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Scottish Parliament election, 2003

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All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	49.4% 9.7%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jack McConnell John Swinney David McLetchie Party Labour SNP Conservative Leader's seat Motherwell & Wishaw North Tayside Edinburgh Pentlands Last election 56 seats 35 seats 18 seats Seats won 50 27 18 Seat change 6 8 Constituency vote 659,879 449,476 312,598 % and swing 34.5% 4.3% 23.7% 5.0% 16.6% 0.9% Regional vote 561,379 399,659 296,929 % and swing 29.4% 4.2% 20.9% 6.4% 15.6% 0.2%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Jim Wallace Robin Harper Tommy Sheridan Party Liberal Democrats Scottish Green Scottish Socialist Leader's seat Orkney Lothians Glasgow Last election 17 seats 1 seat 1 seat Seats won 17 7 6 Seat change 6 5 Constituency vote 286,150 Did not stand 117,709 % and swing 15.3% 1.1% Did not stand 6.0% 5.0% Regional vote 225,774 132,138 128,026 % and swing 11.8% 0.6% 6.9% 3.3% 6.7% 4.7%
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. Constituency names are listed at the bottom.
First Minister before election Jack McConnell Labour First Minister-designate Jack McConnell Labour

The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), remained in office as First Minister and the Executive continued as a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition. As of 2019, it remains the last general election victory for the Scottish Labour Party.

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.

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Retiring MSPs

At the dissolution of Parliament on 31 March 2003, ten MSPs were not seeking re-election.^[1]

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, Mid Scotland and Fife
  


• 
  Elaine Thomson, Aberdeen North
  

SNP

• 
  Kenneth Gibson, Glasgow
  


• 
  Irene McGugan, North East Scotland
  


• 
  Fiona McLeod, West of Scotland
  


• 
  Gil Paterson, Central Scotland
  


• 
  Lloyd Quinan, West of Scotland
  


• 
  Michael Russell, South of Scotland
  


• 
  Andrew Wilson, Central Scotland
  

The New Party

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


• 
  Lyndsay McIntosh, Central Scotland (elected as a Conservative)

Results

e • d Scottish Parliament election, 2003^[2]

Party		Constituencies					Regional additional members					Total seats
		Votes	%	±	Seats	±	Votes	%	±	Seats	±	Total	±	%
	Labour	663,585	34.5	4.3	46	7	561,379	29.4	4.2	4	1	50	6	38.8
	SNP	455,772	23.7	6.4	9	2	399,659	20.9	6.4	18	10	27	8	20.9
	Conservative	318,279	16.6	0.9	3	3	296,929	15.6	0.2	15	3	18		14.0
	Liberal Democrats	294,347	15.3	1.1	13	1	225,774	11.8	0.6	4	1	17		13.2
	Scottish Green	–	–	–	–	–	132,138	6.9	3.3	7	6	7	6	5.4
	Scottish Socialist	116,013	6.0	5.0	0		128,026	6.7	4.7	6	5	6	5	4.7
	Independent	34,452	1.8	0.5	2	1	31,942	1.7	0.1	1	1	3	2	2.3
	Scottish Senior Citizens	–	–	–	–	–	28,966	1.5	1.5	1	1	1	1	0.8
	Pensioners Party	–	–	–	–	–	28,655	1.5	1.5	0				–
	Socialist Labour	–	–	–	–	–	21,657	1.1	1.2	0				–
	UKIP	–	–	–	–	–	11,969	0.6	0.6	0				–
	People's Alliance	–	–	–	–	–	7,718	0.4	0.4	0				–
	Pro-Life	–	–	–	–	–	6,759	0.4	0.1	0				–
	Scottish Unionist	–	–	–	–	–	6,113	0.3	0.1	0				–
	Others	39,171	2.0	1.9	0		20,274	1.1	0.4	0
	Total	1,921,619	100.0		73		1,907,958	100.0		56		129		100.0

Notes:

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

2. Three independents were elected: Margo MacDonald, Dennis Canavan and Jean Turner.

4. Overall turnout was 49.4%, down on the 1999 election.

Seats won to the Scottish Parliament following the 2003 election.
█ Labour (50)
█ SNP (27)
█ Conservatives (18)
█ Lib Dems (17)
█ Greens (7)
█ SSP (6)
█ SSCUP (1)
█ Independents (3)

Constituency and regional summary

Central Scotland

Glasgow

Highlands and Islands

Lothians

Mid Scotland and Fife

North East Scotland

South of Scotland

West of Scotland

Coalition

As part of the coalition deal between Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Labour allowed proportional representation to be used in Scottish local government elections. This system was first used in 2007.

Party political and administration costs

The Lib Dems declared a total of £130,358 was spent on the campaign, SSP spent £74,361 the Greens spent £65,852 and the Scottish Senior Citizens' Unity Party spent 3,558. The Scottish People's Alliance spent £188,889 and UKIP spent £39,504.^[3]

See also

• Members of the Scottish Parliament, 2003-2007


• 
  Welsh Assembly election, 2003 and United Kingdom local elections, 2003 the same day

References

Party Manifestos

• British National Party- Freedom


• Pro-Life Alliance


• Scottish Liberal Democrats- Make the difference


• Scottish National Party- Release our potential


• Scottish Socialist Party – another Scotland is possible

External links

• BBC: Vote Scotland 2003


• Scottish Election Results 1997 – present