have been pleased by this decision, as they will now have to make alterations to see it passed. This is a black eye for Theresa May, as her plan for a hard and fast Brexit has come to a momentary standstill.

It is important EU citizens in the UK are looked after, but it is apparent a long battle will ensue as the bill bounces back and forth between houses. Eventually, one or both houses will need to compromise, but that does not mean that things will improve for Scotland. Unfortunately, Brexit will continue forward, which means our country’s future is uncertain. Labour should have stood against it when they had the chance.

Last year, East Lothian benefitted from a nationwide increase of 2.7 per cent in education spending when the Scottish Government reiterated its commitment to close the attainment gap and provide a fair funding deal for local authorities. It is our hope that with this new budget, we will see continued closing of the attainment gap and improvement in the education system. The new budget provided schools in East Lothian £1,569,600 at the end of last month as part of the national attainment fund. It is our commitment to make sure every child gets an equal chance in life, and this funding will be helpful in achieving that.

The recent discovery that around half of pensioners in East Lothian live in fuel poverty is disconcerting. The Poverty Commission report is suggesting a citizen’s income be provided for East Lothian residents who are registered citizens. This is an interesting concept that could potentially be a benefit. I look forward to the future research that will be done regarding this issue.

In other, exciting news, it has been announced that in December of this year, the longer, six-car trains will become a permanent fixture in East Lothian! Hopefully this will help solve the problem of overcrowding.