1998 Scottish Labour leadership election

1998 Scottish Labour Party leadership election

19 September 1998 2000  →

Candidate Donald Dewar Popular vote Unopposed

Elected Leader Donald Dewar

The 1998 Scottish Labour Party leadership election was held on 19 September 1998. Secretary of State for Scotland Donald Dewar was elected as leader of Scottish Labour and nominee for First Minister.

Context

On 11 September 1997, 1997 Scottish devolution referendum resulted in a vote in favour of a Scottish Parliament with tax-raising powers. ^[1]

The Scotland Act 1998 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 17 November 1998 and it received royal assent on 19 November 1998. ^[2]

Candidates

The only candidate was Donald Dewar. ^[3]

Further developments

Scottish Labour subsequently won the 1999 Scottish Parliament election and Donald Dewar became First Minister. ^{[4] [5]}

See also

• 1998 Welsh Labour leadership election

References

1. MITCHELL, JAMES; DENVER, DAVID; PATTIE, CHARLES; BOCHEL, HUGH (1 April 1998). "The 1997 Devolution Referendum in Scotland" . Parliamentary Affairs. 51 (2): 166–181. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a028782. ISSN   0031-2290.
2. Hannan, Martin (20 November 2018). "The Scotland Act: Reflecting on 20 years of devolution". The National. Archived from the original on 7 June 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
3. "UK Politics: Dewar wins party backing". BBC News. 19 September 1998. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
4. "Dewar's joy as vision becomes reality". BBC News. 1 July 1999. Archived from the original on 20 August 2003. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
5. "Dewar wins top job". BBC News. 13 May 1999. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2025.