Scottish Parliament election, 2003

Scottish Parliament election, 2003

1 May 2003

All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party   Leader Jack McConnell John Swinney Party Labour SNP Leader's seat Motherwell and Wishaw North Tayside Last election 56 seats, 33.6% 35 seats, 27.3% Seats won 50 27 Seat change 6 8 Constituency Votes 659,879 449,476 Constituency % 34.6% 23.8% List Votes 561,379 399,659 List % 29.3% 20.9 %   Third party Fourth party   Leader David McLetchie Jim Wallace Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Edinburgh Pentlands Orkney Last election 18 seats, 15.6% 17 seats, 12.4% Seats won 18 17 Seat change 0 0 Constituency Votes 312,598 286,150 Constituency % 16.6% 15.3% List Votes 296,929 225,774 List % 15.5% 11.8%

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 election of members to 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.

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

Defeated MSPs

Labour

• Brian Fitzpatrick, Strathkelvin and Bearsden
• Rhoda Grant, Highlands and Islands
• Iain Gray, Edinburgh Pentlands
• Angus MacKay, Edinburgh South
• Richard Simpson, Mid Scotland and Fife
• Elaine Thomson, Aberdeen North

SNP

• Kenneth Gibson, Glasgow
• Irene McGugan, North East Scotland
• Fiona McLeod, West of Scotland
• Gil Paterson, Central Scotland
• Lloyd Quinan, West of Scotland
• Michael Russell, South of Scotland
• Andrew Wilson, Central Scotland

The New Party

• Keith Harding, Mid Scotland and Fife (elected as a Conservative)
• Lyndsay McIntosh, Central Scotland (elected as a Conservative)

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 a series on the politics and government of Scotland
Government First Minister: Nicola Sturgeon Deputy First Minister: John Swinney Cabinet Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Civil Service Directorates Public bodies Executive agencies Local government
Parliament Presiding Officer: Tricia Marwick Acts Statutory Instruments Shadow Cabinets Members (MSPs) 1999 2003 2007 2011 Elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 Constituencies and electoral regions Legislative Consent Motion
Law Supreme Court (UK) Supreme Courts Sheriff Courts Land Courts Justice of the Peace Courts Lord Lyon Court
Scotland in the UK Her Majesty's Government Scotland Office Sec. of State: D. Mundell Under-Sec.: A. Dunlop UK Parliament Grand Committee Select Committee Reserved matters Elections Constituencies Current Westminster MPs
Scotland in the EU European Parliament elections Constituency
Administrative divisions Local government Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Other countries Atlas British politics portal

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

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

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

(2002 ←)   United Kingdom local elections, 2003   (→ 2004) Metropolitan boroughs Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton Unitary authorities Bath and North East Somerset Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bournemouth Bracknell Forest Brighton & Hove Bristol Darlington Derby East Riding of Yorkshire Halton Hartlepool Herefordshire Kingston upon Hull Leicester Luton Medway Middlesbrough Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Somerset Nottingham Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Reading Redcar and Cleveland Rutland Slough South Gloucestershire Southampton Southend-on-Sea Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Swindon Telford and Wrekin Torbay Warrington West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham York District councils (England) Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bedford Berwick-upon-Tweed Blaby Blyth Valley Bolsover Boston Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cherwell Chester Chester-le-Street Chesterfield Chichester Chiltern Christchurch Chorley Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Dartford Daventry Derbyshire Dales Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Dorset East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gloucester Gravesham Great Yarmouth Guildford Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Havant Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Horsham Huntingdonshire Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering King's Lynn and West Norfolk Lancaster Lewes Lichfield Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Mole Valley New Forest Newark and Sherwood Newcastle-under-Lyme North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire Northampton Norwich Nuneaton and Bedworth Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Pendle Penwith Preston Purbeck Redditch Reigate and Banstead Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Salisbury Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham South Bedfordshire South Bucks South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Somerset South Staffordshire Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thanet Three Rivers Tonbridge and Malling Torridge Tunbridge Wells Uttlesford Vale Royal Wansbeck Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire West Somerset Weymouth and Portland Winchester Woking Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Scottish councils Aberdeen Aberdeenshire Angus Argyll and Bute Clackmannanshire Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Dumfries and Galloway Dundee City East Ayrshire East Dunbartonshire East Lothian East Renfrewshire Edinburgh Falkirk Fife Glasgow Highland Inverclyde Midlothian Moray North Ayrshire North Lanarkshire Orkney Perth and Kinross Renfrewshire Scottish Borders Shetland South Ayrshire South Lanarkshire Stirling West Dunbartonshire West Lothian National Assembly elections Scotland Wales Northern Ireland