2008 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election explained

Election Name:2008 Scottish Labour Party leadership election
Country:Scotland
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Next Election:2011 Scottish Labour Party leadership election
Next Year:2011
1Blank:Overall Result
2Blank:Affiliated Unions
3Blank:Party members
4Blank:MPs, MSPs & MEPs
Candidate1:Johann Lamont
1Data1:60.2%
2Data1:51.6%
3Data1:54.9%
4Data1:74.0%
Candidate2:Bill Butler
1Data2:39.8%
2Data2:48.4%
3Data2:45.1%
4Data2:26.0%
Leader
Before Election:Cathy Jamieson
After Election:Johann Lamont

The 2008 Scottish Labour Party deputy leadership election was an internal party election to choose a new deputy leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament, and was triggered following the resignation of Cathy Jamieson,[1] who stood down in order to campaign in the leadership election which is being held alongside the deputy leadership election. Johann Lamont won the election and was elected deputy leader on Saturday 13 September.

The timetable for the election was finalised on Monday 28 July, and is identical to that of the leadership election. Nominations closed on Friday 1 August with the result declaration being made on 13 September.

Successfully nominated candidates

Both of the declared candidates received more than five nominations from MSPs, which was the minimum requirement for them to get onto the ballot paper, by the close of nominations at 12:00 UTC+1 on 1 August 2008.[3] [4]

Nominations

Candidates are initially nominated by their parliamentary colleagues from within the Scottish Parliament, following which Westminster MPs, constituency Labour parties and affiliated trade union organisation can submit 'supporting nominations', providing their backing to a specific candidates. These nominations can be seen in the tables below:

Result

The election took place using Alternative Vote in an electoral college, with a third of the votes allocated to Labour's MSPs, Scottish MPs and Scottish MEPs, a third to individual members of the Scottish Labour Party, and a third to individual members of affiliated organisations, mainly trade unions.[3]

In order to be elected, one candidate must have achieved a majority of votes, i.e. 50% plus 1 vote.

CandidateAffiliated
members
(33.3%)
Individual
members
(33.3%)
Elected
members
(33.3%)
Overall
Result
Johann Lamont39.8%60.4%67.1%55.8%
Bill Butler52.0%32.7%20.3%35.0%

Source: The Citizen: Campaigning for Socialism

Suggested candidates not standing

The following either publicly suggested they would stand for election or received media speculation to that effect. However, at the close of nominations they had not been nominated by any MSPs.[5]

Timeline of events

DateEvent
28 July 2008• Cathy Jamieson stands down as deputy leader of Scottish Labour in order to concentrate on her campaign in the leadership election; however, she remains Acting Leader.
• Scottish Labour's procedure committee meet and agree the timetable for the leadership and deputy leadership elections.
30 July 2008• Scottish Labour confirm that both Bill Butler and Johann Lamont have received sufficient nominations and are therefore official candidates.
1 August 2008• Nominations closed with two candidates having been successfully nominated.
13 September 2008• Declaration of result made - Johann Lamont elected deputy leader of Scottish Labour.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Gray contests leadership election . 25 July 2008 . .
  2. http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/received_nominations Scottish Labour
  3. News: Q&A: Labour leadership election . 30 June 2008 . .
  4. News: Labour leader nominations close . 1 August 2008 . .
  5. News: The Scottish Labour Party: Nominations received . 1 August 2008 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080805163240/http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/received_nominations . 5 August 2008 . dmy-all .
  6. News: Three candidates enter the fray for the deputys post . Robbie Dinwoodie . 30 July 2008 . .
  7. News: Curran considering bid for deputy leadership . Douglas Fraser . 28 July 2008 . .
  8. News: Curran considering leadership bid . 30 June 2008 . .
  9. News: SNP stun Labour in Glasgow East . 25 July 2008 . .