The Scottish Parliament is the devolved,unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city,Edinburgh,it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood. The Parliament is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs),elected for five-year terms under the regionalised form of additional member system (MMP):73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality (first-past-the-post) system,while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-list MSPs. Each region elects 15 to 17 MSPs in total. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 6 May 2021,with the Scottish National Party winning a plurality.
The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament is the presiding officer and speaker of the Scottish Parliament. The office of presiding officer was established by the Scotland Act 1998,and the elected presiding officer is a member of the Scottish Parliament who is elected by the Scottish Parliament by means of an exhaustive ballot,and is ex officio the head of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The presiding officer is considered a figurehead of the Scottish Parliament and has an office in Queensberry House.
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.
James Robert Wallace,Baron Wallace of Tankerness,is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2021 to 2022. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005,and during that time he served twice as acting First Minister,in 2000,in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001,following Henry McLeish's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016.
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.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019,and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election,in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats,down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Orkney. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region,which elects seven additional members,in addition to the eight constituency MSPs,to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Shetland. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region,which elects seven additional members,in addition to the eight constituency MSPs,to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats is a liberal,federalist political party in Scotland,a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 4 of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons.
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.
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 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,English local elections,London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
Alison Johnstone is a Scottish politician who has served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament since 2021. Elected as a member of the Scottish Greens,she relinquished her party affiliation on becoming Presiding Officer. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2011.
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday,5 May 2016 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 Act. It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.
This is a list of members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were returned to the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament. Of the 129 MSPs returned at the 2016 general election,73 were returned from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members returned from eight regions,each electing seven MSPs as a form of mixed member proportional representation.
Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton is a Scottish 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.
The 2019 Shetland by-election was held on 29 August 2019 to elect a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the constituency of Shetland. It was held following the resignation of Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott upon taking a new role at Scottish Rugby. The Liberal Democrats held the seat,with Beatrice Wishart being elected for the party.
Beatrice Wishart is a Scottish Liberal Democrats politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland since 2019. Wishart currently serves as education spokesperson for her party,and has a seat on the Scottish Parliament committees for Education and Skills,for Culture,Tourism,Europe and External Affairs,and for COVID-19. She was elected at the 2019 Shetland by-election,after the sitting Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott stepped down.
The 6th Scottish Parliament was elected at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. It was opened with the Escort to the Crown of Scotland Parade and Speech from the Throne on 2 October 2021.
The 2021 Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election was triggered on 12 July 2021 after incumbent leader Willie Rennie announced his intention to step down as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
