Scottish Parliament election, 2007

Scottish Parliament election, 2007
Scotland
3 May 2007
All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament
65 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout 52.4% Increase 3.0%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Alex Salmond Jack McConnell
Party SNP Labour
Leader's seat Gordon Motherwell and Wishaw
Last election 27 seats 50 seats
Seats won 47 46
Seat change Increase20 Decrease4
Constituency vote 664,227 648,374
% and swing 32.9% Increase10.1% 32.2% Decrease2.4%
Regional vote 633,401 595,415
% and swing 31.0% Increase9.9% 29.2% Decrease0.1%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Annabel Goldie Nicol Stephen
Party Conservative Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat West of Scotland Aberdeen South
Last election 18 seats 17 seats
Seats won 17 16
Seat change Decrease1 Decrease1
Constituency vote 334,743 326,232
% and swing 16.6% Steady0.0% 16.2% Increase0.9%
Regional vote 284,005 230,671
% and swing 13.9% Decrease1.6% 11.3% Decrease0.5%

The left side shows constituency winners of the election by their party colours. The right side shows regional winners of the election for the additional members by their party colours .
First Minister before election

Jack McConnell
Labour

 First Minister-designate

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.

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 Green Party 2 seats and one Independent (Margo MacDonald) was also elected. The Scottish National Party formed a minority government as a result of the election.

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

Scotland
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Scotland

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 Scottish Executive coalition government 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.[2][3][4][5] 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 United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the British National Party (BNP), the Scottish Unionist Party, the Scottish Socialist Labour Party, the Christian Peoples Alliance and the Scottish Christian Party.

Retiring MSPs

Labour

Scottish National Party

Conservative

Liberal Democrats

Scottish Socialist Party

Independents

Defeated MSPs

Labour

Lib Dem

Conservative

Scottish Green Party

Scottish Socialist Party

Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party

Independent

Opinion polls

Election results

Seats won to the Scottish Parliament following the 2007 election.
█ Scottish National Party (47)
█ Scottish Labour Party (46)
█ Scottish Conservative Party (17)
█ Scottish Liberal Democrats (16)
█ Scottish Green Party (2)
█ Independent (1)
 Scottish Parliament election, 2007
Parties Additional member system Total seats
Constituency Region
Votes % +/− Seats +/− Votes % +/− Seats +/− Total +/− %
SNP 664,227 32.9 +9.1 21 +12 633,401 31.0 +10.2 26 +8 47 +20 37.0
Labour 648,374 32.2 −2.5 37 −9 595,415 29.2 −0.1 9 +5 46 −4 36.2
Conservative 334,743 16.6 0 4 +1 284,005 13.9 −1.6 13 −2 17 −1 13.4
Liberal Democrats 326,232 16.2 +0.9 11 −2 230,671 11.3 −0.5 5 +1 16 −1 12.6
Scottish Green 2,971 0.2 +0.2 0 – 82,584 4.0 -2.8 2 −5 2 −5 1.6
Independent 25,047 1.2 −1.2 0 −2 21,320 1.0 −0.7 1 0 1 −2 0.8
Scottish Senior Citizens 1,702 0.1 +0 0 – 38,743 1.9 +0.4 0 −1 0 −1 0
Solidarity – – – – – 31,066 1.5 +1.5 0 0 0 0 0
Scottish Christian 4,586 0.2 +0.2 0 0 26,575 1.3 +1.3 0 0 0 0 0
BNP – – – – – 24,616 1.2 +1.1 0 0 0 0 0
Christian Peoples – – – – – 14,745 0.7 +0.7 0 0 0 0 0
Socialist Labour – – – – – 14,244 0.7 −0.4 0 0 0 0 0
Scottish Socialist 525 0.0 −6.2 0 – 12,731 0.6 −6.1 0 −6 0 −6 0
UKIP – – – – – 8,197 0.4 −0.2 0 0 0 0 0
Publican Party – – – – – 5,905 0.3 +0.3 0 0 0 0 0
Scottish Unionist – – – – – 4,401 0.2 −0.1 0 0 0 0 0
Scottish Voice 2,827 0.1 +0.1 0 0 5,955 0.3 +0.3 0 0 0 0 0
Action to Save St John's Hospital 2,814 0.1 +0.1 0 0 – – – – – 0 0 0
Save Our NHS Group – – – – – 2,682 0.1 +0.1 0 0 0 0 0
Free Scotland 575 0.0 +0.0 0 0 664 0.2 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Had Enough Party 498 0.0 +0.0 0 0 670 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Scottish Enterprise 409 0.0 +0.0 0 0 616 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Adam Lyal's Witchery Tour Party – – – – – 867 0.0 −0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Scottish Jacobite Party 309 0.0 +0.0 0 0 446 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
SACL – – – – – 615 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Peace 577 0.0 +0.0 0 0 – – – – – 0 0 0
Communist 251 0.0 +0.0 0 0 260 0.0 −0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Independent Green Voice – – – – – 496 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Anti-Trident Party 187 0.0 +0.0 0 0 – – – – – 0 0 0
Socialist Equality – – – – – 139 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Equal Parenting Alliance 124 0.0 +0.0 0 0 – – – – – 0 0 0
Nine Per Cent Growth Party – – – – – 80 0.0 +0.0 0 0 0 0 0
  Total 2,016,978 51.8 +2.5 73   2,042,109   56 129  
Popular Vote
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 [12]

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.[13] Standing in the Glasgow Regional List[14] the party finished last of 23 candidates, receiving only 80 votes (0.04%), a record low.

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: Central Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: Central Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Alex Neil
Linda Fabiani
Jamie Hepburn
Christina McKelvie
John Wilson		 5 +2 89,210 31.4% +8.8%
Conservative Margaret Mitchell 1 ±0 24,253 8.5% −0.6%
Liberal Democrats Hugh O'Donnell 1 ±0 14,648 5.2% −0.7%

Glasgow

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: Glasgow
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: Glasgow
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Bashir Ahmad
Sandra White
Bob Doris
Bill Kidd		 4 +2 55,832 27% +9.9%
Liberal Democrats Robert Brown 1 ±0 14,767 7.2% −0.1%
Conservative Bill Aitken 1 ±0 13,751 6.7% −0.8%
Scottish Green Patrick Harvie 1 ±0 10,759 5.2% −1.9%

Highlands and Islands

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: Highlands and Islands
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: Highlands and Islands
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Rob Gibson
David Thompson		 2 ±0 63,979 34.4% +11.0
Labour Peter Peacock
Rhoda Grant
David Stewart		 3 +1 32,952 17.7% −4.6
Conservative Mary Scanlon
Jamie McGrigor		 2 ±0 23,334 12.6% −3.4

Lothians

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: Lothians
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: Lothians
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Fiona Hyslop
Ian McKee
Stefan Tymkewycz		 3 +1 76,019 26.5% +10.2
Labour George Foulkes 1 +1 75,495 26.3% +0.8
Conservative Gavin Brown 1 ±0 37,548 13.1% −2.0
Scottish Green Robin Harper 1 −1 20,147 7.0% −5.0
Independent Margo MacDonald 1 ±0 19,256 6.7% −3.5

Mid Scotland and Fife

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: Mid Scotland and Fife
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: Mid Scotland and Fife
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Chris Harvie 1 −1 90,090 33.0% +10%
Labour John Park
Claire Brennan-Baker
Richard Simpson		 3 +3 71,922 26.3% +1.0%
Conservative Murdo Fraser
Elizabeth Smith
Ted Brocklebank		 3 ±0 44,341 16.2% −1.3%

North East Scotland

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: North East Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: North East Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Maureen Watt
Nigel Don		 2 +1 105,265 40.5% +13.2%
Labour Richard Baker
Marlyn Glen		 2 ±0 52,125 20.0% −0.1%
Conservative Alex Johnstone
Nanette Milne		 2 −1 37,666 14.5% -2.9%
Liberal Democrats Alison McInnes 1 +1 40,934 15.7% −3.1%

South of Scotland

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: South of Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
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 parliamentary election, 2007: South of Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Christine Grahame
Michael Russell
Adam Ingram
Alasdair Morgan
Aileen Campbell		 5 +2 77,053 27.8% +9.4%
Conservative Derek Brownlee 1 −1 62,475 22.6% −1.7%
Liberal Democrats Jim Hume 1 +1 28,040 10.1% −0.1%

West of Scotland

Scottish parliamentary election, 2007: West of Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
Clydebank and Milngavie Des McNulty Labour hold
Cunninghame North Kenneth Gibson SNP gain from Labour
Dumbarton Jackie Baillie Labour hold
Eastwood Kenneth 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 parliamentary election, 2007: West of Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Stewart Maxwell
Gil Paterson
Bill Wilson
Stuart McMillan		 4 +1 75,953 28.3% +8.7%
Conservative Annabel Goldie
Jackson Carlaw		 2 ±0 40,637 15.2% −0.5%
Liberal Democrats Ross Finnie 1 ±0 22,515 8.4% −3.9%

Incidents

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.[15]

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.[16] 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 Scotland Chief Political Editor, Brian Taylor, described the situation as "a disgrace" during their Election Night coverage.[17]

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. [18] 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". The letters "SNP" did not appear on the ballot.) 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 vote 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.[19] 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.[20]

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.[21] 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 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.[21]

There were no election petitions raised to challenge the results.

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.[22][23]

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

Rank Constituency Winning party 2003 Swing to gain Labour's place 2003 Result
1 Dundee East SNP 0.17 2nd SNP hold
2 Edinburgh South Liberal Democrats 0.26 2nd LD hold
3 Ochil SNP 0.49 2nd SNP hold
4 Strathkelvin and Bearsden Independent 0.62 2nd Lab gain
5 Aberdeen North SNP 0.92 2nd SNP hold
6 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber SNP 1.51 2nd SNP hold
7 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Liberal Democrats 2.70 3rd LD hold
8 Ayr Conservative 2.99 2nd Con hold
9 Edinburgh Pentlands Conservative 3.16 2nd Con hold
10 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Liberal Democrats 4.96 2nd LD hold

SNP targets

Rank Constituency Winning party 2003 Swing to gain SNP's place 2003 Result
1 Galloway & Upper Nithsdale Conservative 0.17 2nd Con hold
2 Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Liberal Democrats 1.01 2nd LD hold
3 Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Labour 1.07 2nd Lab hold
4 Kilmarnock & Loudoun Labour 1.92 2nd SNP gain
5 Dundee West Labour 2.13 2nd SNP gain
6 Western Isles Labour 2.91 2nd SNP gain
7 Glasgow Govan Labour 2.92 2nd SNP gain
8 Aberdeen Central Labour 2.96 2nd Lab hold
9 Linlithgow Labour 3.56 2nd Lab hold
10 West Renfrewshire Labour 4.41 2nd Lab hold
11 Paisley South Labour 4.91 2nd Lab hold

Conservative targets

Rank Constituency Winning party 2003 Swing to gain Con place 2003 Result
1 Perth SNP 1.15 2nd SNP hold
2 Dumfries Labour 1.71 2nd Lab hold
3 Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Liberal Democrats 2.83 4th LD hold
4 Eastwood Labour 4.76 2nd Lab hold
5 Stirling Labour 4.86 2nd SNP gain
6 West Renfrewshire Labour 4.96 3rd Lab hold

Liberal Democrat targets

Rank Constituency Winning party 2003 Swing to gain LD's place 2003 Result
1 Edinburgh Central Labour 4.75 2nd Lab hold
2 Aberdeen Central Labour 4.99 3rd Lab hold

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
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 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.[24] Alex Salmond was elected leader of the Scottish National Party in 2004, with his deputy Nicola Sturgeon.[25] 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. 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 Conservatives in November 2005[26] after the resignation of the incumbent David McLetchie on 31 October 2005 after a row surrounding taxi expenses.[27]

Minor 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.[28]

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

References

  1. ↑ "Scotland Act 1998 – Part I – Section 2 – General elections". www.opsi.gov.uk.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ Macleod, Murdo (5 March 2006). "Panic within Labour as membership falls Scotsman 5 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  4. ↑ Macdonell, Hamish (7 March 2006). "Lib Dems open door to coalition with SNP Scotsman 7 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  5. ↑ Macdonell, Hamish (24 March 2006). "Is this the end of Lab–Lib Dem pact? Scotsman 24 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Retiring MSPs". Alba.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  7. ↑ Knox, John (10 November 2006). "Kriss casts shadow over Holyrood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "Scotsman.com News - Politics". Election.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  9. ↑ Knox, John (30 March 2007). "Another chapter ends at Holyrood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  10. ↑ "Canavan will not fight election". BBC News. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Archived 25 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ "Election 2007: SPICe briefing 07/21" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Glasgow Council candidates Archived 6 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Glasgow Region elections
  15. ↑ "Polling clerk tells of 'bedlam'". BBC News. 3 May 2007.
  16. ↑ "Rejected votes more than thought". BBC News. 9 May 2007.
  17. ↑ "Elections marred by vote problems". BBC News. 3 May 2007.
  18. ↑ Barnes, Eddie (6 May 2007). "The Scotsman". Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  19. ↑ "Electronic automated data capture services and document scanning specialists". DRS. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  20. ↑ "Clue over voter ballot confusion". BBC News. 15 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  21. 1 2 "Holyrood vote may face challenges". BBC News. 6 May 2007.
  22. ↑ "Electronic counting to take over from tellers at elections", The Scotsman, 19 April 2006
  23. ↑ "Green light for DRS & ERS to deliver e-Count for 2007 Scottish Elections", press release, DRS Data Services Limited
  24. ↑ "Lib Dems choose Stephen as leader". BBC News. BBC. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
  25. ↑ Swanson, Ian (3 September 2004). "Salmond is SNP leader again with Sturgeon as No 2". Edinburgh Evening News. Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  26. ↑ MacDonell, Hamish (3 November 2005). "Tories have their 'coronation' as Goldie becomes leader unopposed". Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  27. ↑ MacDonell, Hamish (1 November 2005). "McLetchie finally quits over taxi row". The Scotsman. Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  28. ↑ "Scottish green party elects new party co-conveners". Scottish Green Party. 30 October 2004.
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