2003 Scottish Parliament election
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 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.
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Retiring MSPs
At the dissolution of Parliament on 31 March 2003, ten MSPs were not seeking re-election.[1]
| Constituency/Region | Departing MSP | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow | Dorothy-Grace Elder | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Independent |
| West of Scotland | Colin Campbell | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | SNP |
| Highlands and Islands | Duncan Hamilton | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | SNP |
| Highlands and Islands | Winnie Ewing | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | SNP |
| West of Scotland | Kay Ullrich | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | SNP |
| North East Scotland | Ben Wallace | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Conservative |
| West of Scotland | John Young | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Conservative |
| Central Fife | Henry McLeish | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Labour |
| Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale | Ian Jenkins | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Liberal Democrats |
| Lothians | David Steel | style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | 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
| Party | Constituencies | Regional additional members | Total seats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± | Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± | Total | ± | % | ||||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 663,585 | 34.6 | Decrease 4.2 | 46 | Decrease 7 | 561,375 | 29.3 | Decrease 4.3 | 4 | Increase 1 | 50 | Decrease 6 | 38.8 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 455,722 | 23.8 | Decrease 4.9 | 9 | Increase 2 | 399,659 | 20.9 | Decrease 6.4 | 18 | Decrease 10 | 27 | Decrease 8 | 20.9 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 318,279 | 16.6 | Increase 1.2 | 3 | Increase 3 | 296,929 | 15.5 | Increase 0.1 | 15 | Decrease 3 | 18 | Template:Nochange | 14.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 294,347 | 15.4 | Increase 1.2 | 13 | Increase 1 | 225,774 | 11.8 | Decrease 0.6 | 4 | Decrease 1 | 17 | Template:Nochange | 13.2 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | – | – | – | – | – | 132,138 | 6.9 | Increase 3.3 | 7 | Increase 6 | 7 | Increase 6 | 5.4 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 118,764 | 6.2 | Increase 5.2 | 0 | Template:Nochange | 128,026 | 6.7 | Increase 4.7 | 6 | Increase 5 | 6 | Increase 5 | 4.7 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 1,597 | 0.1 | new | 0 | new | 28,966 | 1.5 | new | 1 | new | 1 | new | 0.8 | |||
| Margo MacDonald | – | – | – | – | – | 27,143 | 1.4 | new | 1 | new | 1 | new | 0.8 | |||
| MSP for Falkirk West | 14,703 | 0.8 | Steady | 1 | Steady | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | Steady | 0.8 | |||
| Save Stobhill Hospital | 10,988 | 0.6 | new | 1 | new | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | new | 0.8 | |||
| Pensioners Party | – | – | – | – | – | 28,655 | 1.5 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | – | – | – | – | – | 21,657 | 1.1 | Decrease 1.3 | 0 | Steady | 0 | Steady | 0.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 5,598 | 0.3 | new | 0 | new | 7,718 | 0.4 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | – | – | – | – | – | 11,969 | 0.6 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | – | – | – | – | – | 6,113 | 0.3 | Steady | 0 | Steady | 0 | Steady | 0.0 | |||
| Local Health Concern | 5,582 | 0.3 | new | 0 | new | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Fishing Party | – | – | – | – | – | 5,566 | 0.3 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | – | – | – | – | – | 2,344 | 0.1 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Protect Rural Scotland | – | – | – | – | – | 1,438 | 0.1 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Script error: No such module "political party". | 1,300 | 0.1 | new | 0 | new | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Christian Independent Alliance | – | – | – | – | – | 1,064 | 0.1 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Adam Lyal's Witchery Tour | – | – | – | – | – | 964 | 0.1 | new | 0 | new | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Parents Excluded | 141 | 0.0 | new | 0 | new | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | new | 0.0 | |||
| Others | 25,968 | 1.4 | Increase 0.8 | 0 | Steady | 28,323 | 1.5 | Increase 0.8 | 0 | Steady | 0 | Steady | 0.0 | |||
| Valid votes | 1,916,574 | 99.4 | Decrease0.3 | 1,915,851 | 99.4 | Decrease0.3 | ||||||||||
| Spoilt votes | 12,303 | 0.6 | Increase0.3 | 11,938 | 0.6 | Increase0.3 | ||||||||||
| Total | 1,928,877 | 100 | 73 | – | 1,927,789 | 100 | 56 | – | 129 | – | 100 | |||||
| Electorate/Turnout | 3,877,460 | 49.7 | Decrease8.7 | 3,877,460 | 49.7 | Decrease8.6 | ||||||||||
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
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Alex Neil Michael Matheson Linda Fabiani |
3 | −2 | 59,274 | 22.53% | -5.25% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Margaret Mitchell | 1 | ±0 | 24,121 | 9.17% | +0.02% | |
| Scottish Socialist Party | Carolyn Leckie | 1 | +1 | 19,016 | 7.23% | +5.49% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | John Swinburne | 1 | +1 | 17,146 | 6.52% | N/A | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Donald Gorrie | 1 | ±0 | 15,494 | 5.89% | -0.31% | |
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Glasgow
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Nicola Sturgeon Sandra White |
2 | −2 | 34,894 | 17.1% | -8.4% | |
| Scottish Socialist Party | Tommy Sheridan Rosie Kane |
2 | +1 | 31,216 | 15.2% | +8.0% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Bill Aitken | 1 | ±0 | 15,299 | 7.5% | -0.4% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Robert Brown | 1 | ±0 | 14,839 | 7.5% | -0.4% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Patrick Harvie | 1 | +1 | 14,570 | 7.1% | +3.1% | |
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Highlands and Islands
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argyll and Bute | George Lyon | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | Jamie Stone | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber | Fergus Ewing | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Moray | Margaret Ewing | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Orkney | Jim Wallace | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Ross, Skye and Inverness West | John Farquhar Munro | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Shetland | Tavish Scott | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Western Isles | Alasdair Morrison | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Jim Mather Rob Gibson |
2 | ±0 | 39,497 | 23.43% | -4.3% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Peter Peacock Maureen Macmillan |
2 | −1 | 37,605 | 22.31% | -3.16% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Jamie McGrigor Mary Scanlon |
2 | ±0 | 26,989 | 16.01% | +1.07% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Eleanor Scott | 1 | +1 | 13,935 | 8.27% | +4.52% | |
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Lothians
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Kenny MacAskill Fiona Hyslop |
2 | −1 | 43,142 | 16.2% | -9.5% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | James Douglas-Hamilton | 1 | −1 | 40,173 | 15.1% | -0.6% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Robin Harper Mark Ballard |
2 | +1 | 31,908 | 12.0% | +5.1% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Margo MacDonald | 1 | +1 | 27,143 | 10.2% | N/A | |
| Scottish Socialist Party | Colin Fox | 1 | +1 | 14,448 | 5.4% | +3.8% | |
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Mid Scotland and Fife
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunfermline East | Helen Eadie | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Dunfermline West | Scott Barrie | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Fife Central | Christine May | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Fife North East | Iain Smith | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Kirkcaldy | Marilyn Livingstone | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| North Tayside | John Swinney | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Ochil | George Reid | Script error: No such module "political party". gain from Script error: No such module "political party". | |
| Perth | Roseanna Cunningham | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Stirling | Sylvia Jackson | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Bruce Crawford Tricia Marwick |
2 | −1 | 57,631 | 23.0% | -5.7% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Murdo Fraser Brian Monteith Ted Brocklebank |
3 | ±0 | 43,941 | 17.6% | -1.0% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Keith Raffan | 1 | ±0 | 30,112 | 12.0% | -0.7% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Mark Ruskell | 1 | +1 | 17,147 | 6.9% | +3.0% | |
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North East Scotland
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Richard Lochhead | 1 | −3 | 66,463 | 27.3% | -5.0% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Marlyn Glen Richard Baker |
2 | +2 | 49,189 | 20.2% | -5.3% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | David Davidson Nanette Milne Alex Johnstone |
3 | ±0 | 42,318 | 17.4% | -0.9% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Shiona Baird | 1 | +1 | 12,724 | 5.2% | +2.4% | |
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South of Scotland
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Phil Gallie David Mundell |
2 | −1 | 63,827 | 24.2% | +2.6% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Christine Grahame Adam Ingram Alasdair Morgan |
3 | ±0 | 48,371 | 18.4% | -6.7% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Chris Ballance | 1 | +1 | 15,062 | 5.7% | +2.7% | |
| Scottish Socialist Party | Rosemary Byrne | 1 | +1 | 14,228 | 5.4% | +4.4% | |
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West of Scotland
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clydebank and Milngavie | Des McNulty | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Cunninghame North | Allan Wilson | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Dumbarton | Jackie Baillie | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Eastwood | Kenneth Macintosh | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | Duncan McNeil | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Paisley North | Wendy Alexander | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Paisley South | Hugh Henry | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | Jean Turner | Script error: No such module "political party". gain from Script error: No such module "political party". | |
| West Renfrewshire | Patricia Godman | Script error: No such module "political party". hold | |
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| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Campbell Martin Bruce McFee Stewart Maxwell |
3 | −1 | 50,387 | 19.6% | -6.3% | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Annabel Goldie Murray Tosh |
2 | ±0 | 40,261 | 15.7% | – | |
| Script error: No such module "political party". | Ross Finnie | 1 | ±0 | 31,580 | 12.3% | +1.3% | |
| Scottish Socialist Party | Frances Curran | 1 | +1 | 18,591 | 7.2% | +5.3 | |
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Coalition
As part of the coalition deal between Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Labour allowed proportional representation (a long-standing Lib Dem policy)[3] to be used in Scottish local government elections.[4][5] This system was first used in 2007.[6]
Campaign spending
| Party | Expenses[7] | |
|---|---|---|
|
£188,889 | |
|
£130,358 | |
|
£74,361 | |
|
£65,852 | |
|
£39,504 | |
|
£3,558 | |
See also
- 2nd Scottish Parliament
- 2003 National Assembly for Wales election
- 2003 United Kingdom local elections
References
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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
Template:2003 Scottish Parliament election Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:United Kingdom local elections, 2003