THE former mining heartland has reeled from the demise of the Scottish coal industry and subsequently the closure of modern manufacturers such as Motorola with the loss of thousands of jobs.

But it could still rally: with one of the youngest populations in Britain and its location midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, the region's total population is set to grow 20% or 23,000 by 2024, and by 9000 over the next three years alone.

The unemployment rate is 3.5% compared with the Scottish figure of 4.4%. Main employers are Sky and Intelligent Finance.

The council's make-up changed only marginally when Stuart Borrowman left the SNP after the 2003 elections and sat as an independent. Labour has controlled West Lothian Council since the last local government re-organisation.

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