The ward boundary runs through the parish, and so Stenton parish in 2000 had two councillors – one Conservative and one Labour. The parish has been mostly a Conservative area since 1945, and it had a Conservative Association during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The Conservative councillor supported the community council when it became urgent to repair the roads around the parish. After a protest was held in Dunbar (in 2001), council representatives came to a meeting in Stenton Village Hall and the roads were improved.
In 2000, Stenton had two members, Angela Foster and Jan Hillier, representing the area on the East Lammermuir Community Council. Angela Foster chaired the community council. The council was latterly concerned with the state of the roads and the lack of buses for the area. In the 1980s, the councillors helped to organise the fund-raising for Pressmennan woods.
Politics in the Parish
Stenton was helped twice by John P. Mackintosh MP (1966-78); together, he and Frank Tindall, East Lothian planning officer worked to prevent the village becoming a place for holiday homes or retired people. In 1981, there were five holiday homes here, now there is one. The present mix of population and age groups has made it a working village – a viable community.
The second time John P. Mackintosh intervened was to save the primary school in 1976 by writing to the Secretary of State for Scotland. This made the local education department review its policy as regards the school (see Education).