Scottish Parliament election, 2003.html



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Scottish General election, 2003 All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament
May 01, 2003
		First Party	Second Party
Leader		Jack McConnell	John Swinney
Party		Labour	Scottish National Party
Leader's seat		Motherwell and Wishaw	North Tayside
Last election		56	35
Seats won		50	27
Seat change		–6	-7
Popular vote		659,879 (constituency) 561,379 (regional)	449,476 (constituency) 399,659 (regional)
Percentage		34.6% (constituency) 29.3% (regional)	23.8% (constituency) 20.9 % (regional)
Map constituency winners of the election by their party colours.
Incumbent FM Jack McConnell Labour FM-Elect Jack McConnell Labour

The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on May 1, 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), remained in office as First Minister and the Executive continued as a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition.

The results also showed rises in support for "minor parties" including the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and declines in support for the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party (SNP). The Conservative and Unionist Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats each polled almost exactly the same percentage of the vote as they had in the 1999 election, with each holding the same number of seats as before.

Three independent MSPs were elected: Dennis Canavan, Margo MacDonald and Jean Turner. John Swinburne, leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, was also elected. This led to talk of a "rainbow" Parliament, but the arithmetic meant that the coalition of Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats could continue in office, which they did until the 2007 election.

The decline in support for the SNP was viewed by some as a rejection of the case for Scottish independence. Others argued against this, pointing out that the number of MSPs in favour of independence actually rose because most of the minor parties share this position with the SNP. The latter view was perhaps vindicated by the 2007 election, where the SNP vote consolidated at the expense of the smaller parties and they achieved a plurality.

For a full list of MSPs elected or re-elected see Members of the Scottish Parliament, 2003-2007.

Party leaders in 2003

• Labour - Jack McConnell
• SNP - John Swinney
• Conservative - David McLetchie
• Liberal Democrat - Jim Wallace
• Greens - Robin Harper & Eleanor Scott (co-chairs)
• SSP - Tommy Sheridan

Results

Notes:

1. The Scottish Greens did not stand in any constituencies, instead concentrating their resources on winning the largest possible share of the "second" vote for 'list' seats.

2. Two "others" were elected in constituencies: Dennis Canavan and Jean Turner, who both stood as independents.

3. Two "others" were elected as Additional Members: Margo MacDonald (an independent) and John Swinburne, who represented the SSCUP.

4. Overall turnout was 49.4%, down on the 1999 election.

Scotland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Scotland

Scottish Government First Minister: Alex Salmond Deputy First Minister: Nicola Sturgeon Cabinet Crown Office Lord Advocate: Elish Angiolini Executive agencies Public bodies Scottish Parliament Acts Presiding Officer: Alex Fergusson Scottish Parliament Building Members (MSPs) : 1999, 2003, 2007 Constituencies and electoral regions Elections: 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 Legislative Consent Motion Scotland in the UK Her Majesty's Government Secretary of State: Des Browne Scotland Office Reserved matters Advocate General: Neil Davidson Parliament of the United Kingdom Constituencies Grand Committee Select Committee Elections: 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009/10 Lists of Scottish MPs Scots law Supreme courts Scotland in the EU European Parliament European Parliament constituency Elections: 2004, 2009 Local government Subdivisions of Scotland Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

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Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Glasgow

Highlands and Islands

Lothians

Mid Scotland and Fife

North East Scotland

South of Scotland

West of Scotland

Coalition

The price Labour paid to form a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats was to allow proportional representation to be used in Scottish local government elections. This system was first used in 2007.

See also

• Members of the Scottish Parliament, 2003-2007
• Welsh Assembly election, 2003 and United Kingdom local elections, 2003 the same day

External links

• BBC: Vote Scotland 2003
• Scottish Election Results 1997 - present

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