2007 Scottish Parliament election

Last updated

2007 Scottish Parliament election
Flag of Scotland.svg
  2003 3 May 2007 (2007-05-03) 2011  

All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament
65 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
TurnoutConstituency - 53.9% Increase2.svg 4.2pp
Regional - 54.0% Increase2.svg 4.3pp
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland (cropped).jpg
Jack McConnell Official Portrait 2001.jpg
AnnabelGoldieMSP20110510.JPG
Leader Alex Salmond Jack McConnell Annabel Goldie
Party SNP Labour Conservative
Leader's seat Gordon Motherwell and Wishaw West of Scotland
Last election27 seats50 seats18 seats
Seats won474617
Seat changeIncrease2.svg20Decrease2.svg4Decrease2.svg1
Constituency vote664,227648,374334,743
 % and swing32.9%Increase2.svg9.1%32.1% Decrease2.svg2.5%16.6% Steady2.svg
Regional vote633,611595,415284,035
 % and swing31.0%Increase2.svg10.1%29.2% Decrease2.svg0.2%13.9% Decrease2.svg1.6%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Nicol Stephen.jpg
RobinHarper.jpg
Colin Fox - National co-spokesperson of the SSP - September 2015.jpg
Leader Nicol Stephen Robin Harper /
Shiona Baird
Colin Fox
Party Liberal Democrats Scottish Green Scottish Socialist
Leader's seat Aberdeen South Lothians /
North East Scotland (defeated)
Lothians (defeated)
Last election17 seats7 seats6 seats
Seats won1620
Seat changeDecrease2.svg1Decrease2.svg5Decrease2.svg6
Constituency vote326,2322,971525
 % and swing16.2% Increase2.svg0.8%0.1% Increase2.svg0.1%0.0% Decrease2.svg6.2%
Regional vote230,65182,57713,096
 % and swing11.3% Decrease2.svg0.5%4.0% Decrease2.svg2.9%0.6% Decrease2.svg6.1%

Scottish Parliament election, 2007.svg
The map shows the election results in single-member constituencies. The additional member MSPs in the 8 regions are shown around the map.

First Minister before election

Jack McConnell
Labour

First Minister after election

Alex Salmond
SNP

The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election [1] to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.

Contents

The Scottish National Party emerged as the largest party with 47 seats, closely followed by the incumbent Scottish Labour Party with 46 seats. The Scottish Conservatives won 17 seats, the Scottish Liberal Democrats 16 seats, the Scottish Greens 2 seats and one Independent (Margo MacDonald) was also elected. The SNP initially approached the Liberal Democrats for a coalition government, but the Lib Dems turned them down. [2] Ultimately, the Greens agreed to provide the numbers to vote in an SNP minority government, with SNP leader Alex Salmond as First Minister. [3]

The Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, which won seats in the 2003 election, lost all of their seats. Former MSP Tommy Sheridan's new party, Solidarity, also failed to win any seats. Campbell Martin and Dr Jean Turner both lost their seats, and Dennis Canavan and Brian Monteith retired.

Background

The main issues during the campaign trail were healthcare, education, council tax reform, pensions, the Union, Trident (the submarines are based in Scotland), the Iraq War and more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Some parties proposed raise the school leaving age from 16 to 18 and raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 16 to 18.

Jack McConnell, as First Minister, entered the election defending a small overall majority of five seats via a coalition of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The Lab-LD social liberal coalition 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 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 Party. [4] [5] [6] [7] The other parties represented in the Parliament before the election were the Scottish Conservative Party, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), Solidarity 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 Holyrood included the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the British National Party (BNP), the Scottish Unionist Party, the Scottish Socialist Labour Party, the Christian Peoples Alliance, the Scottish Christian Party.

Retiring MSPs

Labour

Scottish National Party

Conservative

Liberal Democrats

Scottish Socialist Party

Independents

Defeated MSPs

Labour

Lib Dem

Conservative

Scottish Greens

Scottish Socialist Party

Solidarity

Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party

Independent

Opinion polls

Election results

Election result with constituency names labeled Scottish Election Results 2007.svg
Election result with constituency names labeled
474617162
SNPLabourConservativeLib Dems
2007 Scottish Parliament election [16]
Scottish Parliament elected members, 2007.svg
PartyConstituenciesRegional additional members Total seats
Votes %±Seats±Votes %±Seats±Total± %
SNP 664,22732.9Increase2.svg9.121Increase2.svg12633,61131.0Increase2.svg10.126Increase2.svg847Increase2.svg2037.0
Labour 648,37432.1Decrease2.svg2.537Decrease2.svg9595,41529.1Decrease2.svg0.29Increase2.svg546Decrease2.svg436.2
Conservative 334,74316.6Steady2.svg4Increase2.svg1284,03513.9Decrease2.svg1.613Decrease2.svg217Decrease2.svg113.4
Liberal Democrats 326,23216.2Increase2.svg0.811Decrease2.svg2230,65111.3Decrease2.svg0.55Increase2.svg116Decrease2.svg112.6
Scottish Green 2,9710.1Increase2.svg0.10Steady2.svg82,5774.0Decrease2.svg2.92Decrease2.svg52Decrease2.svg51.6
Margo MacDonald 19,2560.9Decrease2.svg0.5101Steady2.svg0.8
Scottish Senior Citizens 1,7020.1Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg39,0381.9Increase2.svg0.40Decrease2.svg10Decrease2.svg10.0
Scottish Christian 4,5860.2new0new26,5751.3new0new0new0.0
Solidarity 31,0961.5new0new0new0.0
BNP 24,5981.2Increase2.svg1.10Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
CPA 14,7450.7new0new0new0.0
Socialist Labour 14,0540.7Decrease2.svg0.40Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Scottish Socialist 5250.0Decrease2.svg6.2013,0960.6Decrease2.svg6.10Decrease2.svg60Decrease2.svg60.0
UKIP 8,1970.4Decrease2.svg0.20Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Scottish Voice 2,8270.1new0new3,3390.2new0new0new0.0
Publican Party5,9050.3new0new0new0.0
Scottish Unionist 4,4010.2Decrease2.svg0.10Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Action to Save St John's Hospital2,8140.1new0new0new0.0
Save Our NHS Group2,6820.1new0new0new0.0
NHS First1,9550.1new0new0new0.0
Free Scotland Party5750.0new0new6640.0new0new0new0.0
Had Enough Party4980.0new0new6700.0new0new0new0.0
Scottish Enterprise 4090.0new0new6160.0new0new0new0.0
Adam Lyal's Witchery Tour Party 8670.0Decrease2.svg0.10Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Scottish Jacobite 3090.0new004460.0new0new0new0.0
Scottish Voice / NHS6610.0new0new0new0.0
Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers6150.0new0new0new0.0
Peace 5770.0new0new0new0.0
Communist 2510.0new0new2600.0new0new0new0.0
Independent Green Voice 4960.0Decrease2.svg0.10Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Anti-Trident Party1870.0new0new0new0.0
Socialist Equality 1390.0new0new0new0.0
Equal Parenting Alliance1240.0new0new0new0.0
Nine Per Cent Growth Party 800.0new0new0new0.0
Independent 24,8621.2Decrease2.svg0.10−22,0640.1Increase2.svg0.10Decrease2.svg20Decrease2.svg20.0
Others1850.0Decrease2.svg1.40Steady2.svgDecrease2.svg1.50Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Valid votes2,016,97895.9Decrease2.svg3.5 2,042,80497.1Decrease2.svg2.3 
Spoilt votes85,6314.1Increase2.svg3.5 62,0382.9Increase2.svg2.3 
Total2,102,609100 732,104,842100 56129100
Electorate/Turnout3,899,47253.9Increase2.svg4.2 3,899,47254.0Increase2.svg4.3 
Popular Vote (Constituency)
SNP
32.93%
Labour
32.15%
Conservative
16.60%
Liberal Democrats
16.17%
Other
2.15%
Popular Vote (Regional)
SNP
31.02%
Labour
29.16%
Conservative
13.91%
Liberal Democrats
11.30%
Green
4.04%
SSCUP
1.90%
Other
8.67%
Parliament seats
SNP
36.43%
Labour
35.66%
Conservative
13.18%
Liberal Democrats
12.40%
Green
1.55%
Other
0.78%

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 [17]

Notes: Independents 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. [18] Standing in the Glasgow Regional List [19] the party finished last of 23 candidates, receiving only 80 votes (0.04%), a record low.

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Central Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Airdrie and Shotts Karen Whitefield Labour hold
Coatbridge and Chryston Elaine Smith Labour hold
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Cathie Craigie Labour hold
East Kilbride Andy Kerr Labour hold
Falkirk East Cathy Peattie Labour hold
Falkirk West Michael Matheson SNP gain from Independent
Hamilton North and Bellshill Michael McMahon Labour hold
Hamilton South Tom McCabe Labour hold
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Willie Coffey SNP gain from Labour
Motherwell and Wishaw Jack McConnell Labour hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Central Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Alex Neil
Linda Fabiani
Jamie Hepburn
Christina McKelvie
John Wilson
5+289,21031.4%+8.8%
Conservative Margaret Mitchell 1±024,2538.5%−0.6%
Liberal Democrats Hugh O'Donnell 1±014,6485.2%−0.7%

Glasgow

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Glasgow
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Glasgow Anniesland Bill Butler Labour hold
Glasgow Baillieston Margaret Curran Labour hold
Glasgow Cathcart Charles Gordon Labour hold
Glasgow Govan Nicola Sturgeon SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Kelvin Pauline McNeill Labour hold
Glasgow Maryhill Patricia Ferguson Labour hold
Glasgow Pollok Johann Lamont Labour hold
Glasgow Rutherglen James Kelly Labour hold
Glasgow Shettleston Frank McAveety Labour hold
Glasgow Springburn Paul Martin Labour hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Glasgow
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Bashir Ahmad
Sandra White
Bob Doris
Bill Kidd
4+255,83227%+9.9%
Liberal Democrats Robert Brown 1±014,7677.2%−0.1%
Conservative Bill Aitken 1±013,7516.7%−0.8%
Scottish Green Patrick Harvie 1±010,7595.2%−1.9%

Highlands and Islands

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Argyll and Bute Jim Mather SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Jamie Stone Liberal Democrats hold
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber Fergus Ewing SNP hold
Moray Richard Lochhead SNP hold
Orkney Liam McArthur Liberal Democrats hold
Ross, Skye and Inverness West John Farquhar Munro Liberal Democrats hold
Shetland Tavish Scott Liberal Democrats hold
Western Isles Alasdair Allan SNP gain from Labour
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Highlands and Islands
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Rob Gibson
David Thompson
2±063,97934.4%+11.0
Labour Peter Peacock
Rhoda Grant
David Stewart
3+132,95217.7%−4.6
Conservative Mary Scanlon
Jamie McGrigor
2±023,33412.6%−3.4

Lothians

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Lothians
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Edinburgh Central Sarah Boyack Labour hold
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Kenny MacAskill SNP gain from Labour
Edinburgh North and Leith Malcolm Chisholm Labour hold
Edinburgh Pentlands David McLetchie Conservative hold
Edinburgh South Mike Pringle Liberal Democrats hold
Edinburgh West Margaret Smith Liberal Democrats hold
Linlithgow Mary Mulligan Labour hold
Livingston Angela Constance SNP gain from Labour
Midlothian Rhona Brankin Labour hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Lothians
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Fiona Hyslop
Ian McKee
Stefan Tymkewycz
3+176,01926.5%+10.2
Labour George Foulkes 1+175,49526.3%+0.8
Conservative Gavin Brown 1±037,54813.1%−2.0
Scottish Green Robin Harper 1−120,1477.0%−5.0
Independent Margo MacDonald 1±019,2566.7%−3.5

Mid Scotland and Fife

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Mid Scotland and Fife
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Dunfermline East Helen Eadie Labour hold
Dunfermline West Jim Tolson Liberal Democrats gain from Labour
Fife Central Tricia Marwick SNP gain from Labour
Fife North East Iain Smith Liberal Democrats hold
Kirkcaldy Marilyn Livingstone Labour hold
North Tayside John Swinney SNP hold
Ochil Keith Brown SNP hold
Perth Roseanna Cunningham SNP hold
Stirling Bruce Crawford SNP gain from Labour
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Mid Scotland and Fife
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Chris Harvie 1−190,09033.0%+10%
Labour John Park
Claire Brennan-Baker
Richard Simpson
3+371,92226.3%+1.0%
Conservative Murdo Fraser
Liz Smith
Ted Brocklebank
3±044,34116.2%−1.3%

North East Scotland

2007 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Aberdeen Central Lewis Macdonald Labour hold
Aberdeen North Brian Adam SNP hold
Aberdeen South Nicol Stephen Liberal Democrats hold
Angus Andrew Welsh SNP hold
Banff and Buchan Stewart Stevenson SNP hold
Dundee East Shona Robison SNP hold
Dundee West Joe Fitzpatrick SNP gain from Labour
Gordon Alex Salmond SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Mike Rumbles Liberal Democrats hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: North East Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Maureen Watt
Nigel Don
2+1105,26540.5%+13.2%
Labour Richard Baker
Marlyn Glen
2±052,12520.0%−0.1%
Conservative Alex Johnstone
Nanette Milne
2−137,66614.5%-2.9%
Liberal Democrats Alison McInnes 1+140,93415.7%−3.1%

South of Scotland

2007 Scottish Parliament election: South of Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Ayr John Scott Conservative hold
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Cathy Jamieson Labour hold
Clydesdale Karen Gillon Labour hold
Cunninghame South Irene Oldfather Labour hold
Dumfries Elaine Murray Labour hold
East Lothian Iain Gray Labour hold
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale Alex Fergusson Conservative hold
Roxburgh and Berwickshire John Lamont Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Jeremy Purvis Liberal Democrats hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: South of Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Christine Grahame
Michael Russell
Adam Ingram
Alasdair Morgan
Aileen Campbell
5+277,05327.8%+9.4%
Conservative Derek Brownlee 1−162,47522.6%−1.7%
Liberal Democrats Jim Hume 1+128,04010.1%−0.1%

West of Scotland

2007 Scottish Parliament election: West of Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Clydebank and Milngavie Des McNulty Labour hold
Cunninghame North Kenneth Gibson SNP gain from Labour
Dumbarton Jackie Baillie Labour hold
Eastwood Ken Macintosh Labour hold
Greenock and Inverclyde Duncan McNeil Labour hold
Paisley North Wendy Alexander Labour hold
Paisley South Hugh Henry Labour hold
Strathkelvin and Bearsden David Whitton Labour gain from Independent
West Renfrewshire Patricia Godman Labour hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2007: West of Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Stewart Maxwell
Gil Paterson
Bill Wilson
Stuart McMillan
4+175,95328.3%+8.7%
Conservative Annabel Goldie
Jackson Carlaw
2±040,63715.2%−0.5%
Liberal Democrats Ross Finnie 1±022,5158.4%−3.9%

Incidents

Scanners counting votes in Glasgow's SECC. Count machines.JPG
Scanners counting votes in Glasgow's SECC.

Delayed counts

Some counts in the Western Isles (Barra & the Uists) 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 Stornoway. 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 Knowe in Corstorphine in Edinburgh. About 100 ballots were damaged, some having to be taped back together. The man was arrested on the scene. [20]

High number of rejected votes

The number of 'invalid' ballot papers (residual votes) in this election was significantly higher than usual, with a total of 146,099 ballot papers (regional: 60,455 or 2.88%; constituency: 85,644 or 4.075%) being rejected, [21] with some constituencies such as Glasgow Shettleston having rejection rates as high as 12.1%. [22] For comparison, the rejected ballot paper rate in 2003 was 0.65% for regional ballot papers and 0.66% for constituency ballot papers. In total there were 16 constituencies where the number of rejected ballots exceeded the winning candidate's majority. [23] This led to calls for an independent enquiry into the implementation of the new voting system. The BBC Scotland Chief Political Editor, Brian Taylor, described the situation as "a disgrace" during their Election Night coverage. [24]

There are several reasons for the usually high levels of rejected ballots in the election. One primary reason is that both the regional and constituency ballots were placed on a single sheet of paper. 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. [25] Although a rough template of the ballot was provided to voters by VoteScotland prior to the election, many ballots in reality had subtle yet consequential differences. Taking the ballot from Glasgow Shettleston for example, although its layout is similar to the sample ballot it has many more parties on the regional ballot, giving the illusion that the list continues onto the next side (constituency ballot). Furthermore, instructions provided to voters using these sheets were abbreviated. While the brief written instructions remained, they were presented in a much smaller font size. The column headings moved above the bold lines defining the columns and the visual prompt of the split arrow leading to the two columns is completely missing. [26] 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 instead of the name of the party in the label for the list seats (For example, the SNP was listed as "Alex Salmond for First Minister", rather than the party name). 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 local elections took place on the same day with a different voting system and different design. Whereas the parliamentary election asked voters to mark a cross, the local council elections asked voters to number/ rank their candidates, as the council elections were under the single transferable vote system. Undercutting this theory, however, was the fact that the invalid rate in the local elections was far lower than the parliamentary elections (although still greater than in previous local elections) 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 system abandoned many counts during the early hours of Friday morning before all results had been counted. Furthermore, the primary reason for the regional and constituency ballots being placed on the same sheet of paper is due to restrictions on the size of paper the machines could accurately scan. The main company concerned was DRS Ltd. [27] 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. [28]

On 5 May 2007, the BBC reported that Labour were considering legal action against some results (particularly Cunninghame North, where the SNP beat Labour by just 48 votes) due to the high number of rejected votes. [29] 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 region. He said that the result should be challenged because there were over 10,000 rejected ballots which could have caused a different result if they had counted. Tommy Sheridan of Solidarity was only 2,215 votes short of beating the Greens for the last place as an MSP. [29]

There were no election petitions raised to challenge the results.[ citation needed ]

Election system

There are 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (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 result. The D'Hondt method 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 representation for each region, and the total number of MSPs elected to the parliament is 129.

The election was the first using constituencies (see Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions) that are not identical to constituencies of the House of Commons (Parliament of the United Kingdom). Scottish Westminster constituencies were replaced with a new set of generally larger constituencies, fewer in number, in 2005.

The Arbuthnott Commission reported in January 2006, concerning the multiplicity of voting systems and electoral divisions in Scotland. Council elections on the same day used Single Transferable Vote 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 Keynes, in partnership with Electoral Reform Services, the trading arm of the Electoral Reform Society, 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. [30] [31]

Top target seats of the main parties

Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing 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 (Stirling, Edinburgh East & Musselburgh, Gordon, Livingston and Argyll & Bute) with very large swings, yet did not gain any of their top three targets.

Labour targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainLabour's place 2003Result
1 Dundee East SNP 0.172ndSNP hold
2 Edinburgh South Liberal Democrats 0.262ndLD hold
3 Ochil SNP 0.492ndSNP hold
4 Strathkelvin and Bearsden Independent 0.622ndLab gain
5 Aberdeen North SNP 0.922ndSNP hold
6 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber SNP 1.512ndSNP hold
7 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Liberal Democrats 2.703rdLD hold
8 Ayr Conservative 2.992ndCon hold
9 Edinburgh Pentlands Conservative 3.162ndCon hold
10 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Liberal Democrats 4.962ndLD hold

SNP targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainSNP's place 2003Result
1 Galloway & Upper Nithsdale Conservative 0.172ndCon hold
2 Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Liberal Democrats 1.012ndLD hold
3 Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Labour 1.072ndLab hold
4 Kilmarnock & Loudoun Labour 1.922ndSNP gain
5 Dundee West Labour 2.132ndSNP gain
6 Western Isles Labour 2.912ndSNP gain
7 Glasgow Govan Labour 2.922ndSNP gain
8 Aberdeen Central Labour 2.962ndLab hold
9 Linlithgow Labour 3.562ndLab hold
10 West Renfrewshire Labour 4.412ndLab hold
11 Paisley South Labour 4.912ndLab hold

Conservative targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainCon place 2003Result
1 Perth SNP 1.152ndSNP hold
2 Dumfries Labour 1.712ndLab hold
3 Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Liberal Democrats 2.834thLD hold
4 Eastwood Labour 4.762ndLab hold
5 Stirling Labour 4.862ndSNP gain
6 West Renfrewshire Labour 4.963rdLab hold

Liberal Democrat targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainLD's place 2003Result
1 Edinburgh Central Labour 4.752ndLab hold
2 Aberdeen Central Labour 4.993rdLab hold

Election of First Minister

The Scottish Parliament officially met on 9 May, and met again on 14 May to elect a Presiding Officer. On 16 May, the Parliament met to hold the election of the First Minister. Four nominations were made: Annabel Goldie of the Conservatives, Jack McConnell of Labour, Nicol Stephen of the Liberal Democrats, and Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party.

Salmond was elected in the second round of voting by 49 votes to McConnell's 46. 33 abstentions were recorded. The election provided for a minority administration which did not have the explicit support of Parliament. Salmond was supported in the election by the two Green MSPs. Otherwise, voting was conducted strictly along party lines.

Election of Scottish First Minister, 16 May 2007 [32]
CandidateParty1st Round2nd RoundResult
Votes %Votes %
Alex Salmond SNP 4938.64951.6Elected
Jack McConnell Labour 4636.24648.4Not Elected
Annabel Goldie Conservative 1612.6Eliminated after 1st Round
Nicol Stephen Liberal Democrats 1612.6Eliminated after 1st Round
Total Voting12795
Abstentions133

Party leaders

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 Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats
Alex Salmond
Leader of the Scottish National Party
Jack McConnell
Leader of the
Scottish Labour Party
Annabel Goldie
Leader of the Scottish
Conservative and Unionist Party
Nicol Stephen
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Age52Age46Age57Age47
ParliamentScottish Parliament – 2 years (1999–2001)
& UK Parliament – 19 years (1987–6 May 2010)
Parliament7 yearsParliament7 yearsParliamentScottish Parliament – 7 years
& UK Parliament – 5 months (1991–1992)
Leader since1990–2000
& 2004
Leader since2001Leader since2005Leader since2005
ProfessionEconomistProfessionTeacherProfessionSolicitorProfessionSolicitor

Of the major party leaders in the Scottish Parliament, only one, Jack McConnell, of the Scottish Labour Party fought the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election as leader. Nicol Stephen succeeded Jim Wallace 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. [33] Alex Salmond was elected leader of the Scottish National Party in 2004, with his deputy Nicola Sturgeon. [34] Salmond previously led the SNP between 1990 and 2000, but stood down and was replaced by his preferred successor John Swinney, who headed the party between 2000 and 2004. Following 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 Conservatives in November 2005 [35] after the resignation of the incumbent David McLetchie on 31 October 2005 after a row surrounding taxi expenses. [36]

Other parties

Robin Harper and Shiona Baird were elected as Scottish Green Party Co-convenors in 2004, but as the sole Green MSP Robin Harper was effectively party spokesperson from 1999. [37]

Colin Fox was elected as the Scottish Socialist Party Convenor in 2005. In 2006 Tommy Sheridan left the party to form Solidarity.

Party Manifestos

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Swinney</span> First Minister of Scotland since 2024

John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as the First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since May 2024. He previously served as the leader of the SNP from 2000 to 2004 as Leader of the Opposition, and held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and, following boundary changes, has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny MacAskill</span> Alba Party politician

Kenneth Wright MacAskill is a Scottish politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he defected to the Alba Party in 2021 and currently serves as the party's depute leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annabelle Ewing</span> Scottish politician (born 1960)

Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, alongside Liam McArthur, since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cowdenbeath constituency since 2016, having previously been an MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 2011 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Robertson</span> Scottish politician (born 1969)

Angus Struan Carolus Robertson is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Formerly Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2016 to 2018, he has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Central since 2021. Robertson previously served as a Westminster MP for Moray from 2001 to 2017, where he served from 2007 to 2017 as the Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lochhead</span> Scottish Small Business, Innovation & Trade Minister

Richard Neilson Lochhead is a Scottish politician serving as the Minister for Business since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment from 2007 to 2016. Lochhead has been a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first representing North East Scotland electoral region from 1999 to 2006, before representing the Moray constituency since 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra White</span> Scottish politician (born 1951)

Sandra White is a retired Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 until 2011, and then the MSP for the Glasgow Kelvin constituency from 2011 until she stood down from the Scottish Parliament at the May 2021 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Boyack</span> Scottish Labour politician

Sarah Herriot Boyack is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Central constituency from 1999 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Lamont</span> Scottish Labour politician

Johann MacDougall Lamont is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 until her election to the leadership in 2011. In addition to her ministerial and leadership roles, she has been a campaigner on equality issues and violence against women throughout her political career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Curran</span> Scottish Labour politician

Margaret Patricia Curran is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2010 to 2015 and was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland from 2011 until 2015. She was previously the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Baillieston from 1999 to 2011, and held a number of posts within the Scottish Executive, including Minister for Parliamentary Business, Minister for Social Justice and Minister for Communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Labour</span> Scottish wing of the UK Labour Party

Scottish Labour, officially the Scottish Labour Party, is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 22 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is represented by 262 of the 1,227 local councillors across Scotland. The Scottish Labour party has no separate Chief Whip at Westminster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Gray</span> Scottish Labour politician

Iain Cumming Gray is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003. A former aid worker and teacher of mathematics and physics, Gray was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as MSP for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency, which he lost to Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party David McLetchie in 2003. Gray was returned to Holyrood in 2007 as MSP for East Lothian. Following Wendy Alexander's resignation as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2008, Gray stood at the subsequent leadership election, and was elected with a 57.8% share of the vote in the second round.

Duncan Hamilton KC is a Scottish lawyer and Scottish National Party politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 1999 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Moray by-election</span>

A by-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast cancer. The seat was successfully defended by the SNP's Richard Lochhead, increasing the majority over the Scottish Conservative Party by 1073 votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Scotland</span>

Scotland has elections to several bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament, local councils and community councils. Before the United Kingdom left the European Union, Scotland elected members to the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Scottish Parliament election</span>

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wilson (Scottish Green politician)</span>

John Gordon Wilson is a Scottish politician. He was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2007 until 2016. He sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member and then as an independent after 2014. He stood unsuccessfully as a Green Party candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election and then as an independent candidate in the 2017 Scottish local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Salmond</span> First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014

Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond is a Scottish politician, economist and television host, who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as Leader of the Alba Party since 2021. Salmond was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He served as the party's depute leader from 1987 to 1990. Salmond hosted The Alex Salmond Show (2017–2022) on RT UK. He currently hosts Scotland Speaks with Alex Salmond (2023–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Scottish Parliament election</span>

The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 11 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Senedd election in Wales, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Scottish Parliament election</span>

The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote, under the provisions of the Scottish Elections Act. It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alba Party</span> Scottish political party

The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland, founded in February 2021, led by former first minister of Scotland and SNP leader Alex Salmond. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021, with the party standing list-only candidates. Two members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons defected from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Alba Party on 27 March 2021, and member of the Scottish parliament Ash Regan defected on 28 October 2023. Several former SNP MPs also joined the Alba Party. To date no Alba Party candidate has been elected at any election.

References

  1. "Scotland Act 1998 – Part I – Section 2 – General elections". opsi.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2006.
  2. "Lib Dems rule out SNP coalition". BBC News. 7 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 September 2007.
  3. "SNP and Greens sign working deal". BBC News. 11 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007.
  4. "Somewhere over the Rainbow Coalition... Scotsman 12 May 2005". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 May 2005. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  5. Macleod, Murdo (5 March 2006). "Panic within Labour as membership falls". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  6. Macdonell, Hamish (7 March 2006). "Lib Dems open door to coalition with SNP Scotsman 7 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  7. Macdonell, Hamish (24 March 2006). "Is this the end of Lab–Lib Dem pact? Scotsman 24 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 25 March 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  8. "Former minister to leave Holyrood". BBC News. 14 August 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  9. Knox, John (10 November 2006). "Kriss casts shadow over Holyrood". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 "Scotsman.com News - Politics". Election.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  11. "Maclean to quit Scots Parliament". BBC News. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Retiring MSPs". Alba.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  13. Knox, John (30 March 2007). "Another chapter ends at Holyrood". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  14. "Canavan will not fight election". BBC News. 23 January 2007. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  15. Swanson, Ian (1 November 2006). "Monteith to stand down as MSP". The Scotsman . Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 25 March 2007.
  16. "2007 Scottish Parliament Election: Analysis of Results". Scottish Parliament . Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. "Election 2007: SPICe briefing 07/21" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 8 May 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  18. "Glasgow Council candidates". Glasgow City Council . Archived from the original on 6 May 2007.
  19. Glasgow Region elections [ dead link ]
  20. "Polling clerk tells of 'bedlam'". BBC News. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 8 June 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  21. "Scottish elections 2007 The independent review of the Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections 3 May 2007" (PDF). Electoral Commission. October 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  22. "The unfortunate natural experiment in ballot design:The Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2007". Elsevier. February 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  23. "The unfortunate natural experiment in ballot design:The Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2007". Elsevier. February 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  24. "Elections marred by vote problems". BBC News. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  25. Barnes, Eddie (6 May 2007). "The Scotsman". Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  26. "The unfortunate natural experiment in ballot design:The Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2007". Elsevier. February 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  27. "Electronic automated data capture services and document scanning specialists". DRS. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  28. "Clue over voter ballot confusion". BBC News. 15 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  29. 1 2 "Holyrood vote may face challenges". BBC News. 6 May 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
  30. "Electronic counting to take over from tellers at elections". The Scotsman . Edinburgh. 19 April 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022.
  31. "Green light for DRS & ERS to deliver e-Count for 2007 Scottish Elections". www.drs.co.uk (Press release). DRS Data Services Limited. 26 June 2006. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006.
  32. "Official Report: Plenary, 16th May 2007". The Scottish Parliament. Scottish Parliament. 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  33. "Lib Dems choose Stephen as leader". BBC News. BBC. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
  34. Swanson, Ian (3 September 2004). "Salmond is SNP leader again with Sturgeon as No 2". Edinburgh Evening News . Scotsman. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  35. MacDonell, Hamish (3 November 2005). "Tories have their 'coronation' as Goldie becomes leader unopposed". Scotsman. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  36. MacDonell, Hamish (1 November 2005). "McLetchie finally quits over taxi row". The Scotsman . Scotsman. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  37. "Scottish green party elects new party co-conveners". Scottish Green Party. 30 October 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007.