2016 Scottish Parliament election

Last updated • 8 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

2016 Scottish Parliament election
Flag of Scotland.svg
  2011 5 May 2016 (2016-05-05) 2021  

All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament
65 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
TurnoutConstituency – 55.8% Increase2.svg 5.3 pp
Regional – 55.8% Increase2.svg 5.3pp
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Nicola Sturgeon election infobox 3.jpg
RuthDavidsonMSP.jpg
Kezia Dugdale 2016 (cropped).jpg
Leader Nicola Sturgeon Ruth Davidson Kezia Dugdale
Party SNP Conservative Labour
Leader since 14 November 2014 4 November 2011 15 August 2015
Leader's seat Glasgow Southside Edinburgh Central Lothian
Last election69 seats15 seats37 seats
Seats before641538
Seats won633124
Seat changeDecrease2.svg6Increase2.svg16Decrease2.svg13
Constituency vote1,059,898501,844514,261
 % and swing46.5%Increase2.svg1.1%22.0% Increase2.svg8.1%22.6% Decrease2.svg9.2%
Regional vote953,587524,222435,919
 % and swing41.7%Decrease2.svg2.3%22.9% Increase2.svg10.6%19.1% Decrease2.svg7.2%

 Fourth partyFifth party
 
Scottish Green Leadership 2016.jpg
Official Portrait of Willie Rennie MSP.jpg
Leader Patrick Harvie /
Maggie Chapman
Willie Rennie
Party Scottish Green Liberal Democrats
Leader since22 November 2008 /
25 November 2013
17 May 2011
Leader's seat Glasgow /
Contested North
East Scotland
 
North East Fife
Last election2 seats5 seats
Seats before25
Seats won65
Seat changeIncrease2.svg4Steady2.svg
Constituency vote13,172178,238
 % and swing0.6% Increase2.svg0.6%7.8% Decrease2.svg0.1%
Regional vote150,426119,284
 % and swing6.6% Increase2.svg2.2%5.2% Steady2.svg

Scottish Parliament election, 2016.svg
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 before election

Nicola Sturgeon
SNP

First Minister after election

Nicola Sturgeon
SNP

The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 [1] to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote, under the provisions of the Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act. [2] [3] It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.

Contents

Parliament went into dissolution on 24 March 2016, allowing the official period of campaigning to get underway. Five parties had MSPs in the previous parliament: Scottish National Party (SNP) led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour led by Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson, Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Willie Rennie, Scottish Greens, led by their co-conveners Patrick Harvie and Maggie Chapman. Of those five parties, four changed their leader since the 2011 election.

During the campaign, a series of televised debates took place, including party leaders of the elected parties. BBC Scotland held the first leaders' debate on 24 March, STV broadcast the next on 29 March, and BBC Scotland hosted the final debate on 1 May.

The election resulted in a hung parliament with the Scottish National Party winning a third term in government, but falling two seats short of securing a second consecutive overall majority. [4] [5] The Conservatives saw a significant increase in support and replaced the Labour Party as the second-largest party and main opposition in the Scottish Parliament. This was the first time that Labour had finished in third place at a Scottish election in 98 years. [4] [5] The Scottish Greens won six seats on the regional list and overtook the Liberal Democrats, who remained on five seats. [4] [5]

Although the SNP had lost their majority, it was still by far the largest single party in the Scottish Parliament, with more than double the seats of the Conservatives. Accordingly, Sturgeon announced she would form a minority SNP government. She was voted in for a second term as First Minister on 17 May. [6]

Date

Under the Scotland Act 1998, an ordinary election to the Scottish Parliament would normally have been held on the first Thursday in May four years after the 2011 election, i.e. in May 2015. [7] In May 2010, the new UK Government stated in its coalition agreement that the next general election would also be held in May 2015. [8] This proposal was criticised by the Scottish National Party and Labour, as it had been recommended after the 2007 election that elections with different voting systems should be held on separate days: a recommendation which all of the political parties had then accepted. [9] In response to this criticism, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg offered the right to vary the date of the Scottish Parliament election by a year either way. [10] All the main political parties then stated their support for delaying the election by a year. [11] [12] The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, a statute of the UK Parliament, moved the date of the Scottish Parliament election to 5 May 2016. [1]

The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the monarch, on the proposal of the Presiding Officer. [7]

If Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved, with at least two-thirds of the Members (i.e. 86 Members) voting in favour, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary election and the Parliament is dissolved by the monarch by royal proclamation.

It does not necessarily require a two-thirds majority to precipitate an extraordinary election, because under the Scotland Act Parliament is also dissolved if it fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within certain time limits, irrespective of whether at the beginning or in the middle of a parliamentary term. Therefore, if the First Minister resigned, Parliament would then have 28 days to elect a successor (s46(2)b and s46(3)a). If no new First Minister was elected then the Presiding Officer would ask for Parliament to be dissolved under s3(1)a. This process could also be triggered if the First Minister lost a vote of confidence by a simple majority (i.e. more than 50%), as they must then resign (Scotland Act 1998 s45(2)). To date the Parliament has never held a vote of no confidence in a First Minister.

No extraordinary elections have been held to date. Any extraordinary elections would be in addition to ordinary elections, unless held less than six months before the due date of an ordinary election, in which case they supplant it. The subsequent ordinary election reverts to the first Thursday in May, a multiple of four years after 1999. [13]

It was envisaged that the election would still have taken place as scheduled if Scotland had voted in favour of independence in 2014. [14]

Retiring MSPs

Constituency/RegionDeparting MSPParty
Edinburgh Central Marco Biagi [15] Scottish National Party
Cunninghame South Margaret Burgess [16]
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Rob Gibson [17]
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Adam Ingram [18]
Edinburgh Eastern Kenny MacAskill [19]
Strathkelvin and Bearsden Fiona McLeod [20]
Aberdeenshire East Alex Salmond [21]
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Dave Thompson [22]
North East Scotland Richard Baker [23] Scottish Labour
Edinburgh Northern and Leith Malcolm Chisholm [24]
Renfrewshire South Hugh Henry [25]
West Scotland Margaret McDougall [26]
Greenock and Inverclyde Duncan McNeil [27]
South Scotland Graeme Pearson [28]
Mid Scotland and Fife Richard Simpson [29]
Glasgow Drew Smith [30]
Lothian Gavin Brown [31] Scottish Conservatives
Cameron Buchanan [32]
Galloway and West Dumfries Alex Fergusson [33]
West Scotland Annabel Goldie [34]
Highlands and Islands Jamie McGrigor [35]
North East Scotland Nanette Milne [33]
Highlands and Islands Mary Scanlon [36]
Mid Fife and Glenrothes Tricia Marwick [37] Presiding Officer

Deselected MSPs

Changes to the SNP's selection procedures the previous year in order to ensure gender balance of candidates meant that any incumbent constituency MSP who chose to retire would have their replacement selected from an all-woman shortlist. The only ways for a new male candidate to receive a constituency nomination would be to stand in a constituency currently held by an opposition MSP or to run a de-selection campaign against a sitting MSP. For that reason there were far more challenges than normal within the SNP, but only two were successful:

ConstituencySelected candidateDeselected MSPPartyRetained position on regional list
Angus North and Mearns Mairi Evans Nigel Don [38] Scottish National Party Yes (North East Scotland)
Edinburgh Western Toni Giugliano Colin Keir [39] No

Election system, seats, and regions

The total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) elected to the Parliament is 129.

The First Periodical Review of the Scottish Parliament's constituencies and regions by the Boundary Commission for Scotland, was announced on 3 July 2007. The Commission published its provisional proposals for the regional boundaries in 2009.

The Scottish Parliament uses an Additional Members System, designed to produce approximate proportional representation for each region. There are 8 regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. Each constituency elects one MSP by the plurality (first past the post) system of election. Each region elects 7 additional MSPs using an additional member system. A modified D'Hondt method, using the constituency results, is used to elect these additional MSPs. [40] [41]

The Scottish Parliament constituencies have not been coterminous with Scottish Westminster constituencies since the 2005 general election, when the 72 former UK Parliament constituencies were replaced with a new set of 59, generally larger, constituencies (see Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004). The boundaries used for the Scottish Parliament elections were then revised for the 2011 election. The Boundary Commission also recommended changes to the electoral regions used to elect "list" members of the Scottish Parliament, [42] which were also implemented in 2011.

Campaign

On 29 February 2016, BBC Scotland's Scotland 2016 current affairs programme held a debate focusing on education featuring the Education Minister Angela Constance and three party leaders: Kezia Dugdale, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie. [43]

On 24 March 2016, BBC Scotland held a debate in Glasgow which was televised that featured Dugdale, Davidson, Rennie, Nicola Sturgeon, Patrick Harvie and David Coburn. [44]

On 29 March 2016, STV hosted a televised leaders' debate, featuring the five leaders of the parties which held seats in the last Parliament. [45]

From 5–26 April 2016, Scotland 2016 also held a series of weekly subject debates on Tuesday nights. The subjects were Tax, Health, Energy & Environment, and Housing. [46] Of these, six parties (SNP, Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Greens and UKIP) were invited to the Tax debate.[ citation needed ]

Parties contesting the election

The official nomination period closed on 1 April 2016, lists of candidates were then published by local councils once the applications had been processed. [47]

In March 2015, the Scottish Greens balloted their members to select candidates for their regional lists. [48] The SNP released their regional candidate list in October 2015. [49] The Conservative regional candidate list followed in December. [50] In January 2016, RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance announced list candidates for all regions except the North East. [51] Labour had announced a new selection process for regional candidates in November 2013, [52] then revealed their full list of regional candidates in February 2016. [53] UKIP's regional candidates were picked by their executive committee, prompting one prospective candidate to resign his party membership. [54]

Contesting constituency and regional ballot

The SNP, the Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats fielded candidates in all 73 constituencies. [55]

Contesting regional ballot only

Contesting constituency ballot only

Opinion polling

The chart shows the relative state of the parties since polling began from 2012, until the date of the election. The constituency vote is shown as semi-transparent lines, while the regional vote is shown in full lines.

Average 30 day trend line of poll results for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Results from 29 January 2012 to 4 May 2016 Opinion polling for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.png
Average 30 day trend line of poll results for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Results from 29 January 2012 to 4 May 2016

Result

63312465
SNPConservativeLabourGreenLD
Election result with constituency names labeled Scottish Parliament election map 2016.svg
Election result with constituency names labeled
2016 Scottish Parliament election [65]
Scottish Parliament elected members, 2016.svg
PartyConstituenciesRegional additional members Total seats
Votes %±Seats±Votes %±Seats±Total± %
SNP 1,059,89846.5Increase2.svg1.159Increase2.svg6953,58741.7Decrease2.svg2.34Decrease2.svg1263Decrease2.svg648.8
Conservative 501,84422.0Increase2.svg8.17Increase2.svg4524,22222.9Increase2.svg10.624Increase2.svg1231Increase2.svg1624.0
Labour 514,26122.6Decrease2.svg9.23Decrease2.svg12435,91919.1Decrease2.svg7.221Decrease2.svg124Decrease2.svg1318.6
Scottish Green 13,1720.6Increase2.svg0.60Steady2.svg150,4266.6Increase2.svg2.26Increase2.svg46Increase2.svg44.7
Liberal Democrats 178,2387.8Decrease2.svg0.14Increase2.svg2119,2845.2Steady2.svg1Decrease2.svg25Steady2.svg3.9
UKIP 46,4262.0Increase2.svg1.10Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Solidarity 14,3330.6Increase2.svg0.50Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Scottish Christian 1,1620.1Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg11,6860.5Decrease2.svg0.30Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
RISE 10,9110.5new0new0new0.0
Women's Equality 5,9680.3new0new0new0.0
BUP 2,4530.1new0new0new0.0
Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent9090.0new0new1,4850.1new0new0new0.0
Animal Welfare 1,8190.1new0new0new0.0
Scottish Libertarian 1190.0new0new1,6860.1new0new0new0.0
National Front 6170.00.00Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
Communist 5100.00.00Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg0.0
TUSC 3,5400.1new0new0new0.0
Independent 6,0110.3Decrease2.svg0.30Steady2.svg4,4200.2Steady2.svg0Decrease2.svg10Decrease2.svg10.0
Valid votes2,279,15499.6Decrease2.svg0.1 2,285,75299.8Increase2.svg0.1 
Spoilt votes9,2150.4Increase2.svg0.1 3,8120.2Decrease2.svg0.1 
Total2,288,369100 732,289,564100 56129100
Electorate/Turnout4,099,90755.8Increase2.svg5.3 4,099,90755.8Increase2.svg5.3 

Votes summary

Popular Vote (Constituency)
SNP
46.5%
Labour
22.6%
Conservative
22.0%
Liberal Democrats
7.8%
Green
0.6%
Other
0.5%
Popular Vote (Regional)
SNP
41.7%
Conservative
22.9%
Labour
19.1%
Green
6.6%
Liberal Democrats
5.2%
UKIP
2.0%
Other
2.5%
Parliament seats
SNP
48.8%
Conservative
24.0%
Labour
18.6%
Green
4.7%
Liberal Democrats
3.9%

Central Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Central Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Airdrie and Shotts Alex Neil SNP hold
Coatbridge and Chryston Fulton MacGregor SNP gain from Labour
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Jamie Hepburn SNP hold
East Kilbride Linda Fabiani SNP hold
Falkirk East Angus MacDonald SNP hold
Falkirk West Michael Matheson SNP hold
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Christina McKelvie SNP hold
Motherwell and Wishaw Clare Adamson SNP gain from Labour
Uddingston and Bellshill Richard Lyle SNP gain from Labour
Scottish parliamentary election, 2016: Central Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP 0-3129,08247.7%+1.3%
Labour Richard Leonard
Monica Lennon
Mark Griffin
Elaine Smith
4+167,10324.8%-10.5%
Conservative Margaret Mitchell
Graham Simpson
Alison Harris
3+243,60216.1%+9.7%
Scottish Green 0012,7224.7%+2.3%

Glasgow

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Glasgow
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Glasgow Anniesland Bill Kidd SNP hold
Glasgow Cathcart James Dornan SNP hold
Glasgow Kelvin Sandra White SNP hold
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn Bob Doris SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Pollok Humza Yousaf SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Provan Ivan McKee SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Shettleston John Mason SNP hold
Glasgow Southside Nicola Sturgeon SNP hold
Rutherglen Clare Haughey SNP gain from Labour
Scottish parliamentary election, 2016: Glasgow
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP 0-2111,10144.8%+4.9%
Labour Anas Sarwar
Johann Lamont
James Kelly
Pauline McNeill
4+159,15123.8%-11.1%
Conservative Adam Tomkins
Annie Wells
2+129,53311.9%+5.8%
Scottish Green Patrick Harvie 1±023,3989.4%+3.5%

Highlands and Islands

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Highlands and Islands
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Argyll and Bute Michael Russell SNP hold
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Gail Ross SNP hold
Inverness and Nairn Fergus Ewing SNP hold
Moray Richard Lochhead SNP hold
Na h-Eileanan an Iar Alasdair Allan SNP hold
Orkney Liam McArthur Liberal Democrats hold
Shetland Tavish Scott Liberal Democrats hold
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Kate Forbes SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Highlands and Islands
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Maree Todd 1-281,60039.7%-7.8%
Conservative Douglas Ross
Edward Mountain
Donald Cameron
3+144,69321.8%+10.1%
Liberal Democrats 0±027,22313.3%+1.1%
Labour Rhoda Grant
David Stewart
2±022,89411.2%-3.3%
Scottish Green John Finnie 1+114,7817.2%+2.1%

Lothian

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Lothian
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Almond Valley Angela Constance SNP hold
Edinburgh Central Ruth Davidson Conservative gain from SNP
Edinburgh Eastern Ash Denham SNP hold
Edinburgh Northern and Leith Ben Macpherson SNP gain from Labour
Edinburgh Pentlands Gordon MacDonald SNP hold
Edinburgh Southern Daniel Johnson Labour gain from SNP
Edinburgh Western Alex Cole-Hamilton Liberal Democrats gain from SNP
Linlithgow Fiona Hyslop SNP hold
Midlothian North and Musselburgh Colin Beattie SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Lothian
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP 00118,54636.2%-2.9%
Conservative Miles Briggs
Gordon Lindhurst
Jeremy Balfour
3+174,97222.9%+11.3%
Labour Kezia Dugdale
Neil Findlay
2-167,99120.8%-4.1%
Scottish Green Alison Johnstone
Andy Wightman
2+134,55110.6%+3.0%
Independent 0-1-6.6%

Margo MacDonald had been elected on the Lothian regional list in 2011, as an Independent; she died in 2014.

Mid Scotland and Fife

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Mid Scotland and Fife
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane Keith Brown SNP hold
Cowdenbeath Annabelle Ewing SNP gain from Labour
Dunfermline Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP hold
Kirkcaldy David Torrance SNP hold
Mid Fife and Glenrothes Jenny Gilruth SNP hold
North East Fife Willie Rennie Liberal Democrats gain from SNP
Perthshire North John Swinney SNP hold
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire Roseanna Cunningham SNP hold
Stirling Bruce Crawford SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Mid Scotland and Fife
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP 0-1120,12841.3%-3.9%
Conservative Murdo Fraser
Liz Smith
Alexander Stewart
Dean Lockhart
4+273,29325.2%+11.0%
Labour Claire Brennan-Baker
Alex Rowley
2-151,37317.6%-7.4%
Liberal Democrats 0-120,4017.0%+1.2%
Scottish Green Mark Ruskell 1+117,8606.1%+1.9%

North East Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: North East Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Aberdeen Central Kevin Stewart SNP hold
Aberdeen Donside Mark McDonald SNP hold
Aberdeen South & North Kincardine Maureen Watt SNP hold
Aberdeenshire East Gillian Martin SNP hold
Aberdeenshire West Alexander Burnett Conservative gain from SNP
Angus North & Mearns Mairi Evans SNP hold
Angus South Graeme Dey SNP hold
Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson SNP hold
Dundee City East Shona Robison SNP hold
Dundee City West Joe Fitzpatrick SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: North East Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP 0-1137,08644.7%-8.1%
Conservative Alex Johnstone
Ross Thomson
Peter Chapman
Liam Kerr
4+285,84828.0%+13.9%
Labour Jenny Marra
Lewis MacDonald
2-138,79112.6%-3.8%
Liberal Democrats Mike Rumbles 1±018,4446.0%-0.8%
Scottish Green 0±015,1234.9%+1.0%

South Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: South Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Ayr John Scott Conservative hold
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Jeane Freeman SNP hold
Clydesdale Aileen Campbell SNP hold
Dumfriesshire Oliver Mundell Conservative gain from Labour
East Lothian Iain Gray Labour hold
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire John Lamont Conservative hold
Galloway and West Dumfries Finlay Carson Conservative hold
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Willie Coffey SNP hold
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale Christine Grahame SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: South Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP Joan McAlpine
Emma Harper
Paul Wheelhouse
3-1120,21738.3%-2.7
Conservative Rachael Hamilton
Brian Whittle
2+2100,75332.1%+12.6
Labour Claudia Beamish
Colin Smyth
2056,07217.8%-7.5
Scottish Green 0014,7734.7%+1.6
Liberal Democrats 0-111,7753.7%-1.7

West Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: West Scotland
ConstituencyElected memberResult
Clydebank and Milngavie Gil Paterson SNP hold
Cunninghame North Kenneth Gibson SNP hold
Cunninghame South Ruth Maguire SNP hold
Dumbarton Jackie Baillie Labour hold
Eastwood Jackson Carlaw Conservative gain from Labour
Greenock and Inverclyde Stuart McMillan SNP gain from Labour
Paisley George Adam SNP hold
Renfrewshire North and West Derek Mackay SNP hold
Renfrewshire South Tom Arthur SNP gain from Labour
Strathkelvin and Bearsden Rona Mackay SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: West Scotland
PartyElected candidatesSeats+/−Votes%+/−%
SNP 0-2135,82742.2%+0.6%
Labour Mary Fee
Neil Bibby
Ken Macintosh
3±072,54422.5%-10.2%
Conservative Jamie Greene
Maurice Golden
Maurice Corry
3+171,52822.2%+9.5%
Scottish Green Ross Greer 1+117,2185.3%+2.4%

Target seats

Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing of less than 5% from the 2011 result to change hands.

SNP targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2011Swing to gainSNP's place 2011Result
1 East Lothian Labour 0.242ndLabour Hold
2 Greenock & Inverclyde Labour 0.91SNP Gain
3 Edinburgh Northern & Leith Labour 0.97
4 Motherwell & Wishaw Labour 1.21
5 Uddingston & Bellshill Labour 1.43
6 Galloway & West Dumfries Conservative 1.44Conservative Hold
7 Ayr Conservative 1.67
8 Glasgow Pollok Labour 1.36SNP Gain
9 Cowdenbeath Labour 2.43
10 Dumbarton Labour 2.87Labour Hold
11 Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn Labour 3.15SNP Gain
12 Rutherglen Labour 3.28
13 Renfrewshire South Labour 4.81

Labour targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2011Swing to gainLabour's place 2011Result
1 Glasgow Anniesland SNP 0.022ndSNP Hold
2 Kirkcaldy SNP 0.33
3 Edinburgh Central SNP 0.41Conservative Gain
4 Paisley SNP 0.49SNP Hold
5 Edinburgh Southern SNP 1.03Labour Gain
6 Aberdeen Central SNP 1.23SNP Hold
7 Clydebank & Milngavie SNP 1.26
8 Glasgow Shettleston SNP 1.39
9 Glasgow Kelvin SNP 1.80
10 Strathkelvin & Bearsden SNP 2.67
11 Renfrewshire North & West SNP 2.85
12 Glasgow Cathcart SNP 3.04
13 East Kilbride SNP 3.26
14 Edinburgh Eastern SNP 3.64
15 Airdrie and Shotts SNP 4.19
16 Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse SNP 4.37
17 Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley SNP 4.50

Conservative targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2011Swing to gainCon place 2011Result
1 Edinburgh Pentlands SNP 2.932ndSNP Hold
2 Eastwood Labour 3.162ndConservative Gain
3 Dumfriesshire Labour 4.972nd

Liberal Democrat targets

RankConstituencyWinning party 2011Swing to gainLD's place 2011Result
1 Edinburgh Southern SNP 2.453rdLabour Gain
2 Edinburgh Western SNP 4.022ndLib Dem Gain
3 North East Fife SNP 4.372nd

Incumbents defeated

Constituency/RegionMSPPartyMSP SinceOffice previously held
Uddingston and Bellshill Michael McMahon Labour 1999Shadow Minister for Community
Central Scotland Siobhan McMahon 2011Shadow Minister for Public Services and Wealth Creation
Margaret McCulloch 2011
Motherwell, Wishaw and Hamilton John Pentland 2011Shadow Minister for Opportunity
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn Patricia Ferguson 1999
Glasgow Provan Paul Martin 1999
Glasgow Hanzala Malik 2011
Anne McTaggart 2011Shadow Minister for Democracy
Lothian Sarah Boyack 1999Spokesperson for Environmental Justice
Dunfermline Cara Hilton 2013Shadow Minister for Opportunity
Mid Scotland and Fife Jayne Baxter 2012Shadow Minister for Community
Dumfriesshire Elaine Murray 1999Shadow Minister for Justice
North East Scotland Lesley Brennan 2016
Highlands and Islands Mike MacKenzie Scottish National Party 2011
North East Fife Roderick Campbell 2011
Edinburgh Southern Jim Eadie 2011
Aberdeenshire West Dennis Robertson 2011
Angus North and Mearns

(stood for North East Scotland)

Nigel Don 2007Convener of the Scottish Parliament Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
North East Scotland Christian Allard 2013
South Scotland Aileen McLeod [66] 2011 Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
Chic Brodie 2011
West Scotland Stewart Maxwell 2003Convener of the Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee
North East Scotland Alison McInnes Liberal Democrats 2007
South Scotland Jim Hume 2007
Central Scotland John Wilson Scottish Greens*2007
Highlands and Islands Jean Urquhart RISE*2011

* Formerly SNP

See also

Other elections in the UK being held on the same day

UK parliamentary by-elections

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Neil (politician)</span> Scottish politician (born 1951)

Alexander Neil is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing from 2012 to 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights from 2014 to 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency from 2011 until his retirement in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Stevenson</span> Scottish politician (born 1946)

James Alexander Stewart Stevenson is a Scottish former politician who served as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and Minister for Environment and Climate Change from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, formerly Banff and Buchan, from 2001 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annabelle Ewing</span> Scottish politician (born 1960)

Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, alongside Liam McArthur, since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cowdenbeath constituency since 2016, having previously been an MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 2011 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Baker (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish politician (born 1974)

Richard James Baker is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Glenrothes and Mid Fife since 2024. Baker was previously a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Scotland region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Macintosh</span> Scottish Independent politician

Kenneth Donald Macintosh is a Scottish politician who served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. Elected as a member of Scottish Labour, he suspended his party membership on becoming Presiding Officer. Macintosh was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2021, representing the Eastwood constituency from 1999 to 2016, and then the West Scotland region from 2016 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Boyack</span> Scottish Labour politician

Sarah Herriot Boyack is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Central constituency from 1999 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Lamont</span> Scottish Labour politician

Johann MacDougall Lamont is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 until her election to the leadership in 2011. In addition to her ministerial and leadership roles, she has been a campaigner on equality issues and violence against women throughout her political career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Gray</span> Scottish Labour politician

Iain Cumming Gray is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003. A former aid worker and teacher of mathematics and physics, Gray was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as MSP for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency, which he lost to Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party David McLetchie in 2003. Gray was returned to Holyrood in 2007 as MSP for East Lothian. Following Wendy Alexander's resignation as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2008, Gray stood at the subsequent leadership election, and was elected with a 57.8% share of the vote in the second round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Moray by-election</span>

A by-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast cancer. The seat was successfully defended by the SNP's Richard Lochhead, increasing the majority over the Scottish Conservative Party by 1073 votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Thompson (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish politician

David George Thompson is a Scottish former politician who was the leader of Action for Independence (AFI) from 2020 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Scottish Parliament election</span>

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Scottish Parliament election</span>

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 to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wilson (Scottish Green politician)</span>

John Gordon Wilson is a Scottish politician. He was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2007 until 2016. He sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member and then as an independent after 2014. He stood unsuccessfully as a Green Party candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election and then as an independent candidate in the 2017 Scottish local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kelly (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish Labour Co-op politician

James Anthony Kelly is a Scottish politician who has served as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region between 2016 and 2021, having previously been MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Scottish Parliament election</span>

The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 11 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Senedd election in Wales, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne McTaggart</span> Scottish SNP politician

Anne Margaret McTaggart is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, and a Glasgow city councillor. She was previously a Scottish Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region from 2011 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kezia Dugdale</span> Former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, MSP for Lothian (born 1981)

Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span>

A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2015 and all 59 seats in Scotland were contested under the first-past-the-post, single-member district electoral system. Unlike the 2010 general election, where no seats changed party, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won all but three seats in an unprecedented landslide victory. The SNP received what remains the largest number of votes gained by a single political party in a United Kingdom general election in Scotland in British history, breaking the previous record set by the Labour Party in 1964 and taking the largest share of the Scottish vote in sixty years, at approximately 50 per cent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Cole-Hamilton</span> Scottish Liberal Democrat politician

Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Western constituency since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Scottish Parliament election</span> Upcoming general election to be held in Scotland

The next Scottish Parliament election is expected to be held on Thursday 7 May 2026, to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It will be the seventh general election since the parliament was restablished in 1999.

References

  1. 1 2 "Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, section 4". Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  2. "Cut in Scottish voting age passed unanimously". BBC News. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  3. "Voting age in Scotland lowered to 16". About my vote. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "New MSPs to arrive at Holyrood for first day". BBC News. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Election 2016: Before-and-after and party strength maps". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  6. "Sturgeon wins first minister vote". BBC News. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Scotland Act 1998 – Section 2 Ordinary General Elections". Office of Public Sector Information. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  8. Travis, Alan (13 May 2010). "Fixed five-year parliamentary term will tie both leaders' hands". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  9. "Coalition asked to respect Scottish elections". Scottish National Party. 31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  10. "UK government offers Holyrood five-year terms". BBC News. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  11. "Salmond back Scotland 2015 election delay". BBC News. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  12. McNab, Scott (19 February 2011). "Holyrood set for a five-year term to avoid clash with general election". The Scotsman . Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  13. "Scotland Act 1998 – Section 3 Extraordinary General Elections". Office of Public Sector Information. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  14. Scottish Government (25 January 2012). "Your Scotland – Your Referendum – A Consultation Document". Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  15. Swanson, Ian (23 May 2015). "MSP Marco Biagi announces plan to quit Scottish Parliament". Edinburgh Evening News . Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  16. Dunn, Ross (1 June 2015). "Irvine MSP set to resign ahead of next year's Scottish Parliament elections". Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  17. "Rob Gibson to stand down next year". Northern Times. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  18. "Welcome to scotsman.com the best place for Scottish news and features". scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  19. Nutt, Kathleen (6 June 2015). "Former Justice Secretary MacAskill to stand down as MSP at 2016 Holyrood election". The National. Herald & Times Group. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  20. "MSP Fiona McLeod to retire". Milngavie and Bearsden Herald. 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  21. "Alex Salmond won't stand again for Scottish Parliament". itv.com. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  22. "Badenoch MSP to stand down at next Holyrood election". Strathspey and Badenoch Herald. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  23. "Richard Baker to stand down as MSP at the next Holyrood election". BBC News. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  24. "Malcolm Chisholm to step down at next Holyrood election". BBC News. 6 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  25. "Labour MSP Hugh Henry to stand down for 2016 election". BBC News. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  26. "Irvine's MSP to stand down next year". Irvine Times. 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  27. "Inverclyde MSP McNeil to stand down at May election". Greenock Telegraph. 23 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  28. Pearson, Graeme (12 June 2015). "Scottish Parliamentary Elections 2016". graemepearsonmsp.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015.
  29. "Dr Simpson MSP to stand down next May". Alloa Advertiser. 8 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  30. Sanderson, Daniel (21 October 2015). "Labour MSP hailed as 'rising star' to quit Holyrood". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  31. Whitaker, Andrew (11 June 2015). "Scots Tory Gavin Brown to quit as MSP". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  32. Stenson, Joe (1 July 2015). "Cameron Buchanan to stand down as MSP in 2016". Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  33. 1 2 "Conservative MSPs Alex Fergusson and Nanette Milne to stand down". STV News. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  34. "'Inspirational' Goldie to step down". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  35. "Veteran Tory MSP Jamie McGrigor to stand down at election". The Courier. 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  36. "Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon to stand down next May". BBC News. 23 June 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  37. "Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick to step down as MSP". BBC News. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  38. "Nigel Don MSP de-selected as SNP candidate for Scottish Parliament election". Montrose Review. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  39. "SNP MSP Colin Keir deselected for 2016 vote". Edinburgh Evening News . 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  40. "Electoral system: How it works, 02 April 2003". BBC News. 2 April 2003. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  41. "D'Hondt system". BBC News. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  42. "Revised Recommendations" (PDF). Boundary Commission for Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  43. "Scotland 2016: Debate". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  44. "The Scottish Leaders' Debate". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  45. "STV confirms first TV leaders' debate of Holyrood election campaign". STV News. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  46. "BBC Scotland 2016: Be in the audience of the election debates". BBC News. 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  47. "FAQs: Elections and dissolution". Scottish Parliament. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  48. "Scottish Greens regional list candidates". Holyrood . 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  49. "SNP releases candidate lists ahead of 2016 election". Holyrood. 12 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  50. Freeman, Tom (13 December 2015). "Scottish Conservatives 2016 regional list candidates". Holyrood. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  51. "RISE list candidates for May's Holyrood election". Holyrood. 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  52. Braiden, Gerry (16 November 2013). "Labour MSP poll plan may backfire". The Herald. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  53. "Scottish Labour unveils candidates list". BBC News. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  54. "UKIP in Scotland rejects claim of vote 'stitch-up'". BBC News. 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  55. "Nominations close for Holyrood vote". BBC News. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  56. "Scottish Parliamentary election – regional contest. West Scotland Region. Statement of persons and parties nominated and Notice of poll" (PDF). Renfrewshire Council. 1 April 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  57. 1 2 3 4 "Close of nominations – candidates for Aberdeen seats". Aberdeen City Council. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  58. 1 2 "Edinburgh's parliament election candidates named". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  59. "Scottish Parliamentary Election. South Scotland Region. Statement of Persons and Parties Nominated and Notice of Poll". Scottish Borders Council. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  60. "Highland nominations for Scottish Parliamentary Election 2016" (Press release). Highland Council. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  61. "UKIP and Solidarity unveil Holyrood election candidates". The Herald. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  62. Kerr, Aiden (1 April 2016). "UKIP to stand 26 candidates at Holyrood election". STV News. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  63. Campaigns (6 April 2016). "Women's Equality Party's Scottish manifesto out". womensviewsonnews.org. Women's Views on News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  64. "TUSC candidates in May's elections" (Press release). Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). 8 April 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  65. "2016 Scottish Parliament election: Results analysis". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  66. "Holyrood 2016: Sturgeon seeks 'consensus' with opposition". BBC News. 7 May 2016. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016. Most of the SNP's big names were re-elected – with Aileen McLeod the only former government minister to lose her seat – and they will be joined by 16 new faces.

Party manifestos