West Lothian is a relatively small county in the East of Scotland near Edinburgh with a population of over 165,000. The largest towns are: Livingston, Bathgate, Linlithgow, Broxburn, Armadale and Whitburn.

Livingstone is a large new town with a population of over 54,000 built half way between Edinburgh and Glasgow and was completed in the early 1960s to reduce crowding in Greater Glasgow. Employers of note include NEC, the National Health Service, Motorola, BSkyB and the local Almond Vale shopping Centre. Being within commuter distance along modern motorways Livingstone is perfectly poised at the centre of Scotland and is considered the hub of Silicon Glen, Scotland’s answer to Silicon Valley in California.

Bathgate has a population of over 15,000 and has a history of heavy industry and manufacture, however with high profile factory closures by Motorola, Truck & Tractor, Glenmavis Distillery, James Young Chemical works, brickworks, steel works and the silver mines the local economy was hard hit. These employers have never been fully replaced however much investment has been ear-marked for the area.