2007 Scottish Parliament election

Scottish Parliament election, 2007
← outgoing members elected members →
All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament; 65 seats needed for a majority
	Opinion polls
Turnout	52.4% 3.0%
	The left side shows constituency winners of the election by their party colours. The right side shows regional winners of the election for the additional members by their party colours .
First Minister before election; Jack McConnell; Labour	First Minister-designate ; Alex Salmond; SNP

The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election^[1] to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.

The Scottish National Party emerged as the largest party with 47 seats, closely followed by the incumbent Scottish Labour Party with 46 seats. The Scottish Conservatives won 17 seats, the Scottish Liberal Democrats 16 seats, the Scottish Green Party 2 seats and one Independent (Margo MacDonald) was also elected. The Scottish National Party formed a minority government as a result of the election.

The Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, which won seats in the 2003 election, lost all of their seats. Former MSP Tommy Sheridan's new party, Solidarity, also failed to win any seats. Campbell Martin and Dr Jean Turner both lost their seats, and Dennis Canavan and Brian Monteith retired.

Background

The main issues during the campaign trail were healthcare, education, council tax reform, pensions, the Union, Trident (the submarines are based in Scotland), the Iraq War and more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Some parties proposed raise the school leaving age from 16 to 18 and raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 16 to 18.

Jack McConnell, as First Minister, entered the election defending a small overall majority of five seats via a coalition of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The Scottish Executive coalition government had been in power, with three different First Ministers, since the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999. Opinion polls suggested its majority could be lost in 2007, due to falling support for the Labour Party and rising support for other parties, in particular the Scottish National Party (SNP). The polls suggested that no single party was likely to acquire an overall majority, nor was there an obvious alternative coalition ready to form a new Executive.

A TNS Poll in November 2006 gave Labour an 8% lead over the SNP which was second behind Labour in terms of numbers of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). As the election approached the SNP gained support while Labour's support declined. Based on pre-election projections, there could have been some possibility of an SNP–Liberal Democrat coalition, which might have extended to include the Scottish Green Party.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] The other parties represented in the Parliament before the election were the Scottish Conservative Party, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), Solidarity and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party. (Solidarity is a new party, having broken away from the SSP in 2006.)

Other parties that campaigned for seats in Holyrood included the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the British National Party (BNP), the Scottish Unionist Party, the Scottish Socialist Labour Party, the Christian Peoples Alliance and the Scottish Christian Party.

Retiring MSPs

Labour

Defeated MSPs

Labour

Lib Dem

Conservative

Scottish Green Party

Scottish Socialist Party

Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party

John Swinburne, Central Scotland

Independent

Campbell Martin, West of Scotland - Former SNP MSP
Jean Turner, Strathkelvin and Bearsden

Opinion polls

Election results

Template:Scottish Parliament election

|- ! style="background-color: #FDF38E;" | | style="text-align:left;" |SNP | style="text-align:right;" | 664,227 | style="text-align:right;" | 32.9 | style="text-align:right;" | +9.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 21 | style="text-align:right;" | +12 | style="text-align:right;" | 633,401 | style="text-align:right;" | 31.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +10.2 | style="text-align:right;" | 26 | style="text-align:right;" | +8 | style="text-align:right;" | 47 | style="text-align:right;" | +20 | style="text-align:right;" | 37.0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #E4003B;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Labour | style="text-align:right;" | 648,374 | style="text-align:right;" | 32.2 | style="text-align:right;" | −2.5 | style="text-align:right;" | 37 | style="text-align:right;" | −9 | style="text-align:right;" | 595,415 | style="text-align:right;" | 29.2 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 9 | style="text-align:right;" | +5 | style="text-align:right;" | 46 | style="text-align:right;" | −4 | style="text-align:right;" | 36.2 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #0087DC;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Conservative | style="text-align:right;" | 334,743 | style="text-align:right;" | 16.6 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 4 | style="text-align:right;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 284,005 | style="text-align:right;" | 13.9 | style="text-align:right;" | −1.6 | style="text-align:right;" | 13 | style="text-align:right;" | −2 | style="text-align:right;" | 17 | style="text-align:right;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 13.4 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #FAA61A;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Liberal Democrats | style="text-align:right;" | 326,232 | style="text-align:right;" | 16.2 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.9 | style="text-align:right;" | 11 | style="text-align:right;" | −2 | style="text-align:right;" | 230,671 | style="text-align:right;" | 11.3 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.5 | style="text-align:right;" | 5 | style="text-align:right;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 16 | style="text-align:right;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 12.6 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #00B140;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Green | style="text-align:right;" | 2,971 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 82,584 | style="text-align:right;" | 4.0 | style="text-align:right;" | -2.8 | style="text-align:right;" | 2 | style="text-align:right;" | −5 | style="text-align:right;" | 2 | style="text-align:right;" | −5 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.6 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Independent | style="text-align:right;" | 25,047 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.2 | style="text-align:right;" | −1.2 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | −2 | style="text-align:right;" | 21,320 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.0 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.7 | style="text-align:right;" | 1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 1 | style="text-align:right;" | −2 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.8 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #CC66CC;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Senior Citizens | style="text-align:right;" | 1,702 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | +0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 38,743 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.9 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.4 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #a22f32;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Solidarity | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 31,066 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.5 | style="text-align:right;" | +1.5 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #9966CC;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Christian | style="text-align:right;" | 4,586 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 26,575 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.3 | style="text-align:right;" | +1.3 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #2e3b74;" | | style="text-align:left;" |BNP | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 24,616 | style="text-align:right;" | 1.2 | style="text-align:right;" | +1.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #813887;" | | style="text-align:left;" |CPA | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 14,745 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.7 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.7 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #EE1C25;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Socialist Labour | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 14,244 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.7 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.4 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #ff0000;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Socialist | style="text-align:right;" | 525 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | −6.2 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 12,731 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.6 | style="text-align:right;" | −6.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | −6 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | −6 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #6D3177;" | | style="text-align:left;" |UKIP | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 8,197 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.4 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Publican Party | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 5,905 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.3 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.3 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #5555FF;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Unionist | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 4,401 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #660099;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Voice | style="text-align:right;" | 2,827 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 5,955 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.3 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.3 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Action to Save St John's Hospital | style="text-align:right;" | 2,814 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Save Our NHS Group | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 2,682 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.1 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #F8F9FA;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Free Scotland Party | style="text-align:right;" | 575 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 664 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.2 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Had Enough Party | style="text-align:right;" | 498 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 670 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #3333CC;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Enterprise | style="text-align:right;" | 409 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 616 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Adam Lyal's Witchery Tour Party | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 867 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Scottish Jacobite Party | style="text-align:right;" | 309 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 446 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #008080;" | | style="text-align:left;" |SACL | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 615 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #F58231;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Peace | style="text-align:right;" | 577 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #F93822;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Communist | style="text-align:right;" | 251 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 260 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | −0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Independent Green Voice | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 496 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Anti-Trident Party | style="text-align:right;" | 187 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: #960018;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Socialist Equality | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 139 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Equal Parenting Alliance | style="text-align:right;" | 124 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |-

|- ! style="background-color: white;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Nine Per Cent Growth Party | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | – | style="text-align:right;" | 80 | style="text-align:right;" | 0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | +0.0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 | style="text-align:right;" | 0 |- |- | || Total ||2,016,978 || 51.8 ||+2.5|| 73 || || 2,042,109 || || || 56 || || 129 || || |}

Popular Vote

SNP			31.02%
Labour			29.16%
Conservative			13.91%
Liberal Democrats			11.30%
Green			4.04%
SSCUP			1.90%
Other			8.67%

Parliament seats

SNP			36.43%
Labour			35.66%
Conservative			13.18%
Liberal Democrats			12.40%
Green			1.55%
Other			0.78%

Turnout in the election was 51.7% in the constituency vote and 52.4% in the regional vote up from 2003 where the turnout was 49.4% in both the constituency and regional vote ^[12]

Notes: Independents contested 17 seats and three regions. Scottish Greens contested 1 seat, Scottish Socialist Party contested 1 seat, Scottish Christian Party, Scottish Voice etc. contested a small number of seats. A number of local issue parties also stood in single constituencies. The Nine Per Cent Growth Party stood candidates on the regional lists, and had a candidate for the local council elections of the same year.^[13] Standing in the Glasgow Regional List^[14] the party finished last of 23 candidates, receiving only 80 votes (0.04%), a record low.

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Alex Neil
Linda Fabiani
Jamie Hepburn
Christina McKelvie
John Wilson | style="text-align:center;" | 5 | style="text-align:center;" | +2 | style="text-align:right;" | 89,210 | style="text-align:right;" | 31.4% | style="text-align:right;" | +8.8% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Margaret Mitchell | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 24,253 | style="text-align:right;" | 8.5% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.6% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FAA61A; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Liberal Democrats | style="text-align:left;" | Hugh O'Donnell | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 14,648 | style="text-align:right;" | 5.2% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.7% |-

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Glasgow

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Bashir Ahmad
Sandra White
Bob Doris
Bill Kidd | style="text-align:center;" | 4 | style="text-align:center;" | +2 | style="text-align:right;" | 55,832 | style="text-align:right;" | 27% | style="text-align:right;" | +9.9% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FAA61A; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Liberal Democrats | style="text-align:left;" | Robert Brown | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 14,767 | style="text-align:right;" | 7.2% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.1% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Bill Aitken | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 13,751 | style="text-align:right;" | 6.7% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.8% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #00B140; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Scottish Green | style="text-align:left;" | Patrick Harvie | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 10,759 | style="text-align:right;" | 5.2% | style="text-align:right;" | −1.9% |-

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Highlands and Islands

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Rob Gibson
David Thompson | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 63,979 | style="text-align:right;" | 34.4% | style="text-align:right;" | +11.0 |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #E4003B; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Labour | style="text-align:left;" | Peter Peacock
Rhoda Grant
David Stewart | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 32,952 | style="text-align:right;" | 17.7% | style="text-align:right;" | −4.6 |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Mary Scanlon
Jamie McGrigor | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 23,334 | style="text-align:right;" | 12.6% | style="text-align:right;" | −3.4 |-

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Lothians

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Fiona Hyslop
Ian McKee
Stefan Tymkewycz | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 76,019 | style="text-align:right;" | 26.5% | style="text-align:right;" | +10.2 |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #E4003B; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Labour | style="text-align:left;" | George Foulkes | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 75,495 | style="text-align:right;" | 26.3% | style="text-align:right;" | +0.8 |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Gavin Brown | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 37,548 | style="text-align:right;" | 13.1% | style="text-align:right;" | −2.0 |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #00B140; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Scottish Green | style="text-align:left;" | Robin Harper | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 20,147 | style="text-align:right;" | 7.0% | style="text-align:right;" | −5.0 |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #DCDCDC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Independent | style="text-align:left;" | Margo MacDonald | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 19,256 | style="text-align:right;" | 6.7% | style="text-align:right;" | −3.5 |-

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Mid Scotland and Fife

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Chris Harvie | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 90,090 | style="text-align:right;" | 33.0% | style="text-align:right;" | +10% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #E4003B; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Labour | style="text-align:left;" | John Park
Claire Brennan-Baker
Richard Simpson | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | style="text-align:center;" | +3 | style="text-align:right;" | 71,922 | style="text-align:right;" | 26.3% | style="text-align:right;" | +1.0% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Murdo Fraser
Elizabeth Smith
Ted Brocklebank | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 44,341 | style="text-align:right;" | 16.2% | style="text-align:right;" | −1.3% |-

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North East Scotland

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Maureen Watt
Nigel Don | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 105,265 | style="text-align:right;" | 40.5% | style="text-align:right;" | +13.2% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #E4003B; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Labour | style="text-align:left;" | Richard Baker
Marlyn Glen | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 52,125 | style="text-align:right;" | 20.0% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.1% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Alex Johnstone
Nanette Milne | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 37,666 | style="text-align:right;" | 14.5% | style="text-align:right;" | -2.9% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FAA61A; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Liberal Democrats | style="text-align:left;" | Alison McInnes | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 40,934 | style="text-align:right;" | 15.7% | style="text-align:right;" | −3.1% |-

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South of Scotland

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Christine Grahame
Michael Russell
Adam Ingram
Alasdair Morgan
Aileen Campbell | style="text-align:center;" | 5 | style="text-align:center;" | +2 | style="text-align:right;" | 77,053 | style="text-align:right;" | 27.8% | style="text-align:right;" | +9.4% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Derek Brownlee | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | −1 | style="text-align:right;" | 62,475 | style="text-align:right;" | 22.6% | style="text-align:right;" | −1.7% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FAA61A; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Liberal Democrats | style="text-align:left;" | Jim Hume | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 28,040 | style="text-align:right;" | 10.1% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.1% |-

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West of Scotland

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|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FDF38E; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | SNP | style="text-align:left;" | Stewart Maxwell
Gil Paterson
Bill Wilson
Stuart McMillan | style="text-align:center;" | 4 | style="text-align:center;" | +1 | style="text-align:right;" | 75,953 | style="text-align:right;" | 28.3% | style="text-align:right;" | +8.7% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #0087DC; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Conservative | style="text-align:left;" | Annabel Goldie
Jackson Carlaw | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 40,637 | style="text-align:right;" | 15.2% | style="text-align:right;" | −0.5% |-

|- | style="color:inherit;background-color: #FAA61A; width: 2px;" | | style="width: 130px; text-align:left;" | Liberal Democrats | style="text-align:left;" | Ross Finnie | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | ±0 | style="text-align:right;" | 22,515 | style="text-align:right;" | 8.4% | style="text-align:right;" | −3.9% |-

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Incidents

Delayed counts

Some counts in the Western Isles (Barra & the Uists) were delayed because the chartered helicopter sent to pick up the ballot boxes was delayed by bad weather. The boxes were instead transferred by sea and road to be counted in Stornoway. The votes were announced around 12.00 on Friday 4 May.

Vandalism

A man smashed ballot boxes with a golf club at a polling station at Carrick Knowe in Corstorphine in Edinburgh. About 100 ballots were damaged, some having to be taped back together. The man was arrested on the scene.^[15]

High number of rejected votes

The number of 'invalid' ballot papers has increased dramatically from previous elections, and the BBC reported that almost 142,000 (or 7% of the total votes cast) were rejected.^[16] The Herald reported that this included both constituency and regional votes, and hence the number of individual voters was likely to be considerably less. Nevertheless, there were calls for an independent enquiry into the implementation of the new voting system. The BBC Scotland Chief Political Editor, Brian Taylor, described the situation as "a disgrace" during their Election Night coverage.^[17]

Almost certainly the biggest reason for the increase in invalid ballots was that in the vote for the parliament, the ballot papers for the constituency elections were combined with that for the regional lists. A large-type instruction at the top indicated "you have two votes." Being told that they had two votes, far too many voters used both votes on parties in the regional list. ^[18] This misleading ballot was made more complicated by two additional features of the balloting: several small parties like the Green Party ran one or fewer candidates in the constituency seats and parties were able to choose to put the name of their leader instead of the name of the party in the label for the list seats. (For example, the SNP was listed as "Alex Salmond for First Minister". The letters "SNP" did not appear on the ballot.) Such poor ballot design decisions contributed to a similarly higher rate of spoiled ballots in the 2000 United States presidential election in areas of Florida such as Miami-Dade and Duval counties.

Another reason presented was that voters were given two papers with two different systems and a different design – one for the parliamentary election where voters marked a cross and one for local councils where they placed numbers, as the council elections were under the single transferable vote system. Undercutting this theory, however, was the fact that the invalid rate in the local elections was far lower despite single transferable vote being a new system for most voters.

A third proposed reason was that this was the first election where electronic counting of papers had taken place. Many blamed e-counting for the increase in rejected papers, in part because the new machine counting did not go smoothly, with many counts abandoned during the early hours of Friday morning before all results had been counted. The main company concerned was DRS Ltd.^[19] Nevertheless, nearly all invalid ballots would have been spoiled no matter how they were counted. However, the last minute redesign of ballot papers that was blamed for the high number of rejections in two electoral regions was done to make electronic voting easier.^[20]

Threatened legal actions

On 5 May 2007, the BBC reported that Labour were considering legal action against some results (particularly Cunninghame North, where the SNP beat Labour by just 48 votes) due to the high number of rejected votes.^[21] A further challenge was expected from Mike Dailly from the Govan Law Centre, a member of the Labour Party, purportedly on behalf of voters in the Glasgow region. He said that the result should be challenged because there were 10,000 rejected ballots which could have caused a different result if they had counted. Tommy Sheridan of Solidarity was only 2,215 votes short of beating the Greens for the last place as an MSP.^[21]

There were no election petitions raised to challenge the results.^{[citation needed]}

Election system

There are 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) system of election, which are grouped into eight regions. These regions each elect seven additional member MSPs so as to produce an overall proportional result. The D'Hondt method is used to calculate which additional member MSPs the regions elect. Each constituency is a sub-division of a region; the additional members system is designed to produce proportional representation for each region, and the total number of MSPs elected to the parliament is 129.

The election was the first using constituencies (see Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions) that are not identical to constituencies of the House of Commons (Parliament of the United Kingdom). Scottish Westminster constituencies were replaced with a new set of generally larger constituencies, fewer in number, in 2005.

The Arbuthnott Commission reported in January 2006, concerning the multiplicity of voting systems and electoral divisions in Scotland. Council elections on the same day used Single Transferable Vote for the first time, but there was no change to the Holyrood election system, except regarding use of vote-counting machines, before the 2007 election. Scanners supplied by DRS Data Services Limited of Milton Keynes, in partnership with Electoral Reform Services, the trading arm of the Electoral Reform Society, were used to electronically count the paper ballots in both the Scottish Parliament general election and the Scottish council elections, which took place on the same day.^[22]^[23]

Top target seats of the main parties

Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing of less than 5% from the 2003 result to change hands.

Many of the seats that changed hands are not listed here. For example, the Scottish National Party gained several seats (Stirling, Edinburgh East & Musselburgh, Gordon, Livingston and Argyll & Bute) with very large swings, yet did not gain any of their top three targets.

Labour targets

Rank	Constituency	Winning party 2003		Swing to gain	Labour's place 2003
1	Dundee East style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FDF38E;" data-sort-value="Scottish National Party" \|	SNP	0.17	2nd	SNP hold
2	Edinburgh South style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Scottish Liberal Democrats" \|	Liberal Democrats	0.26	2nd	LD hold
3	Ochil style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FDF38E;" data-sort-value="Scottish National Party" \|	SNP	0.49	2nd	SNP hold
4	Strathkelvin and Bearsden style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" \|	Independent	0.62	2nd	Lab gain
5	Aberdeen North style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FDF38E;" data-sort-value="Scottish National Party" \|	SNP	0.92	2nd	SNP hold
6	Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FDF38E;" data-sort-value="Scottish National Party" \|	SNP	1.51	2nd	SNP hold
7	Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Scottish Liberal Democrats" \|	Liberal Democrats	2.70	3rd	LD hold
8	Ayr style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Scottish Conservative Party" \|	Conservative	2.99	2nd	Con hold
9	Edinburgh Pentlands style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Scottish Conservative Party" \|	Conservative	3.16	2nd	Con hold
10	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Scottish Liberal Democrats" \|	Liberal Democrats	4.96	2nd	LD hold

SNP targets

Rank	Constituency	Winning party 2003		Swing to gain	SNP's place 2003
1	Galloway & Upper Nithsdale style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Scottish Conservative Party" \|	Conservative	0.17	2nd	Con hold
2	Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Scottish Liberal Democrats" \|	Liberal Democrats	1.01	2nd	LD hold
3	Cumbernauld & Kilsyth style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	1.07	2nd	Lab hold
4	Kilmarnock & Loudoun style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	1.92	2nd	SNP gain
5	Dundee West style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	2.13	2nd	SNP gain
6	Western Isles style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	2.91	2nd	SNP gain
7	Glasgow Govan style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	2.92	2nd	SNP gain
8	Aberdeen Central style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	2.96	2nd	Lab hold
9	Linlithgow style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	3.56	2nd	Lab hold
10	West Renfrewshire style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.41	2nd	Lab hold
11	Paisley South style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.91	2nd	Lab hold

Conservative targets

Rank	Constituency	Winning party 2003		Swing to gain	Con place 2003
1	Perth style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FDF38E;" data-sort-value="Scottish National Party" \|	SNP	1.15	2nd	SNP hold
2	Dumfries style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	1.71	2nd	Lab hold
3	Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Scottish Liberal Democrats" \|	Liberal Democrats	2.83	4th	LD hold
4	Eastwood style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.76	2nd	Lab hold
5	Stirling style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.86	2nd	SNP gain
6	West Renfrewshire style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.96	3rd	Lab hold

Liberal Democrat targets

Rank	Constituency	Winning party 2003		Swing to gain	LD's place 2003	Result
1	Edinburgh Central style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.75	2nd	Lab hold
2	Aberdeen Central style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Scottish Labour Party" \|	Labour	4.99	3rd	Lab hold

Party leaders

Major parties

At time of dissolution of the Scottish Parliament at midnight on Monday 2 April 2007, there were five party 'groups' represented on the Parliament's Bureau: Labour (50), SNP (25), Conservative (17), LibDem (17), and the Greens (7). There was also one 'mixed' administrative grouping of 5 independent MSPs and 1 Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party MSP.

2007 Scottish Parliament Election – Party Leaders
Scottish National Party		Labour Party		Conservative Party		Liberal Democrats

Alex Salmond Leader of the Scottish National Party		Jack McConnell Leader of the Scottish Labour Party		Annabel Goldie Leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party		Nicol Stephen Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Age	52	Age	46	Age	57	Age	47
Parliament	Scottish Parliament – 2 years (1999–2001) & UK Parliament – 19 years (1987–6 May 2010)	Parliament	7 years	Parliament	7 years	Parliament	Scottish Parliament – 7 years & UK Parliament – 5 months (1991–1992)
Leader since	1990–2000 & 2004	Leader since	2001	Leader since	2005	Leader since	2005
Profession	Economist	Profession	Teacher	Profession	Solicitor	Profession	Solicitor

Of the major party leaders in the Scottish Parliament, only one, Jack McConnell, of the Scottish Labour Party fought the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election as leader. Nicol Stephen succeeded Jim Wallace as Deputy First Minister and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in June 2005, after the latter announced that he would not be contesting the 2007 election.^[24] Alex Salmond was elected leader of the Scottish National Party in 2004, with his deputy Nicola Sturgeon.^[25] Salmond previously led the SNP between 1990 and 2000, but stood down and was replaced by his preferred successor John Swinney, who headed the party between 2000 and 2004. After Swinney's resignation in 2004, Salmond announced that he would, once again contest the leadership and won the ballot of members in June 2004. Annabel Goldie was elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives in November 2005^[26] after the resignation of the incumbent David McLetchie on 31 October 2005 after a row surrounding taxi expenses.^[27]

Minor parties

Robin Harper and Shiona Baird were elected as Scottish Green Party Co-convenors in 2004, but as the sole Green MSP Robin Harper was effectively party spokesperson from 1999.^[28]

Colin Fox was elected as the Scottish Socialist Party Convenor in 2005. In 2006 Tommy Sheridan left the party to form Solidarity.

Party Manifestos

References

^ "Scotland Act 1998 – Part I – Section 2 – General elections". www.opsi.gov.uk.
^ "Somewhere over the Rainbow Coalition... Scotsman 12 May 2005". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 May 2005. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Macleod, Murdo (5 March 2006). "Panic within Labour as membership falls Scotsman 5 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
^ Macdonell, Hamish (7 March 2006). "Lib Dems open door to coalition with SNP Scotsman 7 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
^ Macdonell, Hamish (24 March 2006). "Is this the end of Lab–Lib Dem pact? Scotsman 24 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Retiring MSPs". Alba.org.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
^ Knox, John (10 November 2006). "Kriss casts shadow over Holyrood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Scotsman.com News - Politics". Election.scotsman.com. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
^ Knox, John (30 March 2007). "Another chapter ends at Holyrood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
^ "Canavan will not fight election". BBC News. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
^ [1] Archived 25 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Election 2007: SPICe briefing 07/21" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
^ Glasgow Council candidates Archived 6 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ Glasgow Region elections^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Polling clerk tells of 'bedlam'". BBC News. 3 May 2007.
^ "Rejected votes more than thought". BBC News. 9 May 2007.
^ "Elections marred by vote problems". BBC News. 3 May 2007.
^ Barnes, Eddie (6 May 2007). "The Scotsman". Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
^ "Electronic automated data capture services and document scanning specialists". DRS. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
^ "Clue over voter ballot confusion". BBC News. 15 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Holyrood vote may face challenges". BBC News. 6 May 2007.
^ "Electronic counting to take over from tellers at elections", The Scotsman, 19 April 2006
^ "Green light for DRS & ERS to deliver e-Count for 2007 Scottish Elections", press release, DRS Data Services Limited
^ "Lib Dems choose Stephen as leader". BBC News. BBC. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
^ Swanson, Ian (3 September 2004). "Salmond is SNP leader again with Sturgeon as No 2". Edinburgh Evening News. Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
^ MacDonell, Hamish (3 November 2005). "Tories have their 'coronation' as Goldie becomes leader unopposed". Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
^ MacDonell, Hamish (1 November 2005). "McLetchie finally quits over taxi row". The Scotsman. Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
^ "Scottish green party elects new party co-conveners". Scottish Green Party. 30 October 2004.

External links

ScotlandVotes, by Weber Shandwick Public Affairs and Scotland on Sunday
Scottish Voting Intention, by UKPollingReport, in association with YouGov
VoteScotland, a Scottish Executive and Electoral Commission website
Electoral Reform Society – Scotland
Scottish elections 2007, at the BBC News website
Election 2007, at The Herald
Holyrood Elections, at The Scotsman
Election Supplement 2007
Scottish Elections Between 1997 and present
Links to Party manifestos for the election.

[1] "Scotland Act 1998 – Part I – Section 2 – General elections". www.opsi.gov.uk.

[2] "Somewhere over the Rainbow Coalition... Scotsman 12 May 2005". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 May 2005. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[3] Macleod, Murdo (5 March 2006). "Panic within Labour as membership falls Scotsman 5 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.

[4] Macdonell, Hamish (7 March 2006). "Lib Dems open door to coalition with SNP Scotsman 7 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.

[5] Macdonell, Hamish (24 March 2006). "Is this the end of Lab–Lib Dem pact? Scotsman 24 March 2006". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 May 2007.

[Retiring_MSPs-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Retiring MSPs". Alba.org.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

[7] Knox, John (10 November 2006). "Kriss casts shadow over Holyrood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

[scotsman1-8] "Scotsman.com News - Politics". Election.scotsman.com. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

[9] Knox, John (30 March 2007). "Another chapter ends at Holyrood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

[10] "Canavan will not fight election". BBC News. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

[11] [1] Archived 25 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[12] "Election 2007: SPICe briefing 07/21" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2016.

[13] Glasgow Council candidates Archived 6 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[14] Glasgow Region elections^{[dead link‍]}

[15] "Polling clerk tells of 'bedlam'". BBC News. 3 May 2007.

[16] "Rejected votes more than thought". BBC News. 9 May 2007.

[17] "Elections marred by vote problems". BBC News. 3 May 2007.

[18] Barnes, Eddie (6 May 2007). "The Scotsman". Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

[19] "Electronic automated data capture services and document scanning specialists". DRS. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

[20] "Clue over voter ballot confusion". BBC News. 15 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

[BBC_challenge-21] "Holyrood vote may face challenges". BBC News. 6 May 2007.

[22] "Electronic counting to take over from tellers at elections", The Scotsman, 19 April 2006

[23] "Green light for DRS & ERS to deliver e-Count for 2007 Scottish Elections", press release, DRS Data Services Limited

[24] "Lib Dems choose Stephen as leader". BBC News. BBC. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2006.

[25] Swanson, Ian (3 September 2004). "Salmond is SNP leader again with Sturgeon as No 2". Edinburgh Evening News. Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

[26] MacDonell, Hamish (3 November 2005). "Tories have their 'coronation' as Goldie becomes leader unopposed". Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

[27] MacDonell, Hamish (1 November 2005). "McLetchie finally quits over taxi row". The Scotsman. Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

[28] "Scottish green party elects new party co-conveners". Scottish Green Party. 30 October 2004.

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v t e Elections and referendums in Scotland
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v t e (2006 ←) 2007 United Kingdom local elections (→ 2008)
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National Assemblies and Parliament elections	Scotland Wales Northern Ireland

v t e 2007 Scottish Parliament election
Incumbent First Minister: Jack McConnell (Labour) Subsequent First Minister: Alex Salmond (SNP)
Alex Salmond (SNP) Jack McConnell (Labour) Annabel Goldie (Conservative) Nicol Stephen (Liberal Democrats) Robin Harper/Shiona Baird (Green)
Opinion polling Members elected

Background

Retiring MSPs

Labour

Scottish National Party

Conservative

Liberal Democrats

Scottish Socialist Party

Independents

Defeated MSPs

Labour

Lib Dem

Conservative

Scottish Green Party

Scottish Socialist Party

Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party

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Opinion polls

Election results

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Glasgow

Highlands and Islands

Lothians

Mid Scotland and Fife

North East Scotland

South of Scotland

West of Scotland

Incidents

Delayed counts

Vandalism

High number of rejected votes

Threatened legal actions

Election system

Top target seats of the main parties

Labour targets

SNP targets

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Liberal Democrat targets

Party leaders

Major parties

Minor parties

Party Manifestos

See also

References

External links