Scottish Parliament general election, 2003

Scottish Parliament election, 2003

1999 ← 1 May 2003 → 2007

All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Leader Jack McConnell John Swinney David McLetchie Party Labour SNP Conservative Leader's seat Motherwell and Wishaw North Tayside Edinburgh Pentlands Last election 56 seats, 33.6% 35 seats, 27.3% 18 seats, 15.6% Seats won 50 27 18 Seat change 6 8 0 Constituency Votes 659,879 449,476 312,598 Constituency % 34.6% 23.8% 16.6% List Votes 561,379 399,659 296,929 List % 29.3% 20.9 % 15.5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Jim Wallace Robin Harper (pictured) / Eleanor Scott Tommy Sheridan Party Liberal Democrats Scottish Green Scottish Socialist Leader's seat Orkney Lothians / Highlands & Islands Glasgow Last election 17 seats, 12.4% 1 seat, 3.6% 1 seat, 2.0% Seats won 17 7 6 Seat change 0 6 5 Constituency Votes 286,150 Did not contest 117,709 Constituency % 15.3% Did not contest 6.2% List Votes 225,774 132,138 128,026 List % 11.8% 6.9% 6.7%

Map constituency winners of the election by their party colours.

First Minister before election Jack McConnell Labour First Minister-designate Jack McConnell Labour

The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 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 such as the SSP share this position with the SNP.

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

Contents 1 Party leaders in 2003 2 Results 2.1 Constituency and regional summary 2.1.1 Central Scotland 2.1.2 Glasgow 2.1.3 Highlands and Islands 2.1.4 Lothians 2.1.5 Mid Scotland and Fife 2.1.6 North East Scotland 2.1.7 South of Scotland 2.1.8 West of Scotland 3 Coalition 4 See also 5 Party Manifestos 6 External links

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

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Parties		Additional member system										Total seats
		Constituency					Region
		Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Total	+/−	%
	Labour	659,879	34.6	–4.21	46	–7	561,379	29.3	–4.34	4	+1	50	–6	38.8
	SNP	449,476	23.8	–4.96	9	+2	399,659	20.9	–6.36	18	–10	27	–8	20.9
	Conservative	312,598	16.6	+1.04	3	+3	296,929	15.5	+0.15	15	–3	18	±0	14.0
	Liberal Democrats	286,150	15.3	+1.15	13	+1	225,774	11.8	–0.63	4	–1	17	±0	13.2
	Scottish Green	—	—	—	—	—	132,138	6.9	+4.9	7	+6	7	+6	5.4
	Scottish Socialist	117,709	6.2	+5.19	0	±0	128,026	6.7	+3.1	6	+5	6	+5	4.7
	Socialist Labour	-	-	-	-	-	21,657	1.14	-1.23	-	-			-
	Others	50,820	3.4	+2.5	2	+1	150,294	7.94	+2.2	2	+2	4	+3	3.1
	Total	1,891,335	100.0		73		1,915,856	100.0		56		129		100.0

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Central Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Airdrie and Shotts	Karen Whitefield	Labour hold
	Coatbridge and Chryston	Elaine Smith	Labour hold
	Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	Cathie Craigie	Labour hold
	East Kilbride	Andy Kerr	Labour hold
	Falkirk East	Cathy Peattie	Labour hold
	Falkirk West	Dennis Canavan	Independent hold
	Hamilton North and Bellshill	Michael McMahon	Labour hold
	Hamilton South	Tom McCabe	Labour hold
	Kilmarnock and Loudoun	Margaret Jamieson	Labour hold
	Motherwell and Wishaw	Jack McConnell	Labour hold

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Central Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Alex Neil Michael Matheson Linda Fabiani	3	−2	59,274	22.53%	-5.25%
	Conservative	Margaret Mitchell	1	±0	24,121	9.17%	+0.02%
	Scottish Socialist	Carolyn Leckie	1	+1	19,016	7.23%	+5.49%
	Scottish Senior Citizens	John Swinburne	1	+1	17,146	6.52%	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Donald Gorrie	1	±0	15,494	5.89%	-0.31%

Glasgow

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Glasgow
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Glasgow Anniesland	Bill Butler	Labour hold
	Glasgow Baillieston	Margaret Curran	Labour hold
	Glasgow Cathcart	Mike Watson	Labour hold
	Glasgow Govan	Gordon Jackson	Labour hold
	Glasgow Kelvin	Pauline McNeill	Labour hold
	Glasgow Maryhill	Patricia Ferguson	Labour hold
	Glasgow Pollok	Johann Lamont	Labour hold
	Glasgow Rutherglen	Janis Hughes	Labour hold
	Glasgow Shettleston	Frank McAveety	Labour hold
	Glasgow Springburn	Paul Martin	Labour hold

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Glasgow
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Nicola Sturgeon Sandra White	2	−2	34,894	17.1%	-8.4%
	Scottish Socialist	Tommy Sheridan Rosie Kane	2	+1	31,216	15.2%	+8.0%
	Conservative	Bill Aitken	1	±0	15,299	7.5%	-0.4%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Brown	1	±0	14,839	7.5%	-0.4%
	Scottish Green	Patrick Harvie	1	+1	14,570	7.1%	+3.1%

Highlands and Islands

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Highlands and Islands
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Argyll and Bute	George Lyon	Liberal Democrats
	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	Jamie Stone	Liberal Democrats
	Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	Fergus Ewing	SNP
	Moray	Margaret Ewing	SNP
	Orkney	Jim Wallace	Liberal Democrats
	Ross, Skye and Inverness West	John Farquhar Munro	Liberal Democrats
	Shetland	Tavish Scott	Liberal Democrats
	Western Isles	Alasdair Morrison	Labour

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Highlands and Islands
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Jim Mather Rob Gibson	2	±0	39,497	23.43%	-4.3%
	Labour	Peter Peacock Maureen Macmillan	2	−1	37,605	22.31%	-3.16
	Conservative	Jamie McGrigor Mary Scanlon	2	±0	26,989	16.01%	+1.07%
	Scottish Green	Eleanor Scott	1	+1	13,935	8.27%	+4.52%

Lothians

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Lothians
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Edinburgh Central	Sarah Boyack	Labour hold
	Edinburgh East and Musselburgh	Susan Deacon	Labour hold
	Edinburgh North and Leith	Malcolm Chisholm	Labour hold
	Edinburgh Pentlands	David McLetchie	Conservative gain from Labour
	Edinburgh South	Mike Pringle	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour
	Edinburgh West	Margaret Smith	Liberal Democrats hold
	Linlithgow	Mary Mulligan	Labour hold
	Livingston	Bristow Muldoon	Labour hold
	Midlothian	Rhona Brankin	Labour hold

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Lothians
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Kenny MacAskill Fiona Hyslop	2	−1	43,142	16.2%	-9.5%
	Conservative	James Douglas-Hamilton	1	−1	40,173	15.1%	-0.6%
	Scottish Green	Robin Harper Mark Ballard	2	+1	31,908	12.0%	+5.1%
	Independent	Margo MacDonald	1	+1	27,143	10.2%	N/A
	Scottish Socialist	Colin Fox	1	+1	14,448	5.4%	+3.8%

Mid Scotland and Fife

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Mid Scotland and Fife
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Dunfermline East	Helen Eadie	Labour
	Dunfermline West	Scott Barrie	Labour
	Fife Central	Christine May	Labour
	Fife North East	Iain Smith	Liberal Democrats
	Kirkcaldy	Marilyn Livingstone	Labour
	North Tayside	John Swinney	SNP
	Ochil	George Reid	SNP
	Perth	Roseanna Cunningham	SNP
	Stirling	Sylvia Jackson	Labour

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Mid Scotland and Fife
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Bruce Crawford Tricia Marwick	2	−1	57,631	23.0%	-5.7%
	Conservative	Murdo Fraser Brian Monteith Ted Brocklebank	3	±0	43,941	17.6%	-1.0%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Raffan	1	±0	30,112	12.0%	-0.7%
	Scottish Green	Mark Ruskell	1	+1	17,147	6.9%	+3.0%

North East Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Lewis Macdonald	Labour hold
	Aberdeen North	Brian Adam	SNP gain from Labour
	Aberdeen South	Nicol Stephen	Liberal Democrats hold
	Angus	Andrew Welsh	SNP hold
	Banff and Buchan	Stewart Stevenson	SNP hold
	Dundee East	Shona Robison	SNP gain from Labour
	Dundee West	Kate Maclean	Labour hold
	Gordon	Nora Radcliffe	Liberal Democrats hold
	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Mike Rumbles	Liberal Democrats hold

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: North East Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Richard Lochhead	1	−3	66,463	27.3%	-5.0%
	Labour	Marlyn Glen Richard Baker	2	+2	49,189	20.2%	-5.3%
	Conservative	David Davidson Nanette Milne Alex Johnstone	3	±0	42,318	17.4%	-0.9%
	Scottish Green	Shiona Baird	1	+1	12,724	5.2%	+2.4%

South of Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: South of Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Ayr	John Scott	Conservative
	Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	Cathy Jamieson	Labour
	Clydesdale	Karen Gillon	Labour
	Cunninghame South	Irene Oldfather	Labour
	Dumfries	Elaine Murray	Labour
	East Lothian	John Home Robertson	Labour
	Galloway and Upper Nithsdale	Alex Fergusson	Conservative
	Roxburgh and Berwickshire	Euan Robson	Liberal Democrats
	Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale	Jeremy Purvis	Liberal Democrats

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: South of Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	Conservative	Phil Gallie David Mundell	2	−1	63,827	24.2%	+2.6%
	SNP	Christine Grahame Adam Ingram Alasdair Morgan	3	±0	48,371	18.4%	-6.7%
	Scottish Green	Chris Ballance	1	+1	15,062	5.7%	+2.7%
	Scottish Socialist	Rosemary Byrne	1	+1	14,228	5.4%	+4.4%

West of Scotland

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: West of Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Clydebank and Milngavie	Des McNulty	Labour
	Cunninghame North	Allan Wilson	Labour
	Dumbarton	Jackie Baillie	Labour
	Eastwood	Kenneth Macintosh	Labour
	Greenock and Inverclyde	Duncan McNeil	Labour
	Paisley North	Wendy Alexander	Labour
	Paisley South	Hugh Henry	Labour
	Strathkelvin and Bearsden	Jean Turner	Independent
	West Renfrewshire	Patricia Godman	Labour

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: West of Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Campbell Martin Bruce McFee Stewart Maxwell	3	−1	50,387	19.6%	-6.3%
	Conservative	Annabel Goldie Murray Tosh	2	±0	40,261	15.7%	-
	Liberal Democrats	Ross Finnie	1	±0	31,580	12.3%	+1.3%
	Scottish Socialist	Frances Curran	1	+1	18,591	7.2%	+5.3

Coalition

As part of the coalition deal between Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Labour allowed 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

Party Manifestos

• British National Party- Freedom
• Pro-Life Alliance
• Scottish Liberal Democrats- Make the difference
• Scottish National Party- Release our potential

External links

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

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