Scottish Parliament election, 2011

Scottish Parliamentary election, 2011

5 May 2011

All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   Leader Alex Salmond Iain Gray Party SNP Labour Leader's seat Aberdeenshire East East Lothian Last election 47 seats 46 seats Seats before 46 44 Seats won 69 37 Seat change 23* 7* Regional vote 876,421 523,559 % and swing 44% 13% 26.3% 2.9% Constituency vote 902,915 630,461 % and swing 45.4% 12.4% 31.7% 0.5%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Annabel Goldie Tavish Scott Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Leader's seat West Scotland Shetland Last election 17 seats 16 seats Seats before 20 17 Seats won 15 5 Seat change 5* 12* Regional vote 245,967 103,472 % and swing 12.4% 1.5% 5.2% 6.1% Constituency vote 276,652 157,714 % and swing 13.9% 2.7% 7.9% 8.3%

Map constituency winners of the election by their party colours. * Indicates boundary change - so this is a nominal figure

First Minister before election Alex Salmond SNP Elected First Minister Alex Salmond SNP

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The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system used to elect MSPs was, according to Jack McConnell, originally implemented to prevent any party achieving an overall parliamentary majority. The SNP won 69 seats, the most the party has ever held at either a Holyrood or Westminster election, allowing leader Alex Salmond to remain First Minister of Scotland. The SNP gained 32 constituencies, twenty two from the Scottish Labour Party, nine from the Scottish Liberal Democrats and one from the Scottish Conservatives. Such was the scale of their gains that, of the 73 constituencies in Scotland, only 20 are now represented by MSPs of other political parties. The Scottish Labour Party lost seven seats and suffered their worst election defeat in Scotland since 1931, with huge losses in their traditional Central Belt constituencies and for the first time having to rely on the regional lists to elect members within these areas. They did, however, remain the largest opposition party. Party leader Iain Gray announced his resignation following his party's disappointing result. The Scottish Liberal Democrats were soundly defeated; their popular vote share was cut in half and their seat total reduced from 17 to 5. Tavish Scott announced his resignation as party leader shortly after the election.^[1] For Scottish Conservatives, the election proved disappointing as their popular vote dropped slightly and their number of seats fell by 2, with party leader Annabel Goldie also announcing her resignation.^[2]

During the campaign, the four main party leaders engaged in a series of televised debates, as they had in every previous general election. These key debates were held on 29 March (STV), 1 May (BBC), and 3 May (STV). The results of the election were broadcast live on BBC Scotland and STV, on the night of the election.

It was the fourth general election since the devolved parliament was established in 1999 and was held on the same day as elections to the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as English local elections and the UK-wide referendum on the alternative vote.

Date

Under the Scotland Act 1998, an ordinary general election to the Scottish Parliament was held on the first Thursday in May four years after the 2007 election.^[3]

Because of the problems of voter confusion and a high number of spoilt ballots in 2007 due to holding Scottish parliamentary and local elections simultaneously and under different voting systems, the next Scottish local elections were held in 2012 instead of 2011. This policy decision was contradicted, however, by the staging of the Alternative Vote referendum on 5 May 2011 as well.^[4] Labour MP Ian Davidson expressed opposition to the referendum being staged on the same date as other elections.^[4] Scottish Secretary Michael Moore stated that having the referendum on another date would cost an additional £17 million.^[4]

British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens living in Scotland who were aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the election was midnight on Friday 15 April 2011, though anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Tuesday 26 April 2011 to register.^[5]

It was held on the same day as elections for Northern Ireland's 26 local councils, the Northern Irish Assembly and Welsh Assembly elections, a number of local elections in England and the United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum.

Boundary Review

The table below shows the notional figures for seats won by each party at the last election. The Conservatives have been the biggest gainers as a result of the boundary changes, winning an extra 3 seats and Labour has lost the most seats, losing 2 overall.

Party	Constituency Seats	Regional Seats	Total Seats	Seat Change
SNP	21	25	46	–1
Labour	35	9	44	–2
Conservative	6	14	20	+3
Liberal Democrat	11	6	17	+1
Scottish Green	0	1	1	–1

Election system, seats, and regions

The total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) elected to the Parliament is 129.

The First Periodical Review of the Scottish Parliament's constituencies and regions by the Boundary Commission for Scotland was announced on 3 July 2007. The Commission published its provisional proposals for the regional boundaries in 2009.

The Scottish Parliament uses an Additional Members System, designed to produce approximate proportional representation for each region. There are 8 regions each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. Each constituency elects one (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) system of election. Each region elects seven additional member MSPs using an additional member system. A modified D'Hondt method, using the constituency results, is used to calculate which additional member MSPs the regions elect.^[6][7]

The Scottish Parliament constituencies have not been coterminous with Scottish Westminster constituencies since the 2005 general election, when the 72 former Westminster constituencies were replaced with a new set of 59, generally larger, constituencies (see Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004).

For details of the Revised proposals for constituencies at the Next Scottish Parliament election - Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011

The Boundary Commission have also recommended changes to the electoral regions used to elect "list" members of the Scottish Parliament. The recommendations^[8] can be summarised below;

• Glasgow. Made of the proposed Glasgow seats of Anniesland, Cathcart, Kelvin, Maryhill and Springburn, Pollok, Provan, Shettleston, and Southside, and Rutherglen.
• Highlands and Islands. Consisting of the newly formed constituencies of Argyll and Bute, Caithness Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and Skye Lochaber and Badenoch.
• West Scotland. Made from the newly drawn seats of Clydebank and Milngavie, Cunninghame North, Cunninghame South, Dumbarton, Eastwood, Greenock and Inverclyde, Paisley, Renfrewshire North and West, Renfrewshire South, and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.
• Central Scotland. Formed by the combination of the recommended Airdrie and Shotts, Coatbridge and Chryston, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, East Kilbride, Falkirk East, Falkirk West, Hamilton Larkhall and Stonehouse, Motherwell and Wishaw, and Uddingston and Bellshill.
• Lothian. Made from the redrawn constituencies of Almond Valley, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern, Edinburgh Western, Linlithgow, and Midlothian North and Musselburgh.
• Mid Scotland and Fife. Made from the combination of Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Mid Fife and Glenrothes, North East Fife, Perthshire North, Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, and Stirling.
• North East Scotland. Consisting of the redrawn seats Aberdeen Central, Aberdeen Donside, Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Aberdeenshire East, Aberdeenshire West, Angus North and Mearns, Angus South, Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Dundee City East, and Dundee City West
• South Scotland. Created by the combination of Ayr, Carrick Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Ettrick Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Galloway and West Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, and Midlothian South, Tweedale and Lauderdale.

Retiring MSPs

At the dissolution of Parliament on 22 March 2011, twenty MSPs were not seeking re-election.^[9]

Constituency/Region	Departing MSP	Party
Mid Scotland and Fife	Christopher Harvie		Scottish National Party
Argyll and Bute	Jim Mather		Scottish National Party
Lothians	Ian McKee		Scottish National Party
South of Scotland	Alasdair Morgan		Scottish National Party
Angus	Andrew Welsh		Scottish National Party
Paisley North	Wendy Alexander		Scottish Labour Party
Midlothian	Rhona Brankin		Scottish Labour Party
Glasgow Baillieston	Margaret Curran		Scottish Labour Party
Lothians	George Foulkes		Scottish Labour Party
North East Scotland	Marlyn Glen		Scottish Labour Party
West Renfrewshire	Trish Godman		Scottish Labour Party
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	Cathy Jamieson		Scottish Labour Party
Motherwell and Wishaw	Jack McConnell		Scottish Labour Party
Highlands and Islands	Peter Peacock		Scottish Labour Party
Ross, Skye and Inverness West	John Farquhar Munro		Scottish Liberal Democrats
Aberdeen South	Nicol Stephen		Scottish Liberal Democrats
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	Jamie Stone		Scottish Liberal Democrats
Glasgow	Bill Aitken		Scottish Conservative Party
Mid Scotland and Fife	Ted Brocklebank		Scottish Conservative Party
Lothians	Robin Harper		Scottish Green Party

Campaign

The parliament was dissolved on 22 March 2011 and the campaign began thereafter. The Conservatives saw 3 of their candidates drop out of the election during the period 25–28 March: Malcolm McAskill from the Glasgow regional ballot, Iain Whyte from the Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn constituency ballot and David Meikle from the Glasgow regional ballot.

The Liberal Democrat regional candidate for the Central Scotland region Hugh O'Donnell also withdrew on 27 March, citing discontent with the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition at Westminster.^[10] Another Liberal Democrat, John Farquhar Munro, came out in support of Alex Salmond for First Minister, even though he also claimed not to support the SNP.^[11] In the Clydesdale constituency, the Liberal Democrat candidate John Paton-Day failed to lodge his papers in time for the nomination deadline, leaving the constituency as the only one in Scotland with no Liberal Democrat candidate.^[12] On 17 April, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott described himself as 'uncomfortable' with his Scottish party being 'related' to the Conservatives due to the coalition at Westminster.

A televised debate between the four main party leaders was shown on STV on 29 March, with SNP leader Alex Salmond and Conservative leader Annabel Goldie identified as the strongest performers.^[13] The Scottish Sun newspaper came out in support of the SNP's campaign to win a second term, even though the newspaper does not back independence.

Whilst campaigning in Glasgow Central station, the Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray was ambushed by a group of anti-cuts protestors who chased him into a nearby fast-food outlet.^[14] The same protestors had already targeted Conservative leader Annabel Goldie a month earlier. On 27 April, Iain Gray and SNP leader Alex Salmond were both present simultaneously in an Ardrossan branch of the Asda supermarket chain; both parties alleged that the other party's leader had 'ran away' from the possibility of an encounter with the other.^[15]

Policy platforms

The main parties contesting the election all outlined the following main aims:^[16]

Scottish National Party

• Legislate to give Scotland a referendum on independence.
• Maintain the council tax freeze throughout the next parliament.
• Attempt to generate 100% of Scotland's electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
• Continue offering free university tuition to Scottish students.
• Maintain high police numbers.

Labour Party

• Introduce Scottish Living Wage of £7.15 an hour, starting in the public sector.
• Abolish youth unemployment and aim to create 250,000 jobs by 2020.
• Compulsory six-month jail sentences for people convicted of knife-carrying.
• Initiate two-year council tax freeze.
• Re-instate the proposed rail link between Glasgow Central station and Glasgow International Airport, which was cancelled in 2009.
• Continue free University tuition fees for all Scottish students.

Conservative Party

• A council tax freeze during the period 2012-2013.
• Re-introduce prescription charges at 2009 standards (£5 for a single item).
• Consider building new nuclear power stations, but not on new sites.
• Bring in Variable University Graduate Fee, with no more than £4,000 being paid annually per student.
• Replace community service with short prison sentences.

Liberal Democrats

• Maintain free university tuition for Scottish students.
• Aim to create 100,000 new jobs through selling off Scottish Water which would free £1.5 billion for investment purposes.
• Oppose moves to create a centralised Scottish police force.
• Maintain the Scottish bus pass, but progressively bring the qualifying age up to 65.
• Reform the council tax.

Scottish Green Party

• Bring in large-scale ecosystem restoration projects.
• Replace council tax with land value tax.
• Maintain free university tuition for Scottish students.
• Focus on bringing restorative justice within Scotland's justice system.
• Abolish the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Parties contesting the election

Contesting constituency and regional ballot

Only the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Conservative Party contested all constituencies.^[17][18]

• Scottish National Party (SNP)
• Scottish Labour Party
• Scottish Conservative Party
• Scottish Liberal Democrats – Contesting all constituencies except Clydesdale ^[19]
• All Scotland Pensioner's Party/Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party – Contesting Mid Fife & Glenrothes and Motherwell & Wishaw
• Scottish Christian Party – Contesting Inverness & Nairn and Motherwell & Wishaw
• Liberal Party – Contesting Argyll & Bute
• National Front – Contesting Aberdeen Central, Aberdeen Donside, Aberdeen South & North Kincardine, Almond Valley, Linlithgow and only the North East Scotland region
• UK Independence Party (UKIP) – Contesting Inverness & Nairn, Moray and North East Fife

Contesting regional ballot only

• Scottish Green Party
• Solidarity – all regions except Glasgow
• Respect Party 'Coalition Against Cuts' – Glasgow only ^[20]
• Scottish Socialist Party
• British National Party (BNP)
• Socialist Labour Party
• Scottish Homeland Party^[21] – contesting Glasgow and Central regions
• Pirate Party
• Scottish Unionist Party
• Christian Peoples Alliance
• Ban Bankers Bonuses^[22] – contesting the Highlands and Islands and West of Scotland regional lists.

Contesting constituency ballot only

• Communist Party of Britain – Contesting Glasgow Anniesland
• Land Party – Contesting Cowdenbeath

Opinion polls

In March 2011, two months before the election, Labour held a double-digit lead over the SNP in the opinion polls,^[23] 44% to 29%.^[24] The SNP's support subsequently rallied, with the two parties level in April polling. In the final poll on the eve of the election, the SNP were eleven points clear of Labour.^[23][25]

Result

The election produced a majority SNP government, making this the first time in the Scottish Parliament where a party has commanded a parliamentary majority. The SNP took 16 seats from Labour, many of whose key figures failed to be returned to parliament, although Labour leader Iain Gray retained East Lothian by 151 votes. The SNP took a further eight seats from the Liberal Democrats and one seat from the Conservatives. The SNP overall majority means that there is sufficient support in the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on Scottish independence.^[26]

Labour's defeat has been attributed to several factors: the party focused too heavily on criticising the Conservative-led coalition at Westminster, and assumed that former Lib Dem voters would automatically switch their vote to Labour, when in fact they appear to have haemorrhaged support to the SNP.^[27] Jackie Baillie compared the result to Labour's performance in the 1983 UK general election.^[26] Iain Gray announced his intention to resign as leader of the Labour group of MSPs in the autumn.^[26]

The election saw a rout of the Liberal Democrats, with no victories in mainland constituencies^[28] and 25 lost deposits (candidates gaining less than five per cent of the vote).^[28] Leader Tavish Scott said their performance was due to the Liberal Democrats' involvement in the Westminster Government, which had been unpopular with many former LibDem supporters.^[29] Scott resigned as leader two days after the election.^[29]

For the Conservatives, the main disappointment was the loss of Edinburgh Pentlands, the seat of former party leader David McLetchie, to the SNP. McLetchie was elected on the Lothian regional list and the Conservatives only made a net loss of five seats, with leader Annabel Goldie claiming that their support had held firm.^[26] Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated the SNP on the result, but vowed to campaign for the Union in any independence referendum.^[26]

George Galloway, under a Unionist anti-cuts banner, failed to receive enough votes to be elected to the Glasgow regional list.^[26] The Scottish Greens won two seats, including their co-convenor Patrick Harvie.^[26] Margo MacDonald again won election as an independent on the Lothian regional list.^[26]

 Scottish general election, 2011

Parties		Additional member system										Total seats
		Constituency					Region
		Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Total	+/−	%
	SNP	902,915	45.39	+12.46	53	+32	876,421	44.04	+13.03	16	−9	69	+23	53.49
	Labour	630,461	31.69	−0.45	15	−20	523,559	26.31	−2.85	22	+13	37	−7	28.68
	Conservative	276,652	13.91	−2.69	3	−3	245,967	12.35	−1.55	12	−2	15	−5	11.63
	Liberal Democrats	157,714	7.93	−8.25	2	−9	103,472	5.20	−6.10	3	−3	5	−12	3.88
	Scottish Green	—	—	—	—	—	87,060	4.37	+0.33	2	±0	2	±0	1.55
	Independent	12,357	0.62	−0.62	0	±0	22,306	1.12	+0.08	1	±0	1	±0	0.78
	Scottish Senior Citizens	1,618	0.08	±0.00	0	±0	33,253	1.67	−0.23	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	UKIP	2,508	0.13	+0.13	0	±0	18,138	0.91	+0.51	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Socialist Labour	—	—	—	—	—	16,847	0.85	+0.15	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Scottish Christian	1,193	0.06	−0.17	0	±0	16,466	0.83	−0.47	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	BNP	—	—	—	—	—	15,580	0.78	−0.42	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Scottish Socialist	—	—	—	—	—	8,272	0.42	−0.21	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Respect	—	—	—	—	—	6,972	0.35	+0.35	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Scottish Unionist	—	—	—	—	—	3,002	0.15	−0.06	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Ban Bankers Bonuses	—	—	—	—	—	2,968	0.15	+0.15	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Solidarity	—	—	—	—	—	2,837	0.14	−1.38	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Liberal	436	0.02	+0.02	0	±0	2,393	0.12	+0.12	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Pirate	—	—	—	—	—	1,431	0.07	+0.07	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Christian Peoples	—	—	—	—	—	1,191	0.06	−0.66	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	National Front	1,515	0.08	+0.08	0	±0	640	0.03	+0.03	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Scotland Homeland Party	—	—	—	—	—	620	0.03	+0.03	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Angus Independents Representatives	1,321	0.07	+0.07	0	±0	471	0.02	+0.02	0	±0	0	±0	0.00
	Land Party	276	0.01	+0.01	0	±0	—	—	—	—	—	0	±0	0.00
	Communist	256	0.01	+0.00	0	±0	—	—	—	—	—	0	±0	0.00
	Total	1,989,222	100.00	—	73	±0	1,991,051	100.00	—	56	±0	129	±0	100.00

• Overall turnout: 50.4%^[30]

Votes summary

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: Central Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Airdrie and Shotts	Alex Neil	SNP gain from Labour
	Coatbridge and Chryston	Elaine Smith	Labour hold
	Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	Jamie Hepburn	SNP gain from Labour
	East Kilbride	Linda Fabiani	SNP gain from Labour
	Falkirk East	Angus MacDonald	SNP gain from Labour
	Falkirk West	Michael Matheson	SNP hold
	Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse	Christina McKelvie	SNP gain from Labour
	Motherwell and Wishaw	John Pentland	Labour hold
	Uddingston and Bellshill	Michael McMahon	Labour hold

Scottish parliamentary election, 2011: Central Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Richard Lyle John Wilson Claire Adamson	3	−2	108,261	46.4%	+15.5%
	Labour	Siobhan McMahon Mark Griffin Margaret McCulloch	3	+3	82,459	35.3%	−4.6%
	Conservative	Margaret Mitchell	1	±0	14,870	6.4%	−1.9%
	Liberal Democrats		0	−1	3,318	1.4%	−3.8%

Glasgow

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: Glasgow
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Glasgow Anniesland	Bill Kidd	SNP gain from Labour
	Glasgow Cathcart	James Dornan	SNP gain from Labour
	Glasgow Kelvin	Sandra White	SNP gain from Labour
	Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn	Patricia Ferguson	Labour hold
	Glasgow Pollok	Johann Lamont	Labour hold
	Glasgow Provan	Paul Martin	Labour hold
	Glasgow Shettleston	John Mason	SNP gain from Labour
	Glasgow Southside	Nicola Sturgeon	SNP gain from Labour
	Rutherglen	James Kelly	Labour hold

Scottish parliamentary election, 2011: Glasgow
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Humza Yousaf Bob Doris	2	−3	83,109	39.8%	+12.8%
	Labour	Hanzala Malik Drew Smith Anne McTaggart	3	+3	73,031	35.0%	−3.3%
	Conservative	Ruth Davidson	1	±0	12,749	6.1%	−0.6%
	Scottish Green	Patrick Harvie	1	+1	12,454	6.0%	+0.6%
	Liberal Democrats		0	−1	5,312	2.5%	−4.6%

Highlands and Islands

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: Highlands and Islands
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Argyll & Bute	Michael Russell	SNP hold
	Caithness, Sutherland & Ross	Rob Gibson	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Inverness & Nairn	Fergus Ewing	SNP hold
	Moray	Richard Lochhead	SNP hold
	Na h-Eileanan an Iar	Alasdair Allan	SNP hold
	Orkney	Liam McArthur	Liberal Democrats hold
	Shetland	Tavish Scott	Liberal Democrats hold
	Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch	Dave Thompson	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats

Scottish parliamentary election, 2011: Highlands and Islands
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	John Finnie Jean Urquhart Mike MacKenzie	3	+1	85,028	47.5%	+13.1%
	Labour	Rhoda Grant David Stewart	2	−1	25,884	14.5%	−3.2%
	Liberal Democrats		0	±0	21,729	12.1%	−8.0%
	Conservative	Jamie McGrigor Mary Scanlon	2	±0	20,843	11.6%	−0.8%

Lothian

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: Lothian
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Almond Valley	Angela Constance	SNP hold
	Edinburgh Central	Marco Biagi	SNP gain from Labour
	Edinburgh Eastern	Kenny MacAskill	SNP hold
	Edinburgh Northern and Leith	Malcolm Chisholm	Labour hold
	Edinburgh Pentlands	Gordon MacDonald	SNP gain from Conservative
	Edinburgh Southern	Jim Eadie	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Edinburgh Western	Colin Keir	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Linlithgow	Fiona Hyslop	SNP gain from Labour
	Midlothian North & Musselburgh	Colin Beattie	SNP gain from Labour

Scottish parliamentary election, 2011: Lothian
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP		0	−3	110,953	39.2%	+12.9%
	Labour	Sarah Boyack Kezia Dugdale Neil Findlay	3	+2	70,544	24.9%	−1.3%
	Conservative	David McLetchie Gavin Brown	2	+1	33,019	11.7%	−1.5%
	Scottish Green	Alison Johnstone	1	±0	21,505	7.6%	+0.5%
	Independent	Margo MacDonald	1	±0	18,732	6.6%	+0.0%
	Liberal Democrats		0		15,588	5.5%	−7.3

Mid Scotland and Fife

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: Mid Scotland and Fife
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Clackmannanshire & Dunblane	Keith Brown	SNP hold
	Cowdenbeath	Helen Eadie	Labour hold
	Dunfermline	Bill Walker	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Fife North East	Roderick Campbell	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Kirkcaldy	David Torrance	SNP gain from Labour
	Mid Fife & Glenrothes	Tricia Marwick	SNP hold
	Perthshire North	John Swinney	SNP hold
	Perthshire South & Kinross-shire	Roseanna Cunningham	SNP hold
	Stirling	Bruce Crawford	SNP gain from Labour

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: Mid Scotland and Fife
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Annabelle Ewing	1	±0	116,691	45.2%	+12.7%
	Labour	John Park Claire Brennan-Baker Richard Simpson	3	0	64,623	25.0%	−2.1%
	Conservative	Murdo Fraser Elizabeth Smith	2	−1	36,458	14.1%	−1.5%
	Liberal Democrats	Willie Rennie	1	+1	15,103	5.9%	−7.7%

North East Scotland

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Kevin Stewart	SNP gain from Labour
	Aberdeen Donside	Brian Adam	SNP hold
	Aberdeen South & North Kincardine	Maureen Watt	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Aberdeenshire East	Alex Salmond	SNP hold
	Aberdeenshire West	Dennis Robertson	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Angus North & Mearns	Nigel Don	SNP hold
	Angus South	Graeme Dey	SNP hold
	Banffshire & Buchan Coast	Stewart Stevenson	SNP hold
	Dundee City East	Shona Robison	SNP hold
	Dundee City West	Joe Fitzpatrick	SNP hold

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: North East Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Mark McDonald	1	±0	140,749	52.7%	+12.2%
	Labour	Richard Baker Jenny Marra Lewis MacDonald	3	±0	43,893	16.4%	−3.2%
	Conservative	Alex Johnstone Nanette Milne	2	±0	37,681	14.1%	−1.1%
	Liberal Democrats	Alison McInnes	1	±0	18,178	6.8%	−8.4%

South Scotland

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: South Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Ayr	John Scott	Conservative hold
	Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	Adam Ingram	SNP gain from Labour
	Clydesdale	Aileen Campbell	SNP gain from Labour
	Dumfriesshire	Elaine Murray	Labour hold
	East Lothian	Iain Gray	Labour hold
	Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire	John Lamont	Conservative hold
	Galloway and West Dumfries	Alex Fergusson	Conservative hold
	Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley	Willie Coffey	SNP hold
	Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale	Christine Grahame	SNP hold

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: South Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Joan McAlpine Aileen McLeod Paul Wheelhouse Chic Brodie	4	−1	114,270	40.96%	+12.4
	Labour	Claudia Beamish Graeme Pearson	2	+2	70,596	25.3%	−3.5
	Conservative		0	−1	54,352	19.48%	−2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Hume	1	±0	15,096	5.41%	−4.5

West Scotland

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: West Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Clydebank & Milngavie	Gil Paterson	SNP gain from Labour
	Cunninghame North	Kenneth Gibson	SNP hold
	Cunninghame South	Margaret Burgess	SNP gain from Labour
	Dumbarton	Jackie Baillie	Labour hold
	Eastwood	Ken Macintosh	Labour hold
	Greenock & Inverclyde	Duncan McNeil	Labour hold
	Paisley	George Adam	SNP gain from Labour
	Renfrewshire North & West	Derek MacKay	SNP gain from Labour
	Renfrewshire South	Hugh Henry	Labour hold
	Strathkelvin & Bearsden	Fiona McLeod	SNP gain from Labour

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: West Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Stewart Maxwell Stuart McMillan	2	−2	117,306	41.5%	+13%
	Labour	Mary Fee Neil Bibby Margaret McDougall	3	+3	92,530	32.8%	−1.8%
	Conservative	Annabel Goldie Jackson Carlaw	2	±0	35,995	12.7%	−2.0%
	Liberal Democrats		0	−1	9,148	3.2%	−4.9%

Top target seats of the main parties

Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing of less than 5% from the 2007 result to change hands. Because the election was fought under new boundaries, the figures are based on notional results from 2007.^[31]

SNP targets

Rank Constituency Winning party 2007 Swing to gain SNP's place 2007 Result 1 Glasgow Southside Labour 0.07 2nd SNP gain 2 Linlithgow Labour 0.45 2nd SNP gain 3 Stirling Labour 0.61 2nd SNP gain 4 Edinburgh Eastern Labour 0.80 2nd SNP gain 5 Airdrie and Shotts Labour 1.32 2nd SNP gain 6 Clydesdale Labour 1.85 2nd SNP gain 7 Glasgow Kelvin Labour 2.23 2nd SNP gain 8 Midlothian North & Musselburgh Labour 2.59 2nd SNP gain 9 Dumbarton Labour 2.64 2nd Labour hold 10 Falkirk East Labour 3.05 2nd SNP gain 11 East Lothian Labour 3.76 2nd Labour hold 12 East Kilbride Labour 3.78 2nd SNP gain 13 Glasgow Cathcart Labour 3.50 2nd SNP gain 14 Edinburgh Northern & Leith Labour 3.63 2nd Labour hold 15 Aberdeen South & North Kincardine Liberal Democrats 3.66 2nd SNP gain 16 Galloway & West Dumfries Conservative 3.84 2nd Con hold 17 Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Labour 3.94 2nd SNP gain 18 Edinburgh Central Liberal Democrats 4.05 3rd SNP gain 19 Caithness, Sutherland & Ross Liberal Democrats 4.28 2nd SNP gain 20 Edinburgh Pentlands Conservative 4.49 3rd SNP gain 21 Dunfermline Liberal Democrats 4.55 3rd SNP gain 22 Cunninghame South Labour 4.61 2nd SNP gain Conservative targets Rank Constituency Winning party 2007 Swing to gain Con place 2007 Result 1 Perthshire South & Kinross-shire SNP 2.23 2nd SNP hold

Labour targets Rank Constituency Winning party 2007 Swing to gain Labour's place 2007 Result 1 Almond Valley SNP 0.007 2nd SNP hold 2 Cunninghame North SNP 0.07 2nd SNP hold 3 Dunfermline Liberal Democrats 0.14 2nd SNP gain 4 Aberdeen Central SNP 0.69 2nd SNP hold 5 Dumfriesshire Conservative 1.05 2nd Labour gain 6 Edinburgh Central Liberal Democrats 1.28 2nd SNP gain 7 Falkirk West SNP 1.28 2nd SNP hold 8 Clackmannanshire & Dunblane SNP 1.39 2nd SNP hold 9 Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley SNP 2.01 2nd SNP hold 10 Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP 2.52 2nd SNP hold 11 Dundee City West SNP 4.22 2nd SNP hold 12 Edinburgh Pentlands Conservative 4.31 2nd SNP gain 13 Mid Fife & Glenrothes SNP 4.53 2nd SNP hold Liberal Democrat targets Rank Constituency Winning party 2007 Swing to gain LD's place 2007 Result 1 Argyll & Bute SNP 1.41 2nd SNP hold 2 Aberdeen Central SNP 1.70 3rd SNP hold 3 Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale SNP 1.66 2nd SNP hold 4 Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire Conservative 2.61 2nd Con hold 5 Edinburgh Northern and Leith Labour 4.16 3rd Labour hold

Incumbents defeated

Constituency/Region	MSP	Party		MSP Since	Office previously held
Airdrie and Shotts	Karen Whitefield		Scottish Labour Party	1999
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	Cathie Craigie		Scottish Labour Party	1999
East Kilbride	Andy Kerr		Scottish Labour Party	1999	Minister for Finance and Public Services
Falkirk East	Cathy Peattie		Scottish Labour Party	1999
Glasgow Anniesland	Bill Butler		Scottish Labour Party	2000
Glasgow Cathcart	Charlie Gordon		Scottish Labour Party	2005
Glasgow Kelvin	Pauline McNeill		Scottish Labour Party	1999
Glasgow Shettleston	Frank McAveety		Scottish Labour Party	1999	Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport
Kirkcaldy	Marilyn Livingstone		Scottish Labour Party	1999
Clydesdale	Karen Gillon		Scottish Labour Party	1999
Clydebank and Milngavie	Des McNulty		Scottish Labour Party	1999	Deputy Minister for Communities
Cunninghame South	Irene Oldfather		Scottish Labour Party	1999
Strathkelvin and Bearsden	David Whitton		Scottish Labour Party	2007
Edinburgh South	Mike Pringle		Scottish Liberal Democrats	2003
North East Fife	Iain Smith		Scottish Liberal Democrats	1999
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Mike Rumbles		Scottish Liberal Democrats	1999
Glasgow	Robert Brown		Scottish Liberal Democrats	1999
West of Scotland	Ross Finnie		Scottish Liberal Democrats	1999	Minister for the Environment and Rural Development
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale	Jeremy Purvis		Scottish Liberal Democrats	1999
Edinburgh West	Margaret Smith		Scottish Liberal Democrats	1999
Dunfermline West	Jim Tolson		Scottish Liberal Democrats	2007
Central Scotland	Hugh O'Donnell		Scottish Liberal Democrats	2007
South of Scotland	Derek Brownlee		Scottish Conservative Party	2005
Glasgow	Anne McLaughlin		Scottish National Party	2009
Lothian	Shirley-Anne Somerville		Scottish National Party	2007
Lothian (was previously member in West of Scotland)	Bill Wilson		Scottish National Party	2007

See also

• Arbuthnott Commission
• National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
• Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011
• Murphy and Boyack review of the Labour Party in Scotland
• Scottish Labour Party leadership election, 2011
• Scottish Conservative Party leadership election, 2011
• Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2011

References

External links

• Election 2011, a Briefing by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre
• Scottish Election Study

Party manifestos

• British National Party Manifesto
• Communist Party of Britain Manifesto
• Pirate Party UK Scottish Manifesto
• Respect Party 'Coalition Against Cuts' Manifesto
• Scottish Christian Party Manifesto
• Scottish Conservative Party Manifesto
• Scottish Green Party Manifesto
• Scottish Homeland Party Manifesto
• Scottish Labour Party Manifesto
• Scottish Liberal Democrats Manifesto
• Scottish National Party Manifesto
• Scottish Socialist Party Manifesto
• UK Independence Party Manifesto

Party election broadcasts

• Scottish National Party
• Scottish Labour Party
• Scottish Conservative Party
• Scottish Liberal Democrats
• Scottish Green Party
• British National Party
• UK Independence Party
• Scottish Christian Party
• Scottish Socialist Party
• All Scotland Pensioner's Party
• Socialist Labour Party

Elections and referendums in Scotland Parliamentary elections Pre-1707 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 Local elections 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1977 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 Referendums 1979 1997 2014 Local referendums Scottish licensing referendums, 1920 Strathclyde (water) 1994 Edinburgh (congestion charge) 2005 See also: Elections in Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom Politics of Scotland