| Election Name: | 1997 United Kingdom general election |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1992 United Kingdom general election in Scotland |
| Previous Year: | 1992 |
| Previous Mps: | List of MPs elected in the 1992 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Election: | 2001 United Kingdom general election in Scotland |
| Next Year: | 2001 |
| Next Mps: | List of MPs elected in the 1997 United Kingdom general election |
| Seats For Election: | All 72 Scottish seats to the House of Commons |
| Elected Mps: | List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2001 |
| Election Date: | 1 May 1997 |
| Turnout: | 71.3%, 4.2% |
| Leader1: | Tony Blair |
| Leader Since1: | 21 July 1994 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Seats Before1: | 49 |
| Seats1: | 56 |
| Seat Change1: | 7 |
| Uk Seats1: | 418 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,283,350 |
| Percentage1: | 45.6% |
| Swing1: | 6.6% |
| Leader2: | Paddy Ashdown |
| Leader Since2: | 16 July 1988 |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Seats Before2: | 9 |
| Seats2: | 10 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Uk Seats2: | 46 |
| Popular Vote2: | 365,362 |
| Percentage2: | 13.0% |
| Swing2: | 0.1% |
| Leader4: | Alex Salmond |
| Leader Since4: | 22 September 1990 |
| Party4: | Scottish National Party |
| Seats Before4: | 3 |
| Seats4: | 6 |
| Seat Change4: | 3 |
| Uk Seats4: | 6 |
| Popular Vote4: | 621,550 |
| Percentage4: | 22.1% |
| Swing4: | 0.6% |
| Leader5: | John Major |
| Leader Since5: | 4 July 1995 |
| Party5: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Popular Vote5: | 493,059 |
| Percentage5: | 17.5% |
| Swing5: | 8.2% |
| Seats Before5: | 11 |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seat Change5: | 11 |
| Uk Seats5: | 165 |
See main article: 1997 United Kingdom general election.
A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1997 and all 72 seats in Scotland were contested. This would be the last UK general election to be contested in Scotland before the Scottish Parliament was established on 1 July 1999 following overwhelming public approval in a referendum.
List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (1997–2001)
| Rank | Constituency | Winning party 1992 | Swing to gain | Labour's place 1992 | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayr | 0.1 | 2nd | Lab Gain | ||
| 2 | Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber | 0.45 | 2nd | Lab Gain | ||
| 3 | Stirling | 0.75 | 2nd | Lab Gain | ||
| 4 | Aberdeen South | 1.85 | 2nd | Lab Gain | ||
| 5 | Edinburgh Pentlands | 4.8 | 2nd | Lab Gain | ||
| Rank | Constituencee | Winning party 1992 | Swing to gain | SNP's place 1992 | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber | 0.65 | 3rd | Lab Gain | ||
| 2 | Perth | 2.1 | 2nd | SNP Gain | ||
| 3 | Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | 2.75 | 2nd | SNP Gain | ||
| 4 | North Tayside | 4.6 | 2nd | SNP Gain | ||
| Rank | Constituency | Winning party 1992 | Swing to gain | Con place 1992 | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gordon | 0.2 | 2nd | LD hold | ||
| 2 | Angus East | 1 | 2nd | SNP hold | ||
| 3 | Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber | 1.7 | 4th | Lab Gain | ||
| 4 | West Renfrewshire | 1.85 | 2nd | Lab hold | ||
| 5 | Edinburgh Central | 2.7 | 2nd | Lab hold | ||
| 6 | Moray | 3.1 | 2nd | SNP hold | ||
| 7 | Strathkelvin and Bearsden | 3.1 | 2nd | Lab hold | ||
| 8 | Cunninghame North | 3.45 | 2nd | Lab hold | ||
| 9 | Argyll and Bute | 3.6 | 2nd | LD hold | ||
| 10 | North East Fife | 3.95 | 2nd | LD hold | ||
| 11 | Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale | 4.1 | 2nd | LD hold | ||
| 12 | Banff and Buchan | 4.45 | 2nd | SNP hold | ||
| 13 | Edinburgh South | 4.7 | 2nd | Lab hold | ||
| Rank | Constituency | Winning party 1992 | Swing to gain | LD's place 1992 | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh West | 0.6 | 2nd | LD Gain | ||
| 2 | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | 4.3 | 2nd | LD Gain | ||
Below is a table summarising the results of the 1997 general election in Scotland.[1]
| Party | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 7 | 1,283,350 | 45.6 | 6.6 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 621,550 | 22.1 | 0.6 | |||
| 10 | 1 | 365,362 | 13.0 | 0.1 | |||
| 0 | 11 | 493,059 | 17.5 | 8.2 | |||
| 0 | New | 26,726 | 0.95 | New | |||
| 0 | New | 9,740 | 0.35 | New | |||
| 0 | 5,750 | 0.25 | |||||
| 0 | 2,162 | 0.08 | |||||
| 0 | 1,979 | 0.07 | |||||
| 0 | 1,945 | 0.07 | |||||
| 0 | 1,721 | 0.06 | 0.2 | ||||
| 0 | 1,585 | 0.06 | |||||
| 0 | 812 | 0.03 | |||||
| 0 | 651 | 0.02 | |||||
| 0 | 650 | 0.02 | |||||
| 0 | 315 | 0.01 | |||||
| 0 | 80 | 0.00 | |||||
| Turnout | 2,816,748 | 71.3 | 4.2 | ||||
The election saw the Conservatives lose every seat that they held in Scotland, although the party were third in terms of vote share (winning 17.5% of votes cast in Scotland). By contrast the Liberal Democrats won 13% of votes cast, but won ten seats, a net gain of one on the previous election. The SNP finished second in terms of vote share with 22%, but only won six seats. Labour won 45.6% of the vote and 56 seats, a net gain of seven on 1992. The defeated Conservative included three cabinet ministers: the Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Forsyth lost Stirling to Labour, the Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind lost Edinburgh Pentlands, also to Labour, while Ian Lang, President of the Board of Trade, lost Galloway and Upper Nithsdale to the SNP.[2]