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2003 Scottish Parliament election

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Field	Value
election_name	2003 Scottish Parliament election
country	Scotland
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
previous_election	1999 Scottish Parliament election
previous_year	1999
outgoing_members	1st Scottish Parliament
next_election	2007 Scottish Parliament election
next_year	2007
seats_for_election	All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament
65 seats were needed for a majority
election_date
elected_mps	2nd Scottish Parliament
1blank	Constituency vote
2blank	% and swing
3blank	Regional vote
4blank	% and swing
registered	3,877,460
turnout	Constituency - 49.7% 8.7pp
Regional - 49.7% 8.6pp
<!--Labour-->	image1
leader1	Jack McConnell
party1	Scottish Labour
leaders_seat1	Motherwell and Wishaw
last_election1	56 seats
seats_before1	55
seats1	50
seat_change1	6
3data1	561,375
4data1	29.3% 4.3%
1data1	663,585
2data1	34.6% 4.2%
<!--SNP-->	image2
leader2	John Swinney
party2	Scottish National Party
leaders_seat2	North Tayside
last_election2	35 seats
seats_before2	33
seats2	27
seat_change2	8
3data2	399,659
4data2	20.9% 6.4%
1data2	455,722
2data2	23.8% 4.9%
<!--Conservative-->	image3
leader3	David McLetchie
party3	Scottish Conservatives
leaders_seat3	Edinburgh Pentlands
last_election3	18 seats
seats_before3	19
seats3	18
seat_change3
3data3	296,929
4data3	15.6% 0.1%
1data3	318,279
2data3	16.6% 1.2%
<!--Liberal Democrats-->	image4
leader4	Jim Wallace
party4	Scottish Liberal Democrats
leaders_seat4	Orkney
last_election4	17 seats
seats_before4	16
seats4	17
seat_change4
3data4	225,774
4data4	11.8% 0.6%
1data4	294,347
2data4	15.4% 1.2%
<!--Greens-->	image5
leader5	Robin Harper
party5	Scottish Greens
leaders_seat5	Lothians
last_election5	1 seat
seats_before5	1
seats5	7
seat_change5	6
3data5	132,138
4data5	6.9% 3.3%
1data5	Did not contest
2data5	Did not contest
<!--Socialists-->	image6
leader6	Tommy Sheridan
party6	Scottish Socialist Party
leaders_seat6	Glasgow
last_election6	1 seat
seats_before6	1
seats6	6
seat_change6	5
3data6	128,026
4data6	6.7% 4.7%
1data6	118,764
2data6	6.2% 5.2%
map_image	Scottish Parliament election, 2003.svg
map_size	450px
map_caption	The map shows the election results in single-member constituencies. The additional member MSPs in the 8 regions are shown around the map.
<!--Footer-->	title	First Minister
posttitle	First Minister after election
before_election	Jack McConnell
before_party	Scottish Labour
after_election	Jack McConnell
after_party	Scottish Labour

65 seats were needed for a majority Regional - 49.7% 8.6pp

The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party MSP, remained in office as First Minister for a second term and the Executive continued as a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition. As of 2025, it remains the last Scottish Parliament election victory for the Scottish Labour Party, and the last time the Scottish National Party lost a Holyrood election.

The results also showed rises in support for smaller parties, including the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and declines in support for the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party (SNP). The Conservative and Unionist Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats each polled almost exactly the same percentage of the vote as they had in the 1999 election, with each holding the same number of seats as before.

Three independent MSPs were elected: Dennis Canavan, Margo MacDonald and Jean Turner. John Swinburne, leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, was also elected. This led to talk of a "rainbow" Parliament, but the arithmetic meant that the coalition of Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats could continue in office, which they did until the 2007 election.

The decline in support for the SNP was viewed by some as a rejection of the case for Scottish independence. Others argued against this, pointing out that the number of MSPs in favour of independence actually rose because most of the minor parties such as the SSP share this position with the SNP.

Retiring MSPs

At the dissolution of Parliament on 31 March 2003, ten MSPs were not seeking re-election.

Constituency/Region	Departing MSP	Party
Glasgow	Dorothy-Grace Elder	Independent
West of Scotland	Colin Campbell	SNP
Highlands and Islands	Duncan Hamilton	SNP
Highlands and Islands	Winnie Ewing	SNP
West of Scotland	Kay Ullrich	SNP
North East Scotland	Ben Wallace	Conservative
West of Scotland	John Young	Conservative
Central Fife	Henry McLeish	Labour
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale	Ian Jenkins	Liberal Democrats
Lothians	David Steel	Liberal Democrats

Campaign

The parliament was dissolved on 31 March 2003 and the campaign began thereafter.

Party leaders in 2003

Labour – Jack McConnell
SNP – John Swinney
Conservative – David McLetchie
Liberal Democrat – Jim Wallace
Greens – Robin Harper & Eleanor Scott (co-chairs)
SSP – Tommy Sheridan

Defeated MSPs

Labour

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

SNP

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

The New Party

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

Results

Election result with constituency names labeled

-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2
! colspan=5
! colspan=5
! colspan=5
-
! Votes !! % !! ± !! Seats !! ± !! Votes !! % !! ± !! Seats !! ± !! Total !! ± !! %
-
votes % = 34.6
AMS votes % = 29.3
Seats % = 38.8
votes % = 23.8
AMS votes % = 20.9
Seats % = 20.9
votes % = 16.6
AMS votes % = 15.5
Seats % = 14.0
votes % = 15.4
AMS votes % = 11.8
Seats % = 13.2
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 6.9
Seats % = 5.4
votes % = 6.2
AMS votes % = 6.7
Seats % = 4.7
votes % = 0.1
AMS votes % = 1.5
Seats % = 0.8
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 1.4
Seats % = 0.8
votes % = 0.8
AMS votes % = –
Seats % = 0.8
votes % = 0.6
AMS votes % = –
Seats % = 0.8
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 1.5
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 1.1
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = 0.3
AMS votes % = 0.4
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.6
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.3
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = 0.3
AMS votes % = –
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.3
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.1
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.1
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = 0.1
AMS votes % = –
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.1
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = –
AMS votes % = 0.1
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = 0.0
AMS votes % = –
Seats % = 0.0
votes % = 1.4
AMS votes % = 1.5
Seats % = 0.0
-
-
-
!style="text-align:left"; colspan="2"
-
}

Notes:

The Scottish Greens did not stand in any constituencies, instead concentrating their resources on winning the largest possible share of the "second" vote for 'list' seats.

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Glasgow

Highlands and Islands

Lothians

Mid Scotland and Fife

North East Scotland

South of Scotland

West of Scotland

Coalition

As part of the coalition deal between Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Labour allowed proportional representation (a long-standing Lib Dem policy) to be used in Scottish local government elections. This system was first used in 2007.

Campaign spending

Party	Expenses
	£188,889
	£130,358
	£74,361
	£65,852
	£39,504
	£3,558

References

Party manifestos

References

(2 April 2003). "Farewell to the parliament". BBC News.
(10 July 2011). "Analysis of Results".
Seenan, Gerard. (2001-11-22). "Scots Lib Dems push for local PR". The Guardian.
Parker, Simon. (2003-05-19). "Councils next for PR in Scotland". The Guardian.
"Proportional Representation and Local Government Elections - Early Day Motions".
(3 May 2007). "2007 Scottish Local Elections". [[Electoral Reform Society]].
(27 August 2003). "Figures reveal election spending". BBC News.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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