The
2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third
general electionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
to the devolved
Scottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
since it was created in 1999.
Local elections in ScotlandThe Scottish local elections, 2007 were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England...
fell on the same day.
The
Scottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
emerged as the largest party with 47 seats, closely followed by the
incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Scottish Labour PartyThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
with 46 seats. The Scottish Conservatives won 17 seats, the
Scottish Liberal DemocratsThe Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
16 seats, the
Scottish Green PartyThe Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
2 seats and one
IndependentIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
(
Margo MacDonaldMargo MacDonald MSP is a Scottish politician and former Scottish National Party MP and Deputy Leader...
) was also elected. The Scottish National Party formed a
minority governmentThe Government of the 3rd Scottish Parliament was formed after the 2007 elections to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government is headed by First Minister Alex Salmond.- First Salmond government :...
as a result of the election, with support from the Greens on certain issues.
The
Scottish Socialist PartyThe Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, which won seats in the
2003 electionThe Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive...
, lost all of their seats. Former MSP
Tommy SheridanTommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
's new party,
SolidaritySolidarity is a political party in Scotland, launched on September 3, 2006 as a breakaway from the Scottish Socialist Party in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan's libel action...
, also failed to win any seats.
Campbell Martin and Dr
Jean TurnerDr. Jean McGivern Turner is a former Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament for Strathkelvin and Bearsden....
both lost their seats, and
Dennis CanavanDennis Andrew Canavan is a Scottish politician, and was an Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk West.-Early life:He was born in Cowdenbeath....
and
Brian MonteithBrian Monteith is a Scottish public relations consultant, politician and commentator, who was a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and 2007.-Education:...
retired.
Background
The main issues during the campaign trail were
healthcareNHS Scotland is the publicly funded healthcare system of Scotland. Although they are separate bodies the organisational separation between NHS Scotland and the other three healthcare organisations each commonly called the National Health Service in the United Kingdom tends to be hidden from its...
, education,
council taxCouncil Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
reform, pensions, the Union,
TridentThe Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile equipped with multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles . The Fleet Ballistic Missile is armed with nuclear warheads and is launched from nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines . Trident missiles are carried by fourteen...
(the submarines are based in Scotland), the
Iraq War and more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Some parties are planning to
raise the school leaving ageThe raising of school leaving age is an act brought into force when the legal age a child is allowed to leave compulsory education increases...
from 16 to 18 and raising the minimum age to purchase
tobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
products from 16 to 18.
Jack McConnellJack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament...
, as
First MinisterThe First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...
, entered the election defending a small overall majority of five seats via a coalition of
LabourThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
and the
Liberal DemocratsThe Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
. The
Scottish ExecutiveThe Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
coalition governmentA coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
had been in power, with three different First Ministers, since the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999. Opinion polls suggested its majority could be lost in 2007, due to falling support for the Labour Party and rising support for other parties, in particular the
Scottish National Party (SNP)The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
. The polls suggested that no single party was likely to acquire an overall majority, nor was there an obvious alternative coalition ready to form a new Executive.
A TNS Poll in November 2006 gave Labour an 8% lead over the SNP which was second behind Labour in terms of numbers of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). As the election approached the SNP gained support while Labour's support declined. Based on pre-election projections, there could have been some possibility of an SNP–Liberal Democrat coalition, which might have extended to include the
Scottish Green PartyThe Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
. The other parties represented in the Parliament before the election were the Scottish Conservative Party, the
Scottish Socialist PartyThe Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
(SSP),
SolidaritySolidarity is a political party in Scotland, launched on September 3, 2006 as a breakaway from the Scottish Socialist Party in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan's libel action...
and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party. (Solidarity is a new party, having broken away from the SSP in 2006.)
Other parties that campaigned for seats in
HolyroodThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
included the
United Kingdom Independence PartyThe United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
(UKIP), the
British National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
(BNP), the
Scottish Unionist PartyThe Scottish Unionist Party is a minor political party in Scotland. It is ideologically a Unionist party, supporting the continuation of Scotland as a part of the United Kingdom...
, the
Scottish Socialist Labour PartyThe Socialist Labour Party is a far left socialist political party in the United Kingdom. The party is led by former trade union leader Arthur Scargill, who established it in 1996 as a breakaway from the Labour Party...
, the
Christian Peoples AllianceThe Christian Peoples Alliance is a Christian democratic political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in its present form in 1999; it grew out of a cross-party advocacy group known as the Movement for Christian Democracy. The party is active throughout England and has fledgling groups specific...
and the
Scottish Christian PartyThe Christian Party, also called the Scottish Christian Party and Welsh Christian Party, is a minor political organisation in Great Britain. Its leader is the Reverend George Hargreaves.-Operation Christian Vote:...
.
Labour
- Susan Deacon
Susan Deacon is a Scottish politician, academic, commentator and a former Scottish Cabinet Minister.She was Labour MSP for Edinburgh East & Musselburgh from 1999–2007 and served as Scotland’s first Cabinet Minister for Health and Community Care following the creation of the Scottish Parliament in...
, Edinburgh East and MusselburghEdinburgh East and Musselburgh is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
- John Home Robertson, East Lothian
East Lothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
- Janis Hughes
Janis Hughes is a Scottish Labour politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Rutherglen constituency from 1999 to 2007....
, Glasgow RutherglenGlasgow Rutherglen was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
- Kate Maclean
Kate Maclean is a Scottish Labour politician, and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Dundee West constituency from 1999 to 2007....
, Dundee WestDundee West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
- Maureen MacMillan
Maureen Macmillan is a Scottish Labour politician, and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Highlands and Islands region from 1999 until 2007....
, Highlands and IslandsThe Highlands and Islands is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Eight of the parliament's first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament .The...
list
Scottish National Party
- Bruce McFee
Bruce McFee is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party he was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent the West of Scotland at the 2003 election. McFee serves on the Scottish Parliament's Procedures and Justice 1 Committees...
, West of ScotlandWest of Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
list
- George Reid
George Newlands Reid, PC , is a Scottish politician. From February 1974 to 1979 he served as a Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire. He was elected in 1999 as a Member of the newly established Scottish Parliament as a regional MSP for Mid Scotland and...
, OchilOchil was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
Conservative
- Phil Gallie
Philip Roy Gallie was a British politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Ayr from 1992 to 1997 and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South of Scotland region from 1999 to 2007...
, South of ScotlandSouth of Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
list
- James Douglas-Hamilton, Lothians
The Lothians was one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 to 2011. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
list
Liberal Democrats
- Donald Gorrie
Donald Cameron Easterbrook Gorrie is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Scotland Region. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1997 until 2001, representing Edinburgh West....
, Central ScotlandCentral Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
list
- Jim Wallace
The Rt. Hon. James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC , is a British politician, currently a life peer in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland...
, OrkneyOrkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
Scottish Socialist Party
- Frances Curran, West of Scotland
West of Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
list
Independents
- Dennis Canavan
Dennis Andrew Canavan is a Scottish politician, and was an Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk West.-Early life:He was born in Cowdenbeath....
, Falkirk WestFalkirk West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
- Brian Monteith
Brian Monteith is a Scottish public relations consultant, politician and commentator, who was a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and 2007.-Education:...
(elected as a Conservative), Mid Scotland and FifeMid Scotland and Fife is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
list
Election results
|-
| ||
Total ||2,016,978 || 51.8 ||+2.5|| 73 || || 2,042,109 || || || 56 || || 129 || ||
|}
Turnout in the election was 51.7% in the constituency vote and 52.4% in the regional vote up from 2003 where the turnout was 49.4% in both the constituency and regional vote
Notes:
IndependentsIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
contested 17 seats and three regions. Scottish Greens contested 1 seat, Scottish Socialist Party contested 1 seat, Scottish Christian Party, Scottish Voice etc. contested a small number of seats. A number of local issue parties also stood in single constituencies. The Nine Per Cent Growth Party stood candidates on the regional lists, and had a candidate for the local council elections of the same year. Standing in the
Glasgow Regional ListGlasgow is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament , which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
the party finished last of 23 candidates, receiving only 80 votes (0.04%), a record low.
Central Scotland
Glasgow
Highlands and Islands
Lothians
Mid Scotland and Fife
North East Scotland
South of Scotland
West of Scotland
Incidents
Delayed counts
Some counts in the Western Isles (
BarraThe island of Barra is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.-Geography:The 2001 census showed that the resident population was 1,078...
& the
UistUist or The Uists are the central group of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.North Uist and South Uist are linked by causeways running via Benbecula and Grimsay, and the entire group is sometimes known as the Uists....
s) were delayed because the chartered helicopter sent to pick up the ballot boxes was delayed by bad weather. The boxes were instead transferred by sea and road to be counted in
StornowayStornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...
. The votes were announced around 12.00 on Friday 4 May.
Vandalism
A man smashed ballot boxes with a golf club at a polling station at
Carrick KnoweCarrick Knowe is a suburb in the West of Edinburgh in Scotland, located approximately 3 miles from the city centre. It is bordered by Tyler's Acre to the North, the Glasgow railway line to the South, golf course to the East, and Saughton Road North to the West. The catchment area for the primary...
in
CorstorphineCorstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. About 100 ballots were damaged, some having to be
tapedAdhesive tape is one of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive. Several types of adhesives can be used.-Types:Pressure sensitive tape...
back together. The man was arrested on the scene.
High number of rejected votes
The number of 'invalid' ballot papers has increased dramatically from previous elections, and the BBC reported that almost 142,000 (or 7% of the total votes cast) were rejected. The Herald reported that this included both constituency and regional votes, and hence the number of individual voters was likely to be considerably less. Nevertheless there were calls for an independent enquiry into the implementation of the new voting system. The
BBC ScotlandBBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
Chief Political Editor, Brian Taylor, described the situation as "a disgrace" during their Election Night coverage.
Almost certainly the biggest reason for the increase in invalid ballots was that in the vote for the parliament, the ballot papers for the constituency elections were combined with that for the regional lists. A large-type instruction at the top indicated "you have two votes." Being told that they had two votes, far too many voters used both votes on parties in the regional list.
This misleading ballot was made more complicated by two additional features of the balloting: several small parties like the Green Party ran one or fewer candidates in the constituency seats and parties were able to choose to put the name of their leader in the party label for the list seats. Such poor ballot design decisions contributed to a similarly higher rate of spoiled ballots in the 2000 United States presidential election in areas of Florida such as Miami-Dade and Duval counties.
Another reason presented was that voters were given two papers with two different systems and a different design – one for the parliamentary election where voters marked a cross and one for local councils where they placed numbers, as the council elections were under the
single transferable voteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system. Undercutting this theory, however, was the fact that the invalid rate in the local elections was far lower despite single transferable vote being a new system for most voters.
A third proposed reason was that this was the first election where electronic counting of papers had taken place. Many blamed e-counting for the increase in rejected papers, in part because the new machine counting did not go smoothly, with many counts abandoned during the early hours of Friday morning before all results had been counted. The main company concerned was DRS Ltd. Nevertheless nearly all invalid ballots would have been spoiled no matter how they were counted. However, the last minute redesign of ballot papers that was blamed for the high number of rejections in two electoral regions was done to make electronic voting easier.
Threatened legal actions
On 5 May 2007, the BBC reported that Labour were considering legal action against some results (particularly
Cunninghame NorthCunninghame North is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one MSP by the first past the post method of election once every four years...
, where the SNP beat Labour by just 48 votes) due to the high number of rejected votes. A further challenge was expected from Mike Dailly from the Govan Law Centre, a member of the Labour Party, purportedly on behalf of voters in the
Glasgow regionGlasgow is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament , which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
. He said that the result should be challenged because there were 10,000 rejected ballots which could have caused a different result if they had counted.
Tommy SheridanTommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
of
SolidaritySolidarity is a political party in Scotland, launched on September 3, 2006 as a breakaway from the Scottish Socialist Party in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan's libel action...
was only 2,215 votes short of beating the Greens for the last place as an MSP.
There were no election petitions raised to challenge the results.
Election system
There are 73
constituenciesScottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
, each electing one
Member of the Scottish ParliamentMember of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
(MSP) by the
pluralityThe plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
(first past the post) system of election, which are grouped into eight regions. These regions each elect seven additional member MSPs so as to produce an overall
proportional resultMixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
. The
D'Hondt methodThe d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
is used to calculate which additional member MSPs the regions elect. Each constituency is a sub-division of a region; the additional members system is designed to produce
proportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for each region, and the total number of MSPs elected to the parliament is 129.
The election was the first using
constituenciesIn the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
(see
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regionsScottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
) that are not identical to constituencies of the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
(
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
).
Scottish Westminster constituenciesScottish Westminster constituencies were Scottish constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, normally at the Palace of Westminster, from 1708 to 1801, and have been constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, also at Westminster,...
were replaced with a new set of generally larger constituencies, fewer in number, in 2005.
The
Arbuthnott CommissionThe Arbuthnott Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems was set up in July 2004 by Alistair Darling, then Secretary of State for Scotland, under the chairmanship of Sir John Arbuthnott, to examine various consequences of having four different systems of voting in Scotland, and...
reported in January 2006, concerning the multiplicity of
voting systemA voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum....
s and electoral divisions in Scotland. Council elections on the same day used
Single Transferable VoteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
for the first time, but there was no change to the Holyrood election system, except regarding use of vote-counting machines, before the 2007 election. Scanners supplied by DRS Data Services Limited of
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, in partnership with Electoral Reform Services, the trading arm of the
Electoral Reform SocietyThe Electoral Reform Society is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It is believed to be the oldest organisation concerned with electoral systems in the world.-Aims:...
, were used to electronically count the paper ballots in both the Scottish Parliament general election and the Scottish council elections, which took place on the same day.
Top target seats of the main parties
Below are listed all the constituencies which required a
swingAn electoral swing analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It is an indicator of voter support for individual candidates or political parties, or voter preference between two or more candidates or parties...
of less than 5% from the 2003 result to change hands.
Many of the seats that changed hands are not listed here. For example, the Scottish National Party gained several seats (
StirlingStirling is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
,
Edinburgh East & MusselburghEdinburgh East and Musselburgh is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
,
GordonGordon was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
,
LivingstonLivingston was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
and
Argyll & ButeArgyll and Bute is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
) with very large swings, yet did not gain any of their top three targets.
Labour targets
| Rank |
Constituency |
Winning party 2003 |
Swing to gain |
Labour's place 2003 |
Result |
| 1 |
Dundee East Dundee City East is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
0.17 |
2nd |
SNP hold |
| 2 |
Edinburgh SouthEdinburgh South was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
0.26 |
2nd |
LD hold |
| 3 |
OchilOchil was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
0.49 |
2nd |
SNP hold |
| 4 |
Strathkelvin and BearsdenStrathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
0.62 |
2nd |
Lab gain |
| 5 |
Aberdeen North Aberdeen North was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament from 1999–2011. It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
0.92 |
2nd |
SNP hold |
| 6 |
Inverness East, Nairn and LochaberInverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
1.51 |
2nd |
SNP hold |
| 7 |
Tweeddale, Ettrick and LauderdaleTweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
2.70 |
3rd |
LD hold |
| 8 |
AyrAyr is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
2.99 |
2nd |
Con hold |
| 9 |
Edinburgh PentlandsEdinburgh Pentlands is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
3.16 |
2nd |
Con hold |
| 10 |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter RossCaithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
4.96 |
2nd |
LD hold |
SNP targets
| Rank |
Constituency |
Winning party 2003 |
Swing to gain |
SNP's place 2003 |
Result |
| 1 |
Galloway & Upper Nithsdale
|
0.17 |
2nd |
Con hold |
| 2 |
Tweeddale, Ettrick & LauderdaleTweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
1.01 |
2nd |
LD hold |
| 3 |
Cumbernauld & Kilsyth
|
1.07 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 4 |
Kilmarnock & Loudoun
|
1.92 |
2nd |
SNP gain |
| 5 |
Dundee WestDundee West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
2.13 |
2nd |
SNP gain |
| 6 |
Western Isles Na h-Eileanan an Iar is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
2.91 |
2nd |
SNP gain |
| 7 |
Glasgow GovanGlasgow Govan was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
|
2.92 |
2nd |
SNP gain |
| 8 |
Aberdeen CentralAberdeen Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election and is one of nine constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region...
|
2.96 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 9 |
LinlithgowLinlithgow is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
3.56 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 10 |
West RenfrewshireWest Renfrewshire was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
4.41 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 11 |
Paisley SouthPaisley South is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
4.91 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
Conservative targets
| Rank |
Constituency |
Winning party 2003 |
Swing to gain |
Con place 2003 |
Result |
| 1 |
PerthPerth is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
1.15 |
2nd |
SNP hold |
| 2 |
DumfriesDumfries was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
1.71 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 3 |
Tweeddale, Ettrick & LauderdaleTweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
2.83 |
4th |
LD hold |
| 4 |
EastwoodEastwood is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
4.76 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 5 |
StirlingStirling is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
4.86 |
2nd |
SNP gain |
| 6 |
West RenfrewshireWest Renfrewshire was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
|
4.96 |
3rd |
Lab hold |
Liberal Democrat targets
| Rank |
Constituency |
Winning party 2003 |
Swing to gain |
LD's place 2003 |
Result |
| 1 |
Edinburgh Central Edinburgh Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
|
4.75 |
2nd |
Lab hold |
| 2 |
Aberdeen CentralAberdeen Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election and is one of nine constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region...
|
4.99 |
3rd |
Lab hold |
Major parties
At time of dissolution of the Scottish Parliament at midnight on Monday 2 April 2007, there were five party 'groups' represented on the Parliament's Bureau: Labour (50), SNP (25), Conservative (17), LibDem (17), and the Greens (7). There was also one 'mixed' administrative grouping of 5 independent MSPs and 1 Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party MSP.
| 2007 Scottish Parliament Election – Party Leaders |
| Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
|
Labour PartyThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
|
Conservative Party |
Liberal DemocratsThe Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
|
|
|
|
|
Alex SalmondAlexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
Leader of the Scottish National Party |
Jack McConnellJack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament...
Leader of the
Scottish Labour Party |
Annabel Goldie Annabel MacNicoll Goldie is a Scottish Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament for the West of Scotland Region. She was the Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament from 2005 until 2011....
Leader of the Scottish
Conservative and Unionist Party |
Nicol Stephen Nicol Ross Stephen, Baron Stephen of Lower Deeside in the City of Aberdeen is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South, and was leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2008...
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Age |
52 |
Age |
46 |
Age |
57 |
Age |
47 |
| Parliament |
Scottish Parliament – 2 years (1999–2001)
& UK Parliament – 19 years (1987–6 May 2010) |
Parliament |
7 years |
Parliament |
7 years |
Parliament |
Scottish Parliament – 7 years
& UK Parliament – 5 months (1991–1992) |
| Leader since |
1990–2000
& 2004 |
Leader since |
2001 |
Leader since |
2005 |
Leader since |
2005 |
| Profession |
Economist |
Profession |
Teacher |
Profession |
Solicitor |
Profession |
Solicitor |
Of the major party leaders in the Scottish Parliament, only one, Jack McConnell, of the
Scottish Labour PartyThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
fought the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election as leader. Nicol Stephen succeeded
Jim WallaceThe Rt. Hon. James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC , is a British politician, currently a life peer in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland...
as Deputy First Minister and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in June 2005, after the latter announced that he would not be contesting the 2007 election. Alex Salmond was elected leader of the Scottish National Party in 2004, with his deputy
Nicola SturgeonNicola Sturgeon is the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy, Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party and Member for Glasgow Southside....
. Salmond previously led the SNP between 1990 and 2000, but stood down and was replaced by his preferred successor
John SwinneyJohn Ramsey Swinney is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North, having previously represented North Tayside...
, who headed the party between 2000 and 2004. After Swinney's resignation in 2004, Salmond announced that he would, once again contest the leadership and won the ballot of members in June 2004. Annabel Goldie was elected leader of the
Scottish ConservativesThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in November 2005 after the resignation of the incumbent
David McLetchieDavid McLetchie is a Scottish politician, currently a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothian electoral region...
on 31 October 2005 after a row surrounding
taxiA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
expenses.
Minor parties
Robin HarperRobin Harper FRSSA is a Scottish politician, and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region. He was co-convener of the Scottish Green Party...
and
Shiona BairdShiona Baird, born September 14, 1946, in Hereford, England is a Green politician and former Member of the Scottish Parliament and co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, of which she is currently vice-convenor....
were elected as
Scottish Green PartyThe Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
Co-convenors in 2004, but as the sole Green MSP Robin Harper was effectively party spokesperson from 1999.
Colin FoxColin Fox is the national spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party, and a former member for Lothian in the Scottish Parliament...
was elected as the
Scottish Socialist PartyThe Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
Convenor in 2005. In 2006
Tommy SheridanTommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
left the party to form
SolidaritySolidarity is a Polish trade union federation that emerged on August 31, 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa. It was the first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. Solidarity reached 9.5 million members before its September 1981 congress...
.
Party Manifestos
See also
- Members of the 3rd Scottish Parliament
This is a list of Members of the Scottish Parliament or, in Gaelic, Buill Pàrlamaid na h-Alba elected to the third Scottish Parliament at the 2007 election...
- Elections in Scotland
Scotland has elections to several bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament, the European Parliament, local councils and community councils.-Scottish Parliament:...
- National Assembly for Wales election
The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place...
and United Kingdom local elections, 2007The 2007 UK local government elections were held on 3 May 2007. These elections took place in most of England and all of Scotland. There were no local government elections in Wales though the Welsh Assembly had a general election on the same day. There were no local government elections in Northern...
, which took place on the same day
External links
- ScotlandVotes, by Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a public relations firm.-History:Weber Shandwick is a formation of three previous companies:*The Weber Group - Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1987, leveraging emerging technologies such as the mobile phone and the internet into the world of communications, which made the company a...
Public AffairsLobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
and Scotland on SundayScotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...
- Scottish Politics, by Alba Publishing
- Scottish Voting Intention, by UKPollingReport, in association with YouGov
YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...
- VoteScotland, a Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
and Electoral Commission website
- Electoral Reform Society – Scotland
- Scottish elections 2007, at the BBC News website
- Election 2007, at The Herald
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
- Holyrood Elections, at The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
- Election Supplement 2007
- Scottish Elections Between 1997 and present
- Links to Party manifestos for the election.