Electoral system of Scotland

Various electoral systems are now used in Scotland. Historically, First Past the Post had been used in most types of elections, but pressure for change has gradually seen the introduction of different systems, especially towards the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. This history of using First Past the Post means that the development of political parties in Scotland was affected to some extent by Duverger's Law, which causes the agglomeration of related political ideologies into a few large parties with many small parties rarely winning representation, though a four party system did develop in Scotland prior to the introduction of voting reform.

Electoral systems now used in Scotland are:^[1]

• The First Past the Post system is used for UK general elections.
• The Additional Member System is used for elections to the Scottish Parliament.
• The Single Transferable Vote system is used to elect local councils.
• The Party List System is used for European Parliament elections.

References