Rt Hon Douglas Alexander, MP for Lothian East
Douglas Alexander has been an MP since 1997. Currently: Secretary of State for Scotland.
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State for Scotland (Scotland Office) | 2025 to now | Now |
| Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office) | 2025 | |
| Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Department for Business and Trade) | 2024 to 2025 | |
| Secretary of State for International Development (Department for International Development) | 2007 to 2010 | |
| Secretary of State for Transport (Department for Transport) | 2006 to 2007 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland (Scotland Office) | 2006 to 2007 | |
| Minister of State (Europe) (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) | 2005 to 2006 | |
| Minister of State (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) (Trade) (also Department of Trade and Industry) (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) | 2004 to 2005 |
Show the other 4
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Minister of State (Department of Trade and Industry) (Trade) (also Foreign and Commonwealth Office) (Department of Trade and Industry) | 2004 to 2005 | |
| Minister of State (Cabinet Office) and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Cabinet Office) | 2003 to 2004 | |
| Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office) | 2002 to 2003 | |
| Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness) (Department of Trade and Industry) | 2001 to 2002 |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Foreign Secretary (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) | 2011 to 2015 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Department for Work and Pensions) | 2010 to 2011 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for International Development (Department for International Development) | 2010 |
Political Interests
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
Douglas Alexander has 4 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous | Political Co-Chair of Scottish Labour’s 2026 Scottish Election Campaign. This is a part time and unpaid role. | 17 Sep 2025 |
| Miscellaneous | The Ditchley Foundation - Governor | 29 Jul 2024 |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Property in Argyll | 29 Jul 2024 |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Property in East Lothian | 29 Jul 2024 |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
Douglas Alexander has not asked any written questions in the last 12 months. Government ministers cannot ask them, so this can simply reflect an MP’s role.
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
32 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
Douglas Alexander represents Lothian East. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Labour
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Douglas Alexander won with 49% of the votes, and Lyn Jardine (Scottish National Party) came second with 21%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Alexander | Labour | 23,555 | 49.0% |
| Lyn Jardine | Scottish National Party | 10,290 | 21.4% |
| Scott Hamilton | Conservative | 5,535 | 11.5% |
| Robert Davies | Reform UK | 3,039 | 6.3% |
| Duncan Dunlop | Liberal Democrat | 2,649 | 5.5% |
| Shona McIntosh | Scottish Green Party | 2,477 | 5.1% |
| George Kerevan | Alba Party | 557 | 1.2% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months Douglas Alexander took part in 92 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Douglas Alexander voted the same way as their party in 90 of the 90 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | For | Free vote |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | For | Free vote |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 99% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this