2007 Scottish Parliament election

none February 2020 2007 Scottish Parliament election Scotland parliamentary no 2003 Scottish Parliament election 2003 2nd Scottish Parliament 2007 05 03 y 3rd Scottish Parliament 2011 Scottish Parliament election 2011 All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 Opinion polling for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election 3,899,472 Regional vote % and swing Constituency vote % and swing Constituency - 53.9% 4.2pp Regional - 54.0% 4.3pp Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Alex Salmond Scottish National Party Ran in Gordon (won) 3 September 2004 27 seats 25 47 20 633,611 31.0% 10.1% 664,227 32.9% 9.1% Jack McConnell Official Portrait 2001.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Jack McConnell Scottish Labour Motherwell and Wishaw 22 November 2001 50Includes 10 MSPs sponsored by the Co-operative Party, who are designated Labour and Co-operative. seats 50Includes 10 MSPs sponsored by the Co-operative Party, who are designated Labour and Co-operative. 46Includes 14 MSPs sponsored by the Co-operative Party, who are designated Labour and Co-operative. 4 595,415 29.2% 0.2% 648,374 32.1% 2.5% AnnabelGoldieMSP20110510.JPG 150 120 160 0 10 Annabel Goldie Scottish Conservatives West of Scotland 8 November 2005 18 seats 17 17 1 284,035 13.9% 1.6% 334,743 16.6% Nicol Stephen.jpg 150 120 160 0 12 Nicol Stephen Scottish Liberal Democrats Aberdeen South 23 June 2005 17 seats 17 16 1 230,651 11.3% 0.5% 326,232 16.2% 0.8% RobinHarper.jpg 140 120 160 0 10 Robin Harper /Shiona Baird 30 October 2004 Scottish Greens Lothians /North East Scotland (defeated) 7 seats 7 2 5 2,971 0.1% 0.1% 82,577 4.0% 2.9% Colin Fox - National co-spokesperson of the SSP - September 2015.jpg 155 120 160 5 10 Colin Fox 13 February 2005 Scottish Socialist Party Lothians (defeated) 6 seats 4 0 6 525 0.0% 6.2% 13,096 0.6% 6.1% Scottish Parliament election, 2007.svg 450px 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 First Minister after election Jack McConnell Scottish Labour Alex Salmond Scottish National Party An election for the Scottish Parliament was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general electionhttps://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/80046--a.htm#2 Scotland Act 1998 – Part I – Section 2 – General elections opsi.gov.uk 19 September 2006 19 May 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070519073825/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1998/80046--a.htm#2 live 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 Greens two 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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6631053.stm Lib Dems rule out SNP coalition BBC News 7 May 2007 live https://web.archive.org/web/20070923063049/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6631053.stm 23 September 2007 dmy-all Ultimately, the Greens agreed to provide the numbers to vote in an SNP minority government, with SNP leader Alex Salmond as First Minister.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6646227.stm SNP and Greens sign working deal BBC News 11 May 2007 live https://web.archive.org/web/20071009115429/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6646227.stm 9 October 2007 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 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.http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=104&id=513662005 Somewhere over the Rainbow Coalition... Scotsman 12 May 2005 7 May 2007 Edinburgh The Scotsman 11 May 2005 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060222145859/http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=104&id=513662005 22 February 2006 http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=333222006 Panic within Labour as membership falls 7 May 2007 Edinburgh The Scotsman Murdo Macleod 5 March 2006 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064339/https://www.scotsman.com/news livehttp://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=342882006 Lib Dems open door to coalition with SNP Scotsman 7 March 2006 7 May 2007 Edinburgh The Scotsman Hamish Macdonell 7 March 2006 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064336/https://www.scotsman.com/news livehttp://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=458162006 Is this the end of Lab–Lib Dem pact? Scotsman 24 March 2006 7 May 2007 Edinburgh The Scotsman Hamish Macdonell 24 March 2006 25 March 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070325220056/http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=458162006 live 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 was 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 Susan Deacon, Edinburgh East and Musselburghhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/4790113.stm Former minister to leave Holyrood BBC News 14 August 2006 2 January 2017 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064344/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/4790113.stm live John Home Robertson, East Lothianhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6136904.stm BBC News Kriss casts shadow over Holyrood 10 November 2006 23 May 2010 John Knox 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064345/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6136904.stm live Janis Hughes, Glasgow Rutherglenhttp://election.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2248382005 Scotsman.com News - Politics Election.scotsman.com 20 February 2011 6 February 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070206193344/http://election.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2248382005 live Kate Maclean, Dundee Westhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/5097742.stm Maclean to quit Scots Parliament BBC News 21 June 2006 2 January 2017 22 June 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060622032429/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/5097742.stm live Scottish National Party Bruce McFee, West of Scotland listhttp://www.alba.org.uk/scot07/retiring.html Retiring MSPs Alba.org.uk 20 February 2011 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20081030042925/http://www.alba.org.uk/scot07/retiring.html 30 October 2008 dmy George Reid, Ochil Conservative Phil Gallie, South of Scotland list James Douglas-Hamilton, Lothians list Liberal Democrats Donald Gorrie, Central Scotland list Jim Wallace, Orkney Scottish Socialist Party Frances Curran, West of Scotland listhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6512689.stm BBC News Another chapter ends at Holyrood 30 March 2007 23 May 2010 John Knox 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064335/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6512689.stm live Independents Dennis Canavan, Falkirk Westhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6289637.stm BBC News Canavan will not fight election 23 January 2007 23 May 2010 22 November 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081122014809/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/6289637.stm live Brian Monteith (elected as a Conservative), Mid Scotland and Fife listhttp://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1091&id=1616472006 Monteith to stand down as MSP Ian Swanson 1 November 2006 The Scotsman Edinburgh https://web.archive.org/web/20070325231612/http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1091&id=1616472006 25 March 2007 dead Defeated MSPs Labour Gordon Jackson, Glasgow Govan Sylvia Jackson, Stirling Margaret Jamieson, Kilmarnock and Loudoun Maureen Macmillan, Highlands and Islands Christine May, Fife Central Alasdair Morrison, Western Isles Bristow Muldoon, Livingston Allan Wilson, Cunninghame North Lib Dem Andrew Arbuckle, Mid Scotland and Fife Nora Radcliffe, Gordon Euan Robson, Roxburgh and Berwickshire George Lyon, Argyll and Bute Conservative Dave Petrie, Highlands and Islands Murray Tosh, West of Scotland Scottish Greens Shiona Baird, North East Scotland Chris Ballance, South of Scotland Mark Ballard, Lothians Mark Ruskell, Mid Scotland and Fife Eleanor Scott, Highlands and Islands Scottish Socialist Party Colin Fox, Lothians Rosie Kane, Glasgow Carolyn Leckie, Central Scotland Solidarity Rosemary Byrne, South of Scotland - originally elected as Scottish Socialist Party Tommy Sheridan, Glasgow - originally elected as Scottish Socialist Party Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party John Swinburne, Central Scotland Independent Campbell Martin, West of Scotland - Former SNP MSP Jean Turner, Strathkelvin and Bearsden Opinion polls Opinion polling for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election Results thumb|right|Election result with constituency names labeled (Liberal Democrats won Dunfermline West, not Labour)|500px Constituency Regional File:Scottish Parliament elected members, 2007.svg Scottish National Party 664227 +9.15 21 633611 +10.16 26 47 +20 Labour 648374 –2.48 37 595415 –0.15 9 46 –4 Conservatives 334743 –0.01 4 284035 –1.59 13 17 –1 Liberal Democrats 326232 +0.82 11 230651 –0.49 5 16 –1 Greens 2971 +0.15 0 82577 –2.85 2 2 –5 Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party 1702 +0.00 0 39038 +0.40 0 0 –1 Christian Party 4586 New 0 26575 New 0 0 New Solidarity 31096 New 0 0 New British National Party 24598 +1.1 0 0 0 Christian Peoples Alliance 14745 New 0 0 New Socialist Labour Party 14054 –0.44 0 0 0 Scottish Socialist Party 525 –6.17 0 13096 –6.04 0 0 –6 UK Independence Party 8197 –0.22 0 0 0 Scottish Voice 2827 New 0 3339 New 0 0 New Publican Party 5905 New 0 0 New Scottish Unionist Party 4401 –0.10 0 0 0 Action to Save St John's Hospital 2814 New 0 0 New Save Our NHS Group 2682 New 0 0 New NHS First 1955 New 0 0 New Free Scotland Party 575 New 0 664 New 0 0 New Had Enough Party 498 New 0 670 New 0 0 New Scottish Enterprise Party 409 New 0 616 New 0 0 New Adam Lyal's Witchery Tour Party 867 –0.01 0 0 0 Scottish Jacobite Party 309 New 0 446 New 0 0 New Scottish Voice / NHS 661 New 0 0 New Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers 615 New 0 0 New Peace Party 577 New 0 0 New Communist Party of Britain 251 New 0 260 New 0 0 New Independent Green Voice 496 New 0 0 0 Anti-Trident Party 187 New 0 0 New Socialist Equality Party 139 New 0 0 New Equal Parenting Alliance 124 New 0 0 New Nine Per Cent Growth Party 80 New 0 0 New Independents 25047 –0.10 0 21320 –0.37 1 1 –2 85631 62038 3899472 3899472 0 Scottish Parliamenthttps://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/public/+/archive2021.parliament.scot/msps/25388.aspx 2007 Scottish Parliament Election: Analysis of Results Scottish Parliament 12 April 2020 Popular Vote (Constituency) #ddd 600px 410px SNP Scottish National Party darkgray 32.93 Labour Scottish Labour 32.15 Conservative Scottish Conservatives 16.60 Liberal Democrats Scottish Liberal Democrats 16.17 Other #777777 2.15 Popular Vote (Regional) #ddd 600px 410px SNP Scottish National Party darkgray 31.02 Labour Scottish Labour 29.16 Conservative Scottish Conservative Party 13.91 Liberal Democrats Scottish Liberal Democrats 11.30 Green Scottish Greens 4.04 SSCUP Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party 1.90 Other #777777 8.67 Parliament seats #ddd 600px 410px SNP Scottish National Party darkgray 36.43 Labour Scottish Labour 35.66 Conservative Scottish Conservative Party 13.18 Liberal Democrats Scottish Liberal Democrats 12.40 Green Scottish Greens 1.55 Other #777777 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 votehttp://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Research%20briefings%20and%20fact%20sheets/SB07-21.pdf Election 2007: SPICe briefing 07/21 Scottish Parliament 8 May 2007 10 January 2016 20 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160120121647/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Research%20briefings%20and%20fact%20sheets/SB07-21.pdf live 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.http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/councilcandidates2007wards8to14.htm Glasgow Council candidates Glasgow City Council https://web.archive.org/web/20070506232352/http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/councilcandidates2007wards8to14.htm 6 May 2007 Standing in the Glasgow Regional ListGlasgow Region electionsFebruary 2011 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 |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Airdrie and Shotts Karen Whitefield Scottish Labour Coatbridge and Chryston Elaine Smith Scottish Labour Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Cathie Craigie Scottish Labour East Kilbride Andy Kerr Scottish Labour Falkirk East Cathy Peattie Scottish Labour Falkirk West Michael Matheson Scottish National Party Independent politician Hamilton North and Bellshill Michael McMahon Scottish Labour Hamilton South Tom McCabe Scottish Labour Kilmarnock and Loudoun Willie Coffey Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Motherwell and Wishaw Jack McConnell Scottish Labour Party Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Central Scotland |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 89,210 31.4 +8.8 5 +2 Alex Neil Linda Fabiani Jamie Hepburn Christina McKelvie John Wilson Scottish Conservatives 24,253 8.5 −0.6 1 ±0 Margaret Mitchell Scottish Liberal Democrats 14,648 5.2 −0.7 1 ±0 Hugh O'Donnell Glasgow 2007 Scottish Parliament election: Glasgow |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Glasgow Anniesland Bill Butler Scottish Labour Glasgow Baillieston Margaret Curran Scottish Labour Glasgow Cathcart Charles Gordon Scottish Labour Glasgow Govan Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Glasgow Kelvin Pauline McNeill Scottish Labour Glasgow Maryhill Patricia Ferguson Scottish Labour Glasgow Pollok Johann Lamont Scottish Labour Glasgow Rutherglen James Kelly Scottish Labour Glasgow Shettleston Frank McAveety Scottish Labour Glasgow Springburn Paul Martin Scottish Labour Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Glasgow |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 55,832 27.0 +9.9 4 +2 Bashir Ahmad Sandra White Bob Doris Bill Kidd Scottish Liberal Democrats 14,767 7.2 −0.1 1 ±0 Robert Brown Scottish Conservatives 13,751 6.7 −0.8 1 ±0 Bill Aitken Scottish Greens 10,759 5.2 −1.9 1 ±0 Patrick Harvie Highlands and Islands 2007 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Argyll and Bute Jim Mather Scottish National Party Scottish Liberal Democrats Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Jamie Stone Scottish Liberal Democrats Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber Fergus Ewing Scottish National Party Moray Richard Lochhead Scottish National Party Orkney Liam McArthur Scottish Liberal Democrats Ross, Skye and Inverness West John Farquhar Munro Scottish Liberal Democrats Shetland Tavish Scott Scottish Liberal Democrats Western Isles Alasdair Allan Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Highlands and Islands |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 63,979 34.4 +11.0 2 ±0 Rob Gibson David Thompson Labour Party (UK) 32,952 17.7 −4.6 3 +1 Peter Peacock Rhoda Grant David Stewart Scottish Conservatives 23,334 12.6 −3.4 2 ±0 Mary Scanlon Jamie McGrigor Lothians 2007 Scottish Parliament election: Lothians |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Edinburgh Central Sarah Boyack Scottish Labour Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Kenny MacAskill Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Edinburgh North and Leith Malcolm Chisholm Scottish Labour Edinburgh Pentlands David McLetchie Scottish Conservatives Edinburgh South Mike Pringle Scottish Liberal Democrats Edinburgh West Margaret Smith Scottish Liberal Democrats Linlithgow Mary Mulligan Scottish Labour Livingston Angela Constance Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Midlothian Rhona Brankin Scottish Labour Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Lothians |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 76,019 26.5 +10.2 3 +1 Fiona HyslopIan McKee Stefan Tymkewycz Labour Party (UK) 75,495 26.3 +0.8 1 +1 George Foulkes Scottish Conservatives 37,548 13.1 −2.0 1 ±0 Gavin Brown Scottish Greens 20,147 7.0 −5.0 1 −1 Robin Harper Independent politician 19,256 6.7 −3.5 1 ±0 Margo MacDonald Mid Scotland and Fife 2007 Scottish Parliament election: Mid Scotland and Fife |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Dunfermline East Helen Eadie Scottish Labour Dunfermline West Jim Tolson Scottish Liberal Democrats Scottish Labour Fife Central Tricia Marwick Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Fife North East Iain Smith Scottish Liberal Democrats Kirkcaldy Marilyn Livingstone Scottish Labour North Tayside John Swinney Scottish National Party Ochil Keith Brown Scottish National Party Perth Roseanna Cunningham Scottish National Party Stirling Bruce Crawford Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Mid Scotland and Fife |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 90,090 33.0 +10.0 1 −1 Chris Harvie Labour Party (UK) 71,922 26.3 +1.0 3 +3 John Park Claire Brennan-Baker Richard Simpson Scottish Conservatives 44,341 16.2 −1.3 3 ±0 Murdo Fraser Liz Smith Ted Brocklebank North East Scotland 2007 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Aberdeen Central Lewis Macdonald Scottish Labour Party Aberdeen North Brian Adam Scottish National Party Aberdeen South Nicol Stephen Scottish Liberal Democrats Angus Andrew Welsh Scottish National Party Banff and Buchan Stewart Stevenson Scottish National Party Dundee East Shona Robison Scottish National Party Dundee West Joe Fitzpatrick Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Party Gordon Alex Salmond Scottish National Party Scottish Liberal Democrats West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Mike Rumbles Scottish Liberal Democrats Scottish Parliament election, 2007: North East Scotland |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 105,265 40.5 +13.2 2 +1 Maureen Watt Nigel Don Labour Party (UK) 52,125 20.0 −0.1 2 ±0 Richard Baker Marlyn Glen Scottish Conservatives 37,666 14.5 -2.9 2 −1 Alex Johnstone Nanette Milne Scottish Liberal Democrats 40,934 15.7 −3.1 1 +1 Alison McInnes South of Scotland 2007 Scottish Parliament election: South of Scotland |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Ayr John Scott Scottish Conservatives Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Cathy Jamieson Scottish Labour Clydesdale Karen Gillon Scottish Labour Cunninghame South Irene Oldfather Scottish Labour Dumfries Elaine Murray Scottish Labour East Lothian Iain Gray Scottish Labour Galloway and Upper Nithsdale Alex Fergusson Scottish Conservatives Roxburgh and Berwickshire John Lamont Scottish Conservatives Scottish Liberal Democrats Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Jeremy Purvis Scottish Liberal Democrats Scottish Parliament election, 2007: South of Scotland |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 77,053 27.8 +9.4 5 +2 Christine Grahame Michael Russell Adam Ingram Alasdair Morgan Aileen Campbell Scottish Conservatives 62,475 22.6 −1.7 1 −1 Derek Brownlee Scottish Liberal Democrats 28,040 10.1 −0.1 1 +1 Jim Hume West of Scotland 2007 Scottish Parliament election: West of Scotland |- ! colspan=2 style="width: 200px"|Constituency ! style="width: 150px"|Elected member ! style="width: 300px"|Result Clydebank and Milngavie Des McNulty Scottish Labour Cunninghame North Kenneth Gibson Scottish National Party Scottish Labour Dumbarton Jackie Baillie Scottish Labour Eastwood Ken Macintosh Scottish Labour Greenock and Inverclyde Duncan McNeil Scottish Labour Paisley North Wendy Alexander Scottish Labour Paisley South Hugh Henry Scottish Labour Strathkelvin and Bearsden David Whitton Labour Party (UK) Independent politician West Renfrewshire Patricia Godman Scottish Labour Scottish Parliament election, 2007: West of Scotland |- ! colspan="2" style="width: 150px"|Party ! Elected candidates ! style="width: 40px"|Seats ! style="width: 40px"|+/− ! style="width: 50px"|Votes ! style="width: 40px"|% ! style="width: 40px"|+/−% |- Scottish National Party 75,953 28.3 +8.7 4 +1 Stewart Maxwell Gil Paterson Bill Wilson Stuart McMillan Scottish Conservatives 40,637 15.2 −0.5 2 ±0 Annabel Goldie Jackson Carlaw Scottish Liberal Democrats 22,515 8.4 −3.9 1 ±0 Ross Finnie Incidents thumb|right|350px|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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6622105.stm Polling clerk tells of 'bedlam' BBC News 3 May 2007 4 May 2007 8 June 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070608093507/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6622105.stm live 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,https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/electoral_commission_pdf_file/Scottish-Election-Report-A-Final-For-Web.pdf Scottish elections 2007 The independent review of the Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections 3 May 2007 Electoral Commission October 2007 3 December 2019 4 December 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183043/https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/electoral_commission_pdf_file/Scottish-Election-Report-A-Final-For-Web.pdf live with some constituencies such as Glasgow Shettleston having rejection rates as high as 12.1%.https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0261379408000279?token=A28DE04953930CC769AAAAC06DEAF1FE4C634B592B28684EEDE2C95EAB0C180B7151E0C015FFC162C3BD2358F9780764 The unfortunate natural experiment in ballot design:The Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2007 Elsevier February 2008 3 December 2019 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064414/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379408000279 live 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 ballot papers exceeded the winning candidate's majority. 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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6622379.stm Elections marred by vote problems BBC News 3 May 2007 4 May 2007 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064348/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6622379.stm live There are several reasons for the unusually high levels of rejected ballot papers in the election. One primary reason is that both the regional and constituency choices 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.Barnes Eddie http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=701122007 The Scotsman News.scotsman.com 6 May 2007 20 February 2011 Edinburgh 13 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064354/https://www.scotsman.com/news live Although a rough template of the ballot was provided to voters by VoteScotland prior to the election, many ballot papers 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. 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). 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 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 ballot papers 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.http://www.drs.co.uk/ Electronic automated data capture services and document scanning specialists DRS 20 February 2011 9 February 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110209154636/http://www.drs.co.uk/ live Nevertheless, nearly all invalid ballot papers 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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6656181.stm BBC News Clue over voter ballot confusion 15 May 2007 23 May 2010 9 September 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070909023848/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6656181.stm live Threatened legal actions 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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6629093.stm Holyrood vote may face challenges BBC News 6 May 2007 5 May 2007 10 May 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070510193152/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6629093.stm live 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 ballot papers 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. There were no election petitions raised to challenge the results.May 2010 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.http://election.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1064&id=588392006 Electronic counting to take over from tellers at elections 19 April 2006 The Scotsman Edinburgh https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064330/https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics 13 February 2022http://www.drs.co.uk/corporate/newsitem.asp?id=106 Green light for DRS & ERS to deliver e-Count for 2007 Scottish Elections 26 June 2006 DRS Data Services Limited www.drs.co.uk https://web.archive.org/web/20061001231636/http://www.drs.co.uk/corporate/newsitem.asp?id=106 1 October 2006 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 2003Result1Dundee East Scottish National Party0.172ndSNP hold2Edinburgh South Scottish Liberal Democrats0.262ndLD hold3Ochil Scottish National Party0.492ndSNP hold4Strathkelvin and Bearsden Independent politician0.622ndLab gain5Aberdeen North Scottish National Party0.922ndSNP hold6Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber Scottish National Party1.512ndSNP hold7Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Scottish Liberal Democrats2.703rdLD hold8Ayr Scottish Conservatives2.992ndCon hold9Edinburgh Pentlands Scottish Conservatives3.162ndCon hold10Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Scottish Liberal Democrats4.962ndLD hold SNP targets RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainSNP's place 2003Result1Galloway & Upper Nithsdale Scottish Conservatives0.172ndCon hold2Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Scottish Liberal Democrats1.012ndLD hold3Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Scottish Labour1.072ndLab hold4Kilmarnock & Loudoun Scottish Labour1.922ndSNP gain5Dundee West Scottish Labour2.132ndSNP gain6Western Isles Scottish Labour2.912ndSNP gain7Glasgow Govan Scottish Labour2.922ndSNP gain8Aberdeen Central Scottish Labour2.962ndLab hold9Linlithgow Scottish Labour3.562ndLab hold10West Renfrewshire Scottish Labour4.412ndLab hold11Paisley South Scottish Labour4.912ndLab hold Conservative targets RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainCon place 2003Result1Perth Scottish National Party1.152ndSNP hold2Dumfries Scottish Labour1.712ndLab hold3Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Scottish Liberal Democrats2.834thLD hold4Eastwood Scottish Labour4.762ndLab hold5Stirling Scottish Labour4.862ndSNP gain6West Renfrewshire Scottish Labour4.963rdLab hold Liberal Democrat targets RankConstituencyWinning party 2003Swing to gainLD's place 2003Result1Edinburgh Central Scottish Labour4.752ndLab hold2Aberdeen Central Scottish Labour4.993rdLab 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 2007Official Report: Plenary, 16th May 2007 https://archive2021.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=4723 The Scottish Parliament 24 January 2014 Scottish Parliament 28 October 2021 28 October 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211028165756/https://archive2021.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=4723 live CandidateParty 1st Round 2nd RoundResult Votes % Votes %Alex Salmond Scottish National Party 49 38.6 49 51.6 ElectedJack McConnell Scottish Labour 46 36.2 46 48.4 Not ElectedAnnabel Goldie Scottish Conservatives 16 12.6 Eliminated after 1st RoundNicol Stephen Scottish Liberal Democrats 16 12.6 Eliminated after 1st RoundTotal Voting 127 95 Abstentions 1 33 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 PartyJack McConnellLeader of the Scottish Labour PartyAnnabel GoldieLeader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist PartyNicol StephenLeader of the Scottish Liberal DemocratsAge52Age46Age57Age47ParliamentScottish 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& 2004Leader since2001Leader since2005Leader since2005ProfessionEconomistProfessionTeacherProfessionSolicitorProfessionSolicitor 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. Lib Dems choose Stephen as leader BBC News BBC 23 June 2005 https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4122106.stm 11 October 2006 Alex Salmond was elected leader of the Scottish National Party in 2004, with his deputy Nicola Sturgeon. Salmond is SNP leader again with Sturgeon as No 2 Ian Swanson Edinburgh Evening News Scotsman 3 September 2004 http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/politics/salmond-is-snp-leader-again-with-sturgeon-as-no-2-1-1024142 10 January 2015 20 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160120121647/http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/politics/salmond-is-snp-leader-again-with-sturgeon-as-no-2-1-1024142 live 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 Tories have their 'coronation' as Goldie becomes leader unopposed Hamish MacDonell Scotsman 3 November 2005 http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/tories-have-their-coronation-as-goldie-becomes-leader-unopposed-1-1102852 10 January 2015 20 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160120121647/http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/tories-have-their-coronation-as-goldie-becomes-leader-unopposed-1-1102852 live after the resignation of the incumbent David McLetchie on 31 October 2005 after a row surrounding taxi expenses. McLetchie finally quits over taxi row Hamish MacDonell The Scotsman Scotsman 1 November 2005 http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/mcletchie-finally-quits-over-taxi-row-1-1102553 10 January 2015 20 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160120121647/http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/mcletchie-finally-quits-over-taxi-row-1-1102553 live Other parties Robin Harper and Shiona Baird were elected as Greens Co-convenors in 2004, but as the sole Green MSP Harper was effectively party spokesperson from 1999.Scottish green party elects new party co-conveners Scottish Green Party 30 October 2004 http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/site/id/3936/title/SCOTTISH_GREEN_PARTY_ELECTS_NEW_PARTY_CO_CONVENERS_First_Party_In_Scotland_To_Elect_Gender_Balanced_Leadership.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071007001923/http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/site/id/3936/title/SCOTTISH_GREEN_PARTY_ELECTS_NEW_PARTY_CO_CONVENERS_First_Party_In_Scotland_To_Elect_Gender_Balanced_Leadership.html 7 October 2007 dmy Colin Fox was elected as the Scottish Socialist Party Convenor in 2005. In 2006 Tommy Sheridan left the party to form Solidarity. Aftermath This was Scottish Labour's first defeat since the 1979 European Parliament election, which was won by the Conservatives. In his memoir, A Journey (2010), Tony Blair claimed responsibility for the SNP's victory, stating that he believed his leadership had cost Labour votes and that things could have been different had his successor Gordon Brown been in office at the time.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-11155249 Blair admits role in 2007 Holyrood election defeat BBC News September 2010 This election was a realigning election as the Scottish National Party would win the plurarity of the votes and seats in every Scottish Parliament election since 2007. See also Members of the 3rd Scottish Parliament Elections in Scotland National Assembly for Wales election and 2007 United Kingdom local elections, which took place on the same day Notes References 30em External links Election 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20170510091525/http://www.parliament.scot/SPICeResources/Research%20briefings%20and%20fact%20sheets/SB07-21.pdf 10 May 2017 , a briefing by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre ScotlandVotes, by Weber Shandwick Public Affairs and Scotland on Sunday Scottish Voting Intention https://web.archive.org/web/20070109083547/http://www.ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/scottish-voting-intention/ 9 January 2007 , by UKPollingReport, in association with YouGov VoteScotland, a Scottish Executive and Electoral Commission website Electoral Reform Society – Scotland Scottish elections 2007, at the BBC News website Election 2007, at The Herald https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121009/http://www.theherald.co.uk/elections2007/ 29 September 2007 Holyrood Elections, at The Scotsman Election Supplement 2007 Scottish Elections Between 1997 and present Links to Party manifestos for the election. 2007 Category:2007 elections in the United Kingdom Category:2007 in Scotland Category:2000s elections in Scotland Category:May 2007 in the United Kingdom