Scottish Parliament election, 1999
Encyclopedia
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election
of the Scottish Parliament
, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members. Following the election, the Labour Party
and the Liberal Democrats
formed the Scottish Executive
, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)
Donald Dewar
becoming First Minister
.
The Scottish Parliament was created after a referendum on devoloution took place on September 11, 1997 in which 74.3% of those who voted approved the idea. The Scotland Act (1998)
was then passed by the UK Parliament which established the devolved Scottish parliament and Scottish Executive. The parliament was to be elected using Mixed member proportional representation
which is a combination of 73 (First-past-the-post) constituencies
using the same boundaries as was used in the 1997 UK General Election with the exception of Orkney
and Shetland
as they were made separate constituencies and proportional representation
with the 73 constituencies being grouped together to make eight regions
which would each elect seven additional members to make a total of 129 Members of Scottish Parliament (MSP's). This meant that it would be unlikely for any party to gain a majority of seats in the new parliament and either minority
or coalition
Scottish Executive's would have to be formed.
The first general election to the Scottish Parliament
overall produced few surprises with the Labour Party
still enjoying high popularity following their landslide UK general election win two years earlier as widely expected was the largest party winning 56 seats, mostly in their traditional Central Belt
heartlands, which was nine seats short of an overall majority and a coalition was then formed with the Liberal Democrats
who won 17 seats. The Scottish National Party
(SNP) had done well in opinion polls running up to the election, gaining 40% in some approval ratings but this level of support was not maintained, and the SNP were the second largest party with 35 seats, but this was at the time their best performance since October 1974
. The Conservative Party, still recovering from their wipeout in 1997 across Scotland
, failed to win a single constituency
seat but did manage to win 18 seats through the Additional Member System.
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP)
and the Greens
picked up unexpected additional member
seats. Robin Harper
became the first ever elected Green parliamentarian in the history of the United Kingdom. Dennis Canavan
, who had failed to become an approved Labour candidate, won the Falkirk
West constituency as an independent candidate.
Following the election the new parliament meet in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland
in Edinburgh
for the very first time on Wednesday 12th May 1999 although the actual devolution
of powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament
did take place until midnight on Thursday 1st July 1999 almost two months later.
For a full list of MSPs elected, see Members of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003
. For lists of constituencies and regions, see Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
.
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members. Following the election, the Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
and the Liberal Democrats
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
formed the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
becoming First Minister
First Minister
A First Minister is the leader of a government cabinet.-Canada:In Canada, "First Ministers" is a collective term that refers to all Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers...
.
The Scottish Parliament was created after a referendum on devoloution took place on September 11, 1997 in which 74.3% of those who voted approved the idea. The Scotland Act (1998)
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.The Act will be amended by the Scotland Bill 2011, if and when it receives royal assent.-History:...
was then passed by the UK Parliament which established the devolved Scottish parliament and Scottish Executive. The parliament was to be elected using Mixed member proportional representation
Mixed member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
which is a combination of 73 (First-past-the-post) constituencies
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions 1999 to 2011
The Scottish Parliament has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality system of election, and eight additional members regions, each electing seven additional MSPs....
using the same boundaries as was used in the 1997 UK General Election with the exception of Orkney
Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
and Shetland
Shetland (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
as they were made separate constituencies and proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
with the 73 constituencies being grouped together to make eight regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions 1999 to 2011
The Scottish Parliament has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality system of election, and eight additional members regions, each electing seven additional MSPs....
which would each elect seven additional members to make a total of 129 Members of Scottish Parliament (MSP's). This meant that it would be unlikely for any party to gain a majority of seats in the new parliament and either minority
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
or coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
Scottish Executive's would have to be formed.
The first general election to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
overall produced few surprises with the Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
still enjoying high popularity following their landslide UK general election win two years earlier as widely expected was the largest party winning 56 seats, mostly in their traditional Central Belt
Central Belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless situated at the 'waist' of Scotland on a conventional map and the term 'central' is used in many local...
heartlands, which was nine seats short of an overall majority and a coalition was then formed with the Liberal Democrats
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
who won 17 seats. The Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) had done well in opinion polls running up to the election, gaining 40% in some approval ratings but this level of support was not maintained, and the SNP were the second largest party with 35 seats, but this was at the time their best performance since October 1974
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
. The Conservative Party, still recovering from their wipeout in 1997 across Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, failed to win a single constituency
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
seat but did manage to win 18 seats through the Additional Member System.
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP)
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
and the Greens
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
picked up unexpected additional member
Additional Member System
The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
seats. Robin Harper
Robin Harper
Robin Harper FRSSA is a Scottish politician, and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region. He was co-convener of the Scottish Green Party...
became the first ever elected Green parliamentarian in the history of the United Kingdom. Dennis Canavan
Dennis Canavan
Dennis Andrew Canavan is a Scottish politician, and was an Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk West.-Early life:He was born in Cowdenbeath....
, who had failed to become an approved Labour candidate, won the Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
West constituency as an independent candidate.
Following the election the new parliament meet in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland
General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland
The Assembly Hall is located between the Lawnmarket and The Mound in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the meeting place of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.-History:...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
for the very first time on Wednesday 12th May 1999 although the actual devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
of powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
did take place until midnight on Thursday 1st July 1999 almost two months later.
For a full list of MSPs elected, see Members of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003
Members of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003
This is a list of Members of the Scottish Parliament or, in Gaelic, Buill Pàrlamaid na h-Alba elected to the first Scottish Parliament at the 1999 election...
. For lists of constituencies and regions, see Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
.
National vote
|}- Voter turnout: 59.1%
Central Scotland
Glasgow
Highlands and Islands
Lothians
Mid Scotland and Fife
North East Scotland
South of Scotland
West of Scotland
Party representation
- Labour - 56 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)
- SNP - 35 MSPs
- Conservative - 18 MSPs
- Liberal Democrat - 17 MSPs
- Scottish Green Party - 1 MSP
- SSP - 1 MSP
- Others (Dennis Canavan, FalkirkFalkirkFalkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
West) - 1 MSP
Party leaders in 1999
- Labour - Donald DewarDonald DewarDonald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
- SNP - Alex SalmondAlex SalmondAlexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
- Conservative - David McLetchieDavid McLetchieDavid McLetchie is a Scottish politician, currently a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothian electoral region...
- Liberal Democrat - Jim WallaceJim WallaceThe Rt. Hon. James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC , is a British politician, currently a life peer in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland...
- SSP - Tommy SheridanTommy SheridanTommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
- Scottish Green Party - Robin HarperRobin HarperRobin Harper FRSSA is a Scottish politician, and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region. He was co-convener of the Scottish Green Party...
See also
- Executive of the 1st Scottish Parliament
- Members elected to the 1st Scottish Parliament