Scottish Parliament election, 1999

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1999 election

2003 election

2007 election

The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on May 6, 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Donald Dewar becoming First Minister.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) had polled well in opinion polls running up to the election, gaining some 40% approval ratings and leading Labour, but this level of support was not maintained, and the SNP eventually polled behind Labour. The Conservatives failed to win a single constituency seat (as they had done in Scotland in the 1997 UK general election).

The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Greens picked up unexpected additional member seats. Robin Harper became the first ever Green parliamentarian in the history of the United Kingdom. Dennis Canavan, who had failed to become an approved Labour candidate, won the Falkirk West constituency as an independent candidate.

For a full list of MSPs elected, see Members of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003. For lists of constituencies and regions, see Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions.

Contents 1 National vote 1.1 Constituency (First-Past-the-Post) results 1.2 Top up (Additional Member System) results 1.3 Party representation 2 Party leaders in 1999 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] National vote

[edit] Constituency (First-Past-the-Post) results

Party		Votes	Seats	Loss/Gain	Share of Vote (%)
	Labour	908,392	53	N/A	38.81
	Scottish National Party	672,757	7	N/A	28.74
	Conservative	364,225	0	N/A	15.56
	Liberal Democrats	331,279	12	N/A	14.15
	Scottish Socialist	23,564	0	N/A	1.01
	Independent - Dennis Canavan	18,511	1	N/A	0.8
	Others	?	0	N/A	0.9

[edit] Top up (Additional Member System) results

Party		Votes	Seats	Loss/Gain	Share of Vote (%)
	Labour	786,818	3	N/A	33.64
	Scottish National Party	638,644	28	N/A	27.26
	Conservative	359,109	18	N/A	15.35
	Liberal Democrats	290,760	5	N/A	12.43
	Scottish Green	84,024	1	N/A	3.59
	Scottish Socialist	46,635	1	N/A	1.99
	Independent - Dennis Canavan	27,700	0	N/A	1.2
	Others	?	0	N/A	4.5

[edit] Party representation

• Labour - 56 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)
• SNP - 35 MSPs
• Conservative - 18 MSPs
• Liberal Democrat - 17 MSPs
• Scottish Green Party - 1 MSP
• SSP - 1 MSP
• Others (Dennis Canavan, Falkirk West) - 1 MSP

[edit] Party leaders in 1999

• Labour - Donald Dewar
• SNP - Alex Salmond
• Conservative - David McLetchie
• Liberal Democrat - Jim Wallace
• SSP - Tommy Sheridan
• Scottish Green Party - Robin Harper

[edit] See also

• Politics of Scotland
• Members of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003

[edit] External links

• Scottish Election Results 1997 - 2006

Preceded by: No previous election

Scottish Parliament election 1999 election

Succeeded by: 2003 election