1994 Scottish regional elections

none August 2019 1994 Scottish regional elections Scotland parliamentary no 1992 Scottish local elections 1992 1995 Scottish local elections 1995 453 councillors on 12 Regional Councils in Scotland yes 1994 05 05 John_Smith_in_1989.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 John Smith 18 July 1992 Scottish Labour 223 seats, 44.0% 704,604 41.8% 220 3 2.2% Alex Salmond 1999 (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Alex Salmond 22 September 1990 Scottish National Party 42 seats, 21.8% 458,951 26.8% 73 31 5.0% Jim Wallace 1999.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Jim Wallace 18 April 1992 Scottish Liberal Democrats 40 seats, 8.0% 60 20 208,349 12.2% 4.2% John Major Feb. 1993.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 John Major 27 November 1990 Scottish Conservatives 52 seats, 19.2% 31 21 234,840 13.7% 5.5% Scottish local Regional elections, 1994.svg 350px Colours denote the winning party with outright control Scottish Regional Council election, 1994.svg 350px Results by ward 45.6% The 1994 Scottish regional elections were held in Scotland on 5 May 1994, as part of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. These were the last elections before 29 new mainland unitary authorities, established by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, came into effect. The councils up for election were last contested in 1990 Scottish regional elections, and vote and seat changes are compared to the 1990 results. Overview Background As these were the last elections to the Regional Councils, which were to be abolished within the next two years, the election was seen as a somewhat pointless exercise as the elected representatives would have minimal time to introduce any policies before powers were transferred to the new unitary authorities. Nevertheless, voters still saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate the popularity of John Major's incumbent Tory Government, which saw the Conservatives lose 21 seats, and be replaced by the Liberal Democrats as third largest party by number of seats.http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Scottish-Regional-Elections-1994.pdf Scottish Regional Elections 1994 Outcome A record number of 1522 candidates stood for election across Scotland, including a new high of 341 women candidates. Turnout stayed almost the same from 1990 at 45.6%, a decrease of 0.3%. The Conservatives' vote share decreased by 5.8%, to give them their worst ever performance at a local election, with only 13.7% of the vote. Labour retained their position as the largest party, down slightly from the previous election. The SNP made large gains of almost 5.0%, mainly at the expense of the Conservatives, as did the Liberal Democrats, who increased their vote share by 4.2%. Independent candidates won the most votes in the Highland, Border and Dumfries & Galloway regions, despite having lost up to 9% of the vote in some areas. Regional Trends Labour held Strathclyde, Lothian, Central and Fife Regions, while Independents took a majority on Orkney, Shetland, Highland and the Western Isles councils, as well as taking the most seats on Borders and Dumfries and Galloway councils. As in 1990, no party won a majority on Tayside and Grampian councils, with the SNP overtaking Labour to be the largest party on the former, and the Liberal Democrats winning a plurality of seats on the latter. National results Summary of the 5 May 1994 Scottish council election resultsDenver David Bochel Hugh Scottish Affairs The Forgotten Elections: The Scottish Council Elections of 1999 30 Winter 2000 http://www.scottishaffairs.org/backiss/pdfs/sa30/SA30_Denver_and_Bochel.pdf 2011-07-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20111003123646/http://www.scottishaffairs.org/backiss/pdfs/sa30/SA30_Denver_and_Bochel.pdf 2011-10-03 dead |- !colspan=2|Parties !votes !% !Seats |- | Scottish Labour ||704,604||41.8||220 |- | Scottish National Party ||458,951||26.8||73 |- | Scottish Conservatives ||234,840||13.7||31 |- | Scottish Liberal Democrats ||208,349||12.2||60 |- | Independent politician ||80,092||4.2||65 |- | Independent Labour ||4,064|| ||1 |- | Communist Party of Great Britain ||1,839|| ||1 |- | Independent Liberal Democrat ||885|| ||1 |- | Liberal Party (UK, 1989)The Liberal candidate was elected unopposed ||0|| ||1 |- | Scottish Militant Labour ||11,476||0.7||0 |- | |People Pension Power ||313|| ||0 |- | Official Monster Raving Loony Party ||185|| ||0 |- | Natural Law Party ||124|| ||0 |- | Independent Conservative ||97|| ||0 |- | Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present) ||82|| ||0 |- | |James Connolly Society ||76|| ||0 |- | |Doctor Slug Party ||43|| ||0 |- | |Scottish Republican Socialist ||38|| ||0 |- | |Scottish Christian Democratic ||32|| ||0 |- !colspan=2|Total!!1,706,090!!45.1!!453 |} Results by council area Council 1990 result 1994 result Turnout Details Borders Independent (politician) No overall control42Details Central Scottish Labour Scottish Labour49.7Details Dumfries and Galloway Independent politician No overall control 47.9Details Fife Scottish Labour Scottish Labour45.7Details Grampian No overall control No overall control 41.6Details Highland Independent politician Independent (politician)45.3Details Lothian Scottish Labour Scottish Labour47.8Details Orkney Independent politician Independent (politician)Details Shetland Independent politician Independent politicianDetails Strathclyde Scottish Labour Scottish Labour44.4DetailsTayside No overall control No overall control 45.5Details Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) Independent politician Independent politicianDetails Notes note References Category:1994 Scottish local elections Category:1994 in Scotland 1994 Category:May 1994 in the United Kingdom