The Scottish National Party is a social democratic political party in Scotland. The party holds 63 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 43 out of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons in Westminster. It has 453 local councillors of 1,227.
John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023. He held various Scottish Cabinet roles under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon from 2007 to 2023. Swinney has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Perthshire North since 2011, having previously represented North Tayside from 1999 to 2011. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004.
The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a country. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Scotland Act 1998. Most executive power is exercised by the Scottish Government, led by the First Minister of Scotland, the head of government in a multi-party system. The judiciary of Scotland, dealing with Scots law, is independent of the legislature and the Scottish Government. Scots law is primarily determined by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government shares some executive powers with the Government of the United Kingdom's Scotland Office, a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Angus Struan Carolus Robertson is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Former Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2016 to 2018, he has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Central since 2021. Robertson previously served as a Westminster MP for Moray from 2001 to 2017, where he served from 2007 to 2017 as the Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a left social democratic political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. The SNP has controlled Scotland's devolved legislature since the 2007 election as a minority government, and were a majority government from the 2011 election and have been a minority government, since the 2016 election.
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland, it is a centre right party. The party holds 31 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 7 out of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons in Westminster It has 209 local councillors of 1,227.
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond is a Scottish politician, economist and television host, who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as Leader of the Alba Party since 2021. Salmond was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He served as the party's depute leader from 1987 to 1990. Salmond hosted The Alex Salmond Show (2017–2022) on RT UK. He currently hosts Scotland Speaks with Alex Salmond (2023–present).
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.
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.
The 2011 Scottish Conservatives leadership election was an internal party election to choose a new leader of the Scottish Conservatives, who at the time were the third-largest political party in the devolved Scottish Parliament. Ruth Davidson was declared the winner of the contest on 4 November 2011 and succeeded Annabel Goldie. The election was triggered when incumbent party leader Annabel Goldie resigned her position on 9 May 2011, following her party's self-described 'disappointing' result in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, where the Conservatives were reduced from 17 seats to 15.
Events from the year 2014 in Scotland.
The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland, following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP.
The 2015 United Kingdom general election debates were a series of four live television programmes featuring the leaders of seven main British parties that took place during the run-up to the general election. They each featured different formats and participants.
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 Scotland in an unprecedented landslide victory, gaining a total of 56 seats and taking the largest share of the Scottish vote in sixty years, at approximately 50 per cent. The Labour Party suffered its worst ever election defeat in Scotland, losing 40 of the 41 seats it was defending, including the seats of Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and the then Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander. The Liberal Democrats lost ten of the eleven seats they were defending, with the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and former leader Charles Kennedy losing their seats. The election also saw the worst performance by the Scottish Conservative Party, which received its lowest share of the vote since its creation in 1965, although it retained the one seat that it previously held. In all, 50 of the 59 seats changed party, 49 of them being won by first-time MPs.
The 2004 Scottish National Party leadership election was held following the resignation of John Swinney as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Nominations opened on 22 June, with three candidates nominated, and voting began on 13 August. This was the first election where all party members could vote. The results were announced on 3 September; Alex Salmond defeated Roseanna Cunningham and Michael Russell, with more than 75% of votes.
Events from the year 2017 in Scotland.
In the Scottish Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition is an unofficial title held by the leader of the largest political party in the Scottish Parliament that is not in government. The role has also been referred to as the Shadow First Minister.
The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland, founded in February 2021, led by former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021, with the party standing list-only candidates. Two members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons defected from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Alba Party on 27 March 2021, and member of the Scottish parliament Ash Regan defected on 28 October 2023. Several former SNP MPs also joined the party. No Alba Party candidate has been elected at any election.
The Alex Salmond scandal refers to the political scandal in Scotland concerning the behaviour of former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and his successor, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The scandal created a feud within the Scottish National Party and a ministerial code investigation into Sturgeon conducted by James Hamilton concluded that she did not break the ministerial code over her conduct with Salmond.
