Elections in Scotland

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Scotland has elections to several bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament, the European Parliament, local councils and community councils.

Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliamentary elections use the Additional Member System (AMS). Under this system, voters are given two votes: one for their constituency, which elects a single MSP by first-past-the-post; and one for their region, which elects seven MSPs by closed list. Five Scottish Parliamentary elections have been held since the reconvention of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Elections are held every five years, on the first Thursday in May.

By-elections

• Cowdenbeath by-election, 2014 Lab hold
• Dunfermline by-election, 2013 Lab gain from SNP
• Aberdeen Donside by-election, 2013 SNP hold
• Moray by-election, 2006 SNP hold
• Cathcart by-election, 2005 Lab hold
• Banff and Buchan by-election, 2001 SNP hold
• Strathkelvin and Bearsden by-election, 2001 Lab hold
• Glasgow Anniesland by-election, 2000 Lab hold
• Ayr by-election, 2000 Con gain from Lab

UK Parliament

2017

^[3]

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats contested	Votes	Votes, of total (%)	Change (%)
	SNP	35	-21	59	977,569	36.9	13.1
	Conservative	13	+12	59	757,949	28.6	13.7
	Labour	7	+6	59*	717,007	27.1	2.8
	Liberal Democrat	4	+3	59	179,061	6.8	0.7
	Scottish Green	0	0	3	5,886	0.2	1.1
	UKIP	0	0	2	5,302	0.2	1.4
	Others	0	0	N/A	6,921	0.3
Turnout					2,910,465	66.4	2,649,695

2015

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats Contested	Votes	Avg. votes per candidate	%	% change
	SNP	56	+50	59	1,454,436	24,651	50.0	30.1
	Labour	1	-40	59	707,147	11,986	24.3	17.7
	Conservative	1	0	59	434,097	7,358	14.9	1.8
	Liberal Democrat	1	-10	59	219,675	3,723	7.5	11.4
	UKIP	0	0	41	47,078	1,148	1.6	0.9
	Scottish Green	0	0	31	39,205	1,265	1.3	0.6
	CISTA	0	0	8	1,807	226	0.1	0.1
	TUSC	0	0	10	1,720	172	0.1	0
	Scottish Christian	0	0	2	1,467	734	0.1	0.1
	Scottish Socialist	0	0	4	895	224	0.0	0.1
	National Front	0	0	2	289	145	0.0	0
	Communist	0	0	1	136	136	0.0	0
	Socialist Equality	0	0	1	58	58	0.0	0
	Others	0	0	N/A	2,455	N/A	0.1	0.3
Turnout:					2,910,465	71.1

^[4]

2010

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats Contested	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	41	0	59	1,035,528	42.0	2.5
	Liberal Democrat	11	0	59	465,471	18.9	3.7
	SNP	6	0	59	491,386	19.9	2.3
	Conservative	1	0	59*	412,855	16.7	0.9
	UKIP	0	0	34	17,223	0.7	0.3
	Scottish Green	0	0	20	16,827	0.7	0.3
	BNP	0	0	13	8,910	0.4	0.3
	TUSC	0	0	10	3,530	0.1	N/A
	Scottish Socialist	0	0	10	3,157	0.1	1.7
	Socialist Labour	0	0	5	1,673	0.0	-
	Christian	0	0	1	835	0.0	N/A
	Trust	0	0	1	534	0.0	N/A
	Liberal	0	0	1	389	0.0	N/A
	Scottish Jacobite	0	0	2	290	0.0	N/A
	Communist	0	0	2	237	0.0	N/A
Turnout:					2,465,722	63.8

^* Philip Lardner, the Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran was disowned by the Conservative Party for comments he posted on his website, calling homosexuality 'abnormal'. It was too late for him to be replaced and he still read as the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party candidate on the ballot paper.

2005

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	41	-15	922,402	39.5	-4.5
	Liberal Democrat	11	+1	528,076	22.6	+6.3
	SNP	6	+1	412,267	17.7	-2.4
	Conservative	1	0	369,388	15.8	+0.2
	Scottish Socialist	0	0	43,514	1.9	-1.2
	Scottish Green	0	0	25,760	1.1	+1.1
	UKIP	0	0	8,859	0.4	+0.3
	Socialist Labour	0	0	6,696	0.3	+0.2
	Christian	0	0	4,004	0.2	+0.2
	BNP	0	0	1,591	0.1	+0.1
	Scottish Unionist	0	0	1,266	0.1	0
	Scottish Senior Citizens	0	0	1,017	0.0	0
	Liberal	0	0	916	0.0	0
Turnout:				2,333,887	60.6

2001

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	56	0	1,001,173	43.3	-2.3
	Liberal Democrat	10	0	378,034	16.3	+3.4
	SNP	5	-1	464,314	20.1	-2.1
	Conservative	1	+1	360,658	15.6	-1.9
	Scottish Socialist	0	0	72,516	3.1	+2.8
Turnout:				2,315,703	58.2	-13.1

1997

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	56	7	1,283,350	45.6	+6.6
	Liberal Democrat	10	1	365,362	13.0	-0.1
	SNP	6	3	621,550	22.1	+0.6
	Conservative	0	11	493,059	17.5	-8.2
	Other	0	0	53,427	2.0	+1.2
Turnout:				2,816,748	71.3	-4.2

1992

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	49	1	1,142,911	39.0	3.4
	Conservative	11	1	751,950	25.6	1.6
	Liberal Democrat	9		383,856	13.1	6.1
	SNP	3		629,564	21.5	7.4
	Other	0		23,417	0.8	0.5
Turnout:				2,931,698	75.5	0.4

1987

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	50	9	1,258,132	42.4	+7.3
	Conservative	10	11	713,081	24.0	-4.4
	SDP–Liberal Alliance	9	1	570,053	19.2	-5.3
	SNP	3	1	416,473	14.1	+2.3
	Other	0	0	10,069	0.3	0.0
Turnout:				2,967,808	75.1	+2.4

1983

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	41	3	990,654	35.1	-6.5
	Conservative	21	1	801,487	28.4	-3.0
	SDP–Liberal Alliance	8	5 (Compared to the Liberals in 1979)	692,634	24.5	+15.5
	SNP	2	0	331,975	11.8	-5.5
	Other	0	0	7,830	0.3	+0.2
Turnout:				2,824,580	72.7

1979

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	44	3	1,211,455	41.5	5.2
	Conservative	22	6	916,155	31.4	6.7
	SNP	2	9	504,259	17.3	13.1
	Liberal	3	0	262,224	9.0	0.7
	SLP	0	New	13,737	0.5	New
	Other	0	0	2,881	0.1	0.0
Turnout:				2,916,637	76.84

October 1974

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	41	1	1,000,581	36.3	0.3
	Conservative	16	5	681,327	24.7	8.2
	SNP	11	4	839,617	30.4	8.5
	Liberal	3		228,855	8.3	0.4
	Communist	0		7,453	0.3	0.2
	National Front	0		86	0.0	0.0
	Other	0		182	0.0	0.0
Turnout:				2,758,101	74.81

February 1974

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	40	4	1,057,601	36.6	7.9
	Conservative	21	2	950,668	32.9	5.1
	SNP	7	6	633,180	21.9	10.5
	Liberal	3		229,162	7.9	2.4
	Communist	0		15,071	0.5	0.1
	Other	0		1,393	0.1	0.1
Turnout:				2,887,075	78.86

1970

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	44	2	1,197,068	44.5	5.4
	Conservative	23	3	1,020,674	38.0	0.4
	SNP	1	1	306,802	11.4	6.4
	Liberal	3	2	147,667	5.5	1.3
	Communist	0	-	11,408	0.4	0.2
	Other	0	-	4,616	0.2	0.2
Turnout:				2,688,235	73.91

1966

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	46	3	1,273,916	49.8	0.1
	Conservative	20	4	960,675	37.6	3.0
	Liberal	5	1	172,447	6.8	0.8
	SNP	0	-	128,474	5.0	2.6
	Communist	0	-	16,230	0.6	0.1
	Other	0	0	638	0.0	0.0
Turnout:				2,552,380

1964

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party		43	5	1,283,667	48.7	2.0
	Conservative (Total)		24	7	1,069,695	40.6	6.7
		Conservative	24	1	981,641	37.3	2.5
		National Liberal & Conservative	0	6	88,054	3.3	4.2
	Liberal		4	3	200,063	7.6	3.5
	SNP		0	-	64,044	2.4	1.6
	Communist		0	-	12,241	0.5	-
	Other		0	-	4,829	0.2	-
Total			71		2,634,539	100

1959

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party		38	4	1,245,255	46.7	-
	Conservative (Total)		31	5	1,260,287	47.3	2.8
		Unionist	25	5	1,060,609	39.8	1.7
		National Liberal & Conservative	6	-	199,678	7.5	1.1
	Liberal		1	-	108,963	4.1	2.1
	Independent Unionist		1	1	12,163	0.5	-
	SNP		0	-	21,738	0.8	0.3
	Communist		0	-	12,150	0.5	-
	Fife Socialist League		0	-	4,886	0.2	-
	Other		0	-	2,071	0.1	0.2
Total			71		2,667,513	100

1955

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Conservative (Total)		36	1	1,273,942	50.1	1.5
		Unionist	30	1	1,056,209	41.5	1.6
		National Liberal & Conservative	6	-	217,733	8.6	0.1
	Labour Party		34	1	1,188,058	46.7	1.2
	Liberal		1	-	47,273	1.9	0.8
	Communist		0	-	13,195	0.5	0.1
	SNP		0	-	12,112	0.5	0.2
	Other		0	-	8,674	0.3	0.2
Total			71		2,543,254	100

1951

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Conservative (Total)		35	4	1,349,298	48.6	4.8
		Unionist	29	3	1,108,321	39.9	2.7
		National Liberal & Conservative	6	-	240,977	8.7	1.1
	Labour Party		35	2	1,330,244	47.9	1.7
	Liberal		1	1	76,291	2.7	3.9
	Communist		0	-	10,947	0.4	0.6
	SNP		0	-	7,299	0.3	0.1
	Other		0	1	3,758	0.1	0.9
Total			71		2,777,837	100

1950

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party		37	-	1,259,410	46.2	1.7
	Conservative (Total)		31	4	1,222,010	44.8	4.5
		Unionist	26	2	1,013,909	37.2	0.5
		National Liberal & Conservative	5	2	208,101	7.6	4.0
	Liberal		2	2	180,270	6.6	1.0
	SNP		0	-	9,708	0.4	0.9
	Communist		0	1	27,559	1.0	0.4
	Other		1	2	27,727	1.0	0.7
Total			71		2,726,684	100

1945

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party		37	17	1,144,310	47.9	11.1
	Conservative (Total)		27		964,134	40.3
		Unionist	24	11	878,206	36.7	5.3
		National Liberal & Conservative	3	4	85,937	3.6	3.1
	Independent Labour Party		3	1	40,725	1.7	3.3
	Other		3	3	39,774	1.7	1.7
	Communist		1	-	33,265	1.4	0.8
	Liberal		0	3	132,849	5.6	1.1
	SNP		0	-	30,595	1.3	0.2
	Common Wealth Party		0	-	4,231	0.2	0.2
Total			71		2,389,892	100

1935

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	National Government (Total)		43	21	1,135,403	49.8	15.2
		Unionist	35	13	962,595	42.0	7.5
		National Liberal	7		149,072	6.7
		National Labour	1	0	19,115	0.9	0.1
		National	0		4,621	0.2
	Labour Party		20	13	863,789	36.8	4.2
	Liberal		3	4	174,235	6.7	1.9
	Independent Labour Party		4		111,256	5.0
	SNP		0		25,652	1.1
	Communist		1	1	13,462	0.6	0.8
Total			71		2,323,797	100

1931

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	National Government (Total)		64		1,385,385	64.0
		Unionist	48	28	1,056,768	49.5	13.6
		National Liberal & Conservative	8	New	101,430	4.9	New
		Liberal	7	6	205,384	8.6	9.5
		National Labour	1	New	21,803	1.0	New
	Labour Party		7	29	696,248	32.6	9.7
	Communist		0		35,618	1.4	0.3
	National Party of Scotland		0		20,954	1.0	0.8
	New Party		0	New	3,895	0.2	New
	Other		0		32,229	0.8
Total			71		2,174,329	100

1929

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	36	10	937,300	42.3	1.2
	Unionist	20	16	792,063	35.9	4.8
	Liberal	13	5	407,081	18.1	1.5
	Communist	0	-	27,114	1.1	0.4
	Scottish Prohibition	1	-	25,037	1.1
	National Party of Scotland	0	-	3,313	0.2	New
	Other	1		51,033	1.3
Total		71		2,242,941	100

1924

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Unionist	36	22	688,299	40.7	9.1
	Labour	26	8	697,146	41.1	5.2
	Liberal	8	14	286,540	16.6	11.8
	Communist	0	-	15,930	0.7	1.7
	Other	1	-	29,193	0.9	0.8
Total		71		1,717,108	100

1923

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	34	5	532,450	35.9	3.7
	Liberal (Reunited)	22	5	422,995	28.4	10.8
	Unionist	14	1	468,526	31.6	6.5
	Communist	0	1	39,448	2.4	1.0
	Other	1	-	37,908	1.7	0.4
Total		71		1,501,327	100

1922

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	29	23	501,254	32.2	9.3
	Liberal	15	7	328,649	21.5	6.1
	Unionist	13		379,396	25.1
	National Liberal	12	13	288,529	17.7	1.4
	Communist	1		23,944	1.4
	Other	1		47,589	2.1
Total		71		1,569,361	100

1918

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Coalition (Total)		54		584,259	52.3
		Coalition Unionist	28		336,530	30.8
		Coalition Liberal	25		221,145	19.1
		Coalition Labour	1		14,247	1.3
		Coalition NDP	0		12,337	1.1
	Labour		6		265,744	22.9
	Liberal		8		163,960	15.0
	Unionist		2		21,939	2.0
	Co-operative Party		0		19,841	1.8
	Highland Land League		0		8,710	0.8
	Scottish Prohibition Party		0		5,212	0.5
	NDP		0		4,297	0.4
	Other		1		52,749	4.7
Total			71		1,126,711	100

1910 December

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal		57	1	306,378	53.6	0.6
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist		10	1	244,785	42.6	3.0
	Labour Party		3	1	24,633	3.6	1.5
	Other		0	1	1,947	0.2	0.9
Total			70		577,743	100

1910 January

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal		58		354,847	54.2	2.2
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist		9	1	260,033	39.6	1.4
	Labour Party		2		37,852	5.1	2.8
	Other		1		7,710	1.1
Total			70		660,442	100

1906

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal		58	24	336,400	56.4	6.2
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist		10	26	225,802	38.2	10.8
	Labour		2	2	16,897	2.3
	Other		0		17,815	3.1
Total			70		596,914	100

1900

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist		36	5	237,217	49.0	1.6
	Liberal		34	5	245,092	50.2	1.5
	Scottish Workers'		0		3,107	0.6
	Other		0		814	0.2
Total			70		486,230	100

1895

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	39	12	236,446	51.7	2.2
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	31	12	214,403	47.4	3
	Independent Labour Party	0		4,269	0.8	0.8
Total		70			100

1892

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	51	8	256,944	53.9	0.3
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	19	8	209,944	44.4	2.0
	Scottish Trades Councils Labour	0		2,313	0.5	0.5
	Scottish Parliamentary Labour	0		2,043	0.4	0.4
	Other	0		3,886	0.8	0.8
Total		70		475,130	100

1886

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	43	8	193,801	53.6	0.3
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	27	19	164,314	46.4	12.1
Total		70		358,115	100

1885

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	51	1	238,627	53.3	16.8
	Conservative	8	2	151,137	34.3	4.4
	Independent Liberal & Crofters Party	4	4	16,551	3.7	3.7
	Independent Liberal	7	7	38,214	8.6	8.6
	Others	0
	Scottish Land Restoration League	0		2,359	0.5	0.5
Total		70	12	446,888	100

1880

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	52	12	195,517	70.1	1.7
	Conservative	6	12	75,145	29.9	1.7
Total		58		269,662	100

1874

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	40	11	148,345	68.4	14.1
	Conservative	18	11	63,193	31.6	14.1
Total		58		211,538	100

1868

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	51	9	125,356	82.5	2.9
	Conservative	7	4	23,985	17.5	2.9
Total		58	5	149,341	100

1865

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	42	2	43,480	85.4	21.0
	Conservative	11	2	4,305	14.6	19.0
Total		53		47,785	100

1859

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	40	1	5,174	66.4	18.4
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	13	1	2,616	33.6	18.4
Total		53		7,790	100

1857

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	39	6	31,999	84.8	12.2
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	14	6	4,060	15.2	12.2
Total		53		36,059	100

1852

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	-	21,015	72.6	9.1
	Conservative & Liberal Conservative	20	-	6,955	27.4	9.1
Total		53		27,970	100

1847

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	-	20,092	81.7	19.9
	Conservative & Liberal Conservative	20	-	3,509	18.3	20.0
Total		53		23,601	100

1841

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	-	16,356	60.8	6.8
	Conservative	20	-	9,793	38.3	8.3
	Chartist	0		385	0.9
Total		53		26,354	100

1837

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	5	22,082	54.0	8.8
	Conservative	20	5	18,569	46.0	8.8
Total		53	-	40,651	100

1835

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	38	5	28,307	62.8	16.2
	Conservative	15	5	15,733	37.2	16.2
Total		53		44,040	100

1832

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	43	22	44,003	79.0
	Tory	10	13	9,752	21.0
Total		53		53,755	100

1831

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Tory	23	10
	Whig	21	9
	Doubtful	1	1
Total		45			100

1830

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Tory	33
	Whig	12
Total		45			100

Pre 1974

Party Year	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Scottish National Party	others
18 June 1970	19	48	3	1	0
31 March 1966	21	46	5	0	0
15 October 1964	23	44	4	0	0
8 October 1959	26	43	1	0	1
26 May 1955	36	34	1	0	0
25 October 1951	35	35	1	0	0
23 February 1950	32	37	2	0	0
5 July 1945	30	34	0	0	7

By-elections

Local councils

Since 1995, local elections in Scotland are generally held every four years for all 32 unitary authorities which were created under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. Between 1975 and 1992, elections were held every two years for either district or regional council, which sat for four-year terms. Those arrangements were set up by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

As one consequence of the Gould Report,^[5] which was a response to the fiasco of the 2007 elections, the next council elections were scheduled for 2012 (one year after the Parliamentary elections in 2011)

2017

The election was contested again using the STV system of proportional representation, and similar to the 2012 Scottish Local Election was delayed 1 year to ensure this election was not held the same day as the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections (that was delayed a year due to the 2015 General Election).

For full analysis see Scottish local elections, 2017.

2012

The election was contested for the second time under the STV system of proportional representation. It was also the first time in 13 years for the elections not be held on the same day as the Scottish parliament elections. For full analysis see Scottish council elections, 2012.

 Summary of the 3 May 2012 Scottish council election results^[6]

Party		First-preference votes			Seats won
		#	%	Swing (pp)	#	Net Gain	%
	Scottish National Party	503,233	32.33	+4.48	425	+62	34.75
	Labour	488,703	31.39	+3.26	394	+46	32.22
	Conservative	206,599	13.27	−2.35	115	−28	9.40
	Independents	183,329	11.78	+1.27	196	+12	16.03
	Liberal Democrats	103,087	6.62	-6.05	71	-95	5.81
	Green	36,000	2.31	+0.11	14	+6	1.14
	UKIP	4,289	0.28	+0.22	0	±0	0.00
	Scottish Socialist Party	4,183	0.27	−0.61	1	±0	0.08
	Borders Party	3,755	0.24	+0.12	2	±0	0.16
	Action to Save St John's Hospital	3,474	0.22	+0.03	0	−3	0.00
	East Dunbartonshire Independent Alliance	2,973	0.19	−0.09	2	±0	0.16
	Glasgow First	2,547	0.16	+0.16	1	+1	0.08
	Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	2,485	0.16	+0.16	0	±0	0.00
	Christian Party	2,344	0.15	+0.12	0	±0	0.00
	All Scotland Pensioners Party	2,328	0.15	+0.08	0	±0	0.00
	Cumbernauld Independent Alliance	1,894	0.12	+0.02	1	±0	0.08
	Unionist	864	0.06	−0.09	0	±0	0.00
	Perth Independent Candidates	805	0.05	+0.05	1	+1	0.08
	Solidarity	787	0.05	−0.81	0	−1	0.00
	Socialist Labour Party	714	0.05	+0.03	0	±0	0.00
	East Kilbride Alliance	681	0.04	−0.03	0	±0	0.00
	Liberal	595	0.04	−0.02	0	±0	0.00
	National Front	369	0.02	+0.02	0	±0	0.00
	Pirate Party	292	0.02	+0.02	0	±0	0.00
	Christian Peoples Alliance	209	0.01	+0.01	0	±0	0.00
	Communist Party of Britain	94	<0.01	+0.01	0	±0	0.00
	Britannica	73	<0.01		0	±0	0.00
	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	67	<0.01		0	±0	0.00
Total		1,556,773	100.00	±0.00	1,223	+1	100.00

Past Elections

By-elections

2008

• date to be announced: Abbey (4-member ward), Dumfries and Galloway, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: result pending (result May 2007: 2 Con, 1 SNP, 1 Lab)
• 1 May: Troup (3-member ward), Aberdeenshire, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: result pending (result May 2007: 1 SNP, 1 Con, 1 Ind)
• 6 March: Cambuslang East (3-member ward), South Lanarkshire, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Lab gain from SNP (result May 2007: 2 Lab, 1 SNP; after by election: 3 Lab)
• 28 Feb: Lerwick South (4-member ward), Shetland, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Ind hold (result May 2007: 4 Ind; after by election: 4 Ind)
• 21 Feb: Highland (3-member ward), Perth and Kinross, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP hold (result May 2007: 2 SNP, 1 Con; after by election: 2 SNP, 1 Con)
• 14 Feb: Elgin City South (3-member ward), Moray, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP gain from Ind (result May 2007: 1 SNP, 1 Lab, 1 Ind; after by election: 2 SNP, 1 Lab)
• 31 January: Kilsyth (3-member ward), North Lanarkshire, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Lab hold (result May 2007: 2 Lab, 1 SNP; after by election: 2 Lab, 1 SNP)

2007

• 22 November: Lochee (4-member ward), Dundee, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP hold (result May 2007: 2 SNP, 2 Lab; after by election: 2 SNP, 2 Lab)
• 4 October: Helensburgh and Lomond South (3-member ward), Argyll and Bute, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Lib Dem gain from Ind (result May 2007: 1 Con, 1 Ind, 1 Lib Dem; after by election: 2 Lib Dem, 1 Con)
• 16 August: Midstocket/Rosemount (3-member ward), Aberdeen, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP gain from Con (result May 2007: 1 Con, 1 SNP, 1 Lab; after by election: 2 SNP, 1 Lab)

2006

• 8 December: Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Lab hold (16% swing Lab to SNP)
• 28 September: Markinch and Woodside East, Fife, SNP gain from Lab
• 10 August: Lochardil, Highland, Lib Dem gain from Ind
• 15 June: Dumbarton West, West Dunbartonshire, SNP gain from Lab
• 18 May: Altonhill Hillhead and Longpark, East Ayrshire, SNP hold
• 11 May: Biggar, Symington and Black Mount, South Lanarkshire, Con gain from SNP
• 30 March: Avondale South, South Lanarkshire, Con hold
• 30 March: Borestone, Stirling, SNP gain from Lab
• 30 March: King's Park, Glasgow, Lib Dem gain from Lab
• 16 February: Milton, Glasgow, SNP gain from Lab
• 2 February: North Carrick and Maybole East, South Ayrshire, Ind gain from Lab

2005

• 8 December: Kirkshaws, North Lanarkshire, Lab hold
• 10 November: Knightswood Park, Glasgow, Lab hold
• 10 November: Loanhead, Midlothian, SNP gain from Ind
• 10 November: Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Con hold
• 13 October: Lochside, Dumfries and Galloway, Lab gain from Ind
• 29 September: Auchtertool and Burntisland East, Fife, SNP gain from Ind
• 11 August: Herbertshire, Falkirk, SNP gain from Lab
• 16 June: Kildrum and Park, North Lanarkshire, SNP gain from Ind
• 9 June: Huntly East, Aberdeenshire, Con hold
• 9 June: Kilnknowe and Clovenfords, Borders, SNP gain from Ind
• 17 March: Dalkeith/Woodburn, Midlothian, Lib Dem gain from Lab
• 17 March: Dumbarton West, West Dunbartonshire, Lab hold

European Parliament

In 1999, a Scotland-wide constituency replaced 8 first-past-the-post constituencies, which were used in the elections between 1979 and 1994: which returned 8 MEPS under the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation system. Since then, the number of MEPs returned by Scotland has been reduced twice more to seven in (2004) and then to six in (2009).

Elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the number of votes per seat won.

2009

European Election 2009: Scotland[7][8]
List		Candidates	Votes	%	±
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Alyn Smith Aileen McLeod, Drew Hendry, Duncan Ross, Gordon Archer	321,007 (160,503.5)	29.1	+9.4
	Labour	David Martin, Catherine Stihler Mary Lockhart, Paul McAleavely, Kirsty Connell, Nasim Khan[9]	229,853 (114,926.5)	20.8	-5.6
	Conservative	Struan Stevenson Belinda Don, Helen Gardiner, Donald G. MacDonald, Gerald Michaluk, PJ Lewis[10]	185,794	16.8	-0.9
	Liberal Democrat	George Lyon Euan Robson, Robert Aldridge, Patsy Kenton, Douglas Herbison, Clive Sneddon[11]	127,038	11.5	-1.6
	Scottish Green	Elaine Morrison, Chas Booth, Kirsten Robb, Alastair Whitelaw, Ruth Dawkins, Peter McColl	80,442	7.3	+0.5
	UKIP	Peter Adams, Paul Hencke, Phillip Anderson, Matthew Desmond, Donald Mackay, Paul Wiffen, Kathleen Desmond [12]	57,788	5.2	-1.5
	BNP	Gary Raikes, Charlie Baillie, Deborah McKnight, Roy Jones, Max Dunbar, Elise Jones [13]	27,174	2.5	+0.8
	Socialist Labour	Louise McDaid, David Jacobsen, Katherine McGavigan, James Berrington, Claire Watt, James McDaid	22,135	2.0	+2.0
	Scottish Christian	Sheila McLaughlan, John Smart, Brian Ross, Archie Linnegan, Christine Cormack, Isobel Anne Macleod	16,738	1.5	+1.5
	Scottish Socialist	Colin Fox, Angela Gorrie, Johanna Dind, Nick McKerrell, Raphie de Santos, Felicity Garvie	10,404	0.9	-4.3
	Independent	Duncan Robertson	10,189	0.9	+0.9
	NO2EU	John Foster, Tommy Sheridan, Leah Ganley, Stuart Hyslop, Ajit Singh Uppal, Tom Morrison	9,693	0.9	+0.9
	Jury Team	Alan Wallace, John O'Callaghan, Stuart Brown, Kenneth Lees, Mev Brown, Austin Compson-Bradford[14]	6,257	0.6	+0.6
Turnout			1,104,512	28.5	−2.4

2004

European Election 2004: Scotland[15]
List		Candidates	Votes	%	±
	Labour	David Martin, Catherine Stihler Bill Miller, Kirsty O'Brien, Colin Smyth, Catriona Renton, Gemma Doyle	310,865 (155,432.5)	26.4	-2.3
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Alyn Smith Kenneth Gibson, Douglas Henderson, Alexander Nicholson, Alex Orr, Janet Law, Duncan Ross	231,505 (115,752.5)	19.7	-7.5
	Conservative	Struan Stevenson, John Purvis Cameron Buchanan, Sebastian Leslie, Anne Harper, Paul Nelson, Douglas Taylor	209,028 (104,514)	17.8	-2.0
	Liberal Democrat	Elspeth Attwooll Robert Aldridge, Alex Bruce, Karen Freel, Douglas Herbison, Clive Sneddon, Christine James, Jermaine Allison	154,178	13.1	+3.3
	Scottish Green	Chas Booth, Tara O'Leary, Martin Bartos, Moira Dunworth, Alastair Whitelaw, Katherine Joester, James Park	79,695	6.8	+1.0
	UKIP	Peter Troy, Philip Anderson, George Cormack, Michael Phillips, Janice Murdock, Donald Mackay, Peter Nielson	78,828	6.7	+5.4
	Scottish Socialist	Felicity Garvie, Nick McKerrel, Hugh Kerr, Catriona Grant, Lynn Sheridan, John Sangster, Andrew Rossiter	61,356	5.2	+1.2
	Christian Vote	George Hargreaves, William Thompson, Richard Russell, David Braid, Marion McNeill, Mary Hay, Rose Irtwange	21,056	1.8	N/A
	BNP	Steven Blake, Scott McLean, David Kerr, Stephen Burns, Bryan Dickson, Craig McComb, John Bean[16]	19,427	1.7	+1.3
	Scottish Wind Watch	Brendan Hamill, Sylvia Thorne, Charles Bennie, Jennifer Scobie, Bennie Palmer, Helen Pass, Richard Hammock	7,255	0.6	N/A
	Independent	Fergus Tait	3,624	0.3	N/A
Turnout			1,176,817	30.9	+6.2

1999

European Election 1999: Scotland[17]
List		Candidates	Votes	%	±
	Labour	David Martin, Bill Miller, Catherine Taylor Christine May, Hugh McMahon, James Paton, John Clifford, Jeanette Bradley	283,490 (94,496.67)	28.7	N/A
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Neil MacCormick Anne Gillies, Gordon Wilson, Janet Law, Kris Browne, Ian Goldie, Josephine Docherty	268,528 (134,264)	27.2	N/A
	Conservative	Struan Stevenson, John Purvis Anne Harper, Cameron Buchanan, Sebastian Leslie, Iain Mitchell, Peter Ramsay, Anthony Gilbey	195,296 (97,648)	19.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Elspeth Attwooll Robert Aldridge, Neil Mitchison, Heather Lyall, Clive Sneddon, Danus Skene, Karen Freel, Jayne Struthers	96,971	9.8	N/A
	Scottish Green	Marion Coyne, Eleanor Scott, Phil O'Brien, Graeme Farmer, Linda Hendry, Chris Ballance, Kay Allan, Alastair Whitelaw	57,142	5.8	N/A
	Scottish Socialist	Hugh Kerr, Rosie Kane, Harvey Duke, Catherine Stewart, Colin Fox, Shareen Blackall, Steve Arnott, Frances Curran	39,720	4.0	N/A
	Pro-Euro Conservative	Paul Dwyer, Joanna Lavender, Douglas McConchie, Richard Ashurst, Neasa MacEarlean, Oliver Grant, Alexander Skinner, James Waters	17,781	1.8	N/A
	UKIP	Alistair McConnachie, Donald Mackay, James McKenna, Stuart Brown, Matthew Henderson, Joseph Smith, Peter Nielson, John Mumford	12,459	1.3	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Louise McDaid, Christopher Herriot, Katharine McGavigan, Stephen Mayes, Patricia Graham, Colin Turbett, Margaret Stead, James Galloway	9,385	1.0	N/A
	BNP	Kenneth Smith, Scott McLean,[18] Russell Bradley, Mark Allen, Paul Wilkinson, Robert Currie, David Kerr,[19] James Mills	3,729	0.4	N/A
	Natural Law	James McKissock, George Stidolph, Diana Kras, Kenneth Blair, David Pettigrew, Iain Petrie, Anna Rawlinson, Thomas Pringle	2,087	0.2	N/A
	Accountant for Lower Scottish Taxes	Charles Lawson	1,632	0.2	N/A
Turnout			988,310	24.7	N/A

Pre 1999 elections

For full details of results please referee to related articles;

• Glasgow
• Highlands and Islands
• Lothians
• Mid Scotland and Fife
• North East Scotland
• South of Scotland
• Strathclyde East
• Strathclyde West

Referendums

To-date 6 referendums have been held in Scotland, covering a wide range of issues.

• United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975
• Scottish devolution referendum, 1979
• Strathclyde water referendum, 1994
• Scottish devolution referendum, 1997
• Edinburgh congestion charge referendum, 2005
• Scottish independence referendum, 2014^[20][21][22]

See also

• Politics of Scotland
• Electoral systems in Scotland
• political parties

References

External links

• Scotland - Electoral Commission
• Boundary Commission for Scotland