Party supporting Scottish independence from UK wins elections
{{date|May 4, 2007}}

[[Image:Scotparialmentinside.jpg|right|thumb|Debating chamber in Scottish Parliament building
{{Image credit|[[Commons:User:Pschemp|Pschemp]]}}]]
The [[w:Scottish National Party|Scottish National Party]] (SNP), which supports [[Scotland|Scottish]] independence from the [[United Kingdom|UK]], has pulled off a historic, albeit narrow, victory in yesterday's [[w:Scottish Parliament election, 2007|Scottish elections]].

In the third Scottish election since the opening of the [[w:Parliament of Scotland|Scottish Parliament]] in 1999, the left of centre SNP beat the ruling [[w:Scottish Labour Party|Labour Party]] by a single seat. It won 47 seats, while Labour won 46, down from the current 50.

It is the first time since the parliament opened that Labour has been beaten, and the first time in fifty years that they have not had a majority of Scottish constituency seats in any election.

SNP leader [[Alex Salmond]] declared: "Scotland has changed for good and forever." He added that the Labour Party had "lost the moral authority to govern Scotland."

The current [[w:First Minister of Scotland|First Minister of Scotland]], [[w:Jack McConnell|Jack McConnell]] of Labour said: "While I recognise that the SNP are the largest party by the narrowest of margins, Alex Salmond must himself recognise that he does not have a majority in the Scottish Parliament or anywhere near a majority of the vote."

It is believed that many factors caused the Labour vote to slump and the SNP vote to rise, including the [[Iraq War|war in Iraq]] and the renewal of [[w:UK Trident program|Trident]], which are both unpopular in Scotland.

The election also raises a serious dilemma for the Labour party's [[w:Gordon Brown|Gordon Brown]], a Scotsman widely tipped to succeed [[w:Tony Blair|Tony Blair]] as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. Brown is vehement in his support of the Union, and is a [[w:House of Commons|Westminster]] (London parliament) MP for [[w:Kirkcaldy|Kirkcaldy]]. An SNP government in Scotland will find itself facing the very Labour party it beat in power in London. 

Turnout was up 2% on the last Scottish election.

==Controversy==
The election was highly controversial, not least for having three separate systems, running in tandem -

* A constituency vote, which was "[[w:first past the post|first past the post]]", and for a candidate.
* A regional list vote, which was [[w:additional member system|additional member system]], and was for a party.
* A local authority (council) vote, which was [[w:Single Transferable Vote|Single Transferable Vote]], and in which parties could field more than one candidate in a ward.

The three systems, along with difficulties with electronic counting meant that maybe as many as one hundred thousand ballot papers were "spoiled". In addition, there was also huge problems with the postal vote.

Due to the extensive computer problems, votes had to be cancelled early on Friday morning, and postponed to later in the day.

Many other problems beset the election, with a helicopter from the [[w:Western Isles (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Western Isles]] constituency being held up by fog, and a boat carrying ballot papers from the [[w:Isle of Arran|Isle of Arran]], breaking down in the [[w:Firth of Clyde|Firth of Clyde]].

==Other parties==
In addition to the SNP and Labour, the other parties results' were as follows -

* [[w:Scottish Conservative Party|Conservative and Unionist]] - 17 members.
* [[w:Scottish Liberal Democrats|Liberal Democrats]] - 16 members.
* [[w:Scottish Green Party|Scottish Greens]] - 2 members.
* Independent - 1 ([[w:Margo MacDonald|Margo MacDonald]], formerly of the SNP)

The [[w:Scottish Socialist Party|Scottish Socialist Party]], [[w:Solidarity (Scotland)|Solidarity]] and the [[w:Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party|Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party]] were all wiped out.

In order to establish a majority in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP must form a coalition with one or more of these parties. The Liberal Democrats, who were in coalition with the Labour party in the first two terms of the Scottish parliament, are a possibility.

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

==Gains and losses==
The Scottish National Party, while not gaining the landslide it had wished for, made breakthroughs in [[w:Glasgow|Glasgow]] ([[w:Glasgow Govan (Scottish Parliament constituency|Govan]]), [[w:Edinburgh|Edinburgh]] ([[w:Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East]]) and also took both seats in [[w:Dundee|Dundee]].

The Liberal Democrats gained seats in [[w:Dunfermline West (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Dunfermline West]], but their losses mean the number of seats they hold is unchanged.

==Wales and England==
While the Scottish election was going on, the Welsh were also having their [[w:National Assembly for Wales election, 2007|election]] for the [[w:National Assembly for Wales|Welsh Assembly]]. [[w:Plaid Cymru|Plaid Cymru]] gained a seat from Labour at [[w:Llanelli (National Assembly for Wales constituency)|Llanelli]]. The Conservatives had their best showing since the Assembly began.

The final results show that the membership for the new assembly will be:- 

Labour             26  -4
Plaid Cymru        15  +3
Conservatives      12  +1
Liberal Democrats  6   -
Independent        1   -

In England, the elections were more minor, dealing only with local authorities. However they can be an important indicator of how battleground seats might go in the General Election, expected in 2-3 years time.  The Conservatives made the greatest gains, but did not make the breakthrough in Northern England that they would have hoped. The Liberal Democrats did not make the advances that they had hoped, and stayed at more or less the same level. Elsewhere, [[w:Cornwall|Cornish regionalists]] [[w:Mebyon Kernow|Mebyon Kernow]] gained an extra seat bringing their total to seven, and the [[w:Euroscepticism|Eurosceptic]] [[w:United Kingdom Independence Party|United Kingdom Independence Party]] (UKIP) and [[w:Liberal Party (UK, 1989)|Liberal Party]] (not to be confused with the Liberal Democrats) gained seats in several areas of England.

==Sources==
{{wikipediapar|Scottish Parliament election, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21675809-1702,00.html
|title=Scots take bold step to independence
|author=Agence France-Presse
|pub=News Limited
|date=May 5, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1954AFAD-8A2F-430C-AF47-46F2CFCB9074.htm
|title=Scottish nationalists win vote
|author=
|pub=Al Jazeera
|date=May 4, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6626207.stm
|title=SNP pips Labour in Holyrood vote
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=May 4, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=699512007|title=Holyrood balance tips Brown into a tight spot
|author=Bill Jacobs
|pub=The Scotsman
|date=May 5, 2007}} 
*{{source|url=http://www.sundayherald.com/oped/opinion/display.var.1096763.0.next_year_the_snp_take_holyrood_and_gordon_brown_goes_crackers.php
|title=Next year, the SNP take Holyrood … and Gordon Brown goes crackers
|author=Iain MacWhirter
|pub=Sunday Herald (Glasgow)
|date=May 6, 2007}} 

{{publish}}

{{Archived}}
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Scotland]]
[[Category:Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Alex Salmond]]
[[Category:Scottish National Party]]
[[Category:Outer Hebrides]]
[[Category:Scottish Socialist Party]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Independence Party]]
[[Category:British National Party]]
[[Category:Scottish Conservative Party]]
[[Category:Scottish Labour Party]]
[[Category:Scottish Liberal Democrat Party]]
[[Category:Scottish Parliament]]
[[Category:Scottish Independence]]
[[Category:Welsh Assembly]]
[[Category:Plaid Cymru]]
[[Category:Trident (nuclear weapon)]]
[[Category:Jack McConnell]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Party Supporting Scottish Independence From Uk Wins Elections}}
Debating chamber in Scottish Parliament building

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence from the UK, has pulled off a historic, albeit narrow, victory in yesterday's Scottish elections.

In the third Scottish election since the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the left of centre SNP beat the ruling Labour Party by a single seat. It won 47 seats, while Labour won 46, down from the current 50.

It is the first time since the parliament opened that Labour has been beaten, and the first time in fifty years that they have not had a majority of Scottish constituency seats in any election.

SNP leader Alex Salmond declared: "Scotland has changed for good and forever." He added that the Labour Party had "lost the moral authority to govern Scotland."

The current First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell of Labour said: "While I recognise that the SNP are the largest party by the narrowest of margins, Alex Salmond must himself recognise that he does not have a majority in the Scottish Parliament or anywhere near a majority of the vote."

It is believed that many factors caused the Labour vote to slump and the SNP vote to rise, including the war in Iraq and the renewal of Trident, which are both unpopular in Scotland.

The election also raises a serious dilemma for the Labour party's Gordon Brown, a Scotsman widely tipped to succeed Tony Blair as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. Brown is vehement in his support of the Union, and is a Westminster (London parliament) MP for Kirkcaldy. An SNP government in Scotland will find itself facing the very Labour party it beat in power in London. 

Turnout was up 2% on the last Scottish election.

* A constituency vote, which was "first past the post", and for a candidate.
* A regional list vote, which was additional member system, and was for a party.
* A local authority (council) vote, which was Single Transferable Vote, and in which parties could field more than one candidate in a ward.

The three systems, along with difficulties with electronic counting meant that maybe as many as one hundred thousand ballot papers were "spoiled". In addition, there was also huge problems with the postal vote.

Due to the extensive computer problems, votes had to be cancelled early on Friday morning, and postponed to later in the day.

Many other problems beset the election, with a helicopter from the Western Isles constituency being held up by fog, and a boat carrying ballot papers from the Isle of Arran, breaking down in the Firth of Clyde.

* Conservative and Unionist - 17 members.
* Liberal Democrats - 16 members.
* Scottish Greens - 2 members.
* Independent - 1 (Margo MacDonald, formerly of the SNP)

The Scottish Socialist Party, Solidarity and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party were all wiped out.

In order to establish a majority in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP must form a coalition with one or more of these parties. The Liberal Democrats, who were in coalition with the Labour party in the first two terms of the Scottish parliament, are a possibility.

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.

The Liberal Democrats gained seats in Dunfermline West, but their losses mean the number of seats they hold is unchanged.

The final results show that the membership for the new assembly will be:- 

Labour             26  -4
Plaid Cymru        15  +3
Conservatives      12  +1
Liberal Democrats  6   -
Independent        1   -

In England, the elections were more minor, dealing only with local authorities. However they can be an important indicator of how battleground seats might go in the General Election, expected in 2-3 years time.  The Conservatives made the greatest gains, but did not make the breakthrough in Northern England that they would have hoped. The Liberal Democrats did not make the advances that they had hoped, and stayed at more or less the same level. Elsewhere, Cornish regionalists Mebyon Kernow gained an extra seat bringing their total to seven, and the Eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and Liberal Party (not to be confused with the Liberal Democrats) gained seats in several areas of England.
Europe United Kingdom Politics and conflicts Elections Scotland Edinburgh Alex Salmond Scottish National Party Outer Hebrides Scottish Socialist Party Nuclear weapons United Kingdom Independence Party British National Party Scottish Conservative Party Scottish Labour Party Scottish Liberal Democrat Party Scottish Parliament Scottish Independence Welsh Assembly Plaid Cymru Trident (nuclear weapon) Jack McConnell