Elections in Scotland explained

Scotland has elections to several bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament, local councils and community councils. Before the United Kingdom left the European Union, Scotland elected members to the European Parliament.

Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliamentary elections use the Additional Member System (AMS). Under this system, voters are given two votes: one for their constituency, which elects a single MSP by first-past-the-post; and one for their region, which elects seven MSPs by closed list. Five Scottish Parliamentary elections have been held since the reconvention of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Elections are held every five years, on the first Thursday in May.

2021

See main article: 2021 Scottish Parliament election.


Party		Seats	Seats change	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Constituency vote change (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Regional vote change (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Total votes change (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	64	1	1,291,204	47.7	1.2	1,094,374	40.3	1.4	2,385,578	43.89	0.21	49.6
	31		592,518	21.9	0.1	637,131	23.5	0.6	1,229,649	22.62	0.15	24.0
	22	2	584,392	21.6	1.0	488,819	18.0	1.0	1,073,211	19.74	1.07	17.05
	8	2	34,990	1.3	0.7	220,324	8.1	1.5	255,314	4.69	1.11	6.2
	4	1	187,746	6.9	0.9	137,152	5.1	0.1	324,898	5.97	0.54	3.1
	0		15,833	0.58	0.08	137,984	5.1	0.6	153,817	2.83	0.34	0.0
				2,706,761	100		2,712,784	100		5,434,851	100
Registered voters/Turnout				4,280,785	63.46	7.66	4,280,785	63.49	7.69	8,561,570	63.47	7.67

2016

See main article: 2016 Scottish Parliament election.


Party		Seats	Seats change	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Constituency vote change (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Regional vote change (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Total votes change (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	63	6	1,059,897	46.5	1.1	953,587	41.7	2.3	2,013,484	44.10	0.60	48.8
	31	16	501,844	22.0	8.1	524,222	22.9	10.6	1,026,066	22.47	9.34	24.03
	24	13	514,261	22.6	9.2	435,919	19.1	7.2	950,180	20.81	8.18	18.60
	6	4	13,172	0.6	0.6	150,426	6.6	2.2	163,598	3.58	1.40	4.65
	5		178,238	7.8	1.0	119,284	5.2		297,522	6.51	0.04	3.87
	0	1	11,741	0.5	0.58	102,314	4.5	3.02	114,055	2.49	1.89	0
				2,279,154	100		2,285,752	100		4,564,906	100
Registered voters/Turnout				4,099,907	55.90	5.24	4,099,907	55.75	5.36	5,434,851	55.67	5.30

2011

See main article: 2011 Scottish Parliament election.


Party		Seats	Seats change	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Constituency vote change (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Regional vote change (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Total votes change (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	69	23	902,915	45.5	12.5	876,421	44.0	13.0	1,779,336	44.70	12.74	53.48
	37	7	630,461	31.7	0.5	523,469	26.3	2.9	1,153,930	28.99	1.64	28.68
	15	5	276,652	13.9	2.7	245,967	12.4	1.5	522,619	13.13	2.01	11.6
	5	12	157,714	7.9	8.2	103,472	5.2	6.1	261,186	6.56	7.18	3.87
	2	1	0	0.0	0.1	86,939	4.4	0.3	86,939	2.18	0.08	1.55
	1		21,534	1.08	0.92	149,809	7.52	3.08	171,343	4.30	2.03	0.77
				1,989,276	100		1,990,836	100		3,980,112	100
Registered voters/Turnout				3,950,626	50.35	0.70	3,950,626	50.39	1.31	7,901,252	50.37	1.01

2007

See main article: 2007 Scottish Parliament election.


Party		Seats	Seats change	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Constituency vote change (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Regional vote change (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Total votes change (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	47	20	664,227	32.9	9.1	633,611	31.0	10.1	1,297,838	31.96	9.65	36.43
	46	4	648,374	32.1	2.5	595,415	29.1	0.2	1,243,789	30.63	1.36	35.65
	17	1	334,743	16.6		284,035	13.9	1.6	614,778	15.14	0.91	13.17
	16	1	326,232	16.2	0.8	230,651	11.3	0.5	556,883	13.74	0.17	12.40
	2	5	2,971	0.1	8.5	82,577	4.0	2.9	85,584	2.10	1.34	1.55
	1	9	40,431	2.0	7.6	216,577	10.6	4.0	257,008	6.33	6.31	0.77
				2,016,978	100		2,042,866	100		4,059,844	100
Registered voters/Turnout				3,950,626	51.05	1.63	3,950,626	51.70	2.30	7,901,252	51.38	1.89

2003

See main article: 2003 Scottish Parliament election.


Party		Seats	Seats change	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Constituency vote change (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Regional vote change (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Total votes change (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	50	6	663,585	34.6	4.2	561,375	29.3	4.3	1,224,960	31.96	4.25	38.8
	27	8	455,722	23.8	5.1	399,659	20.9	6.4	855,381	22.31	5.70	20.9
	18		318,279	16.6	1.0	296,929	15.5	0.1	615,208	16.05	0.60	14.0
	17		294,347	15.4	1.2	225,774	11.8	0.6	520,121	13.57	0.25	13.2
	7	6	-	-	-	132,138	6.9	3.3	132,138	3.44	1.65	5.4
	10	8	184,641	9.6	6.9	299,946	14.6	7.1	484,587	12.64	7.45	7.9
				1,916,574	100		1,915,821	100		3,832,395	100
Registered voters/Turnout				3,877,460	49.42	8.74	3,877,460	49.40	8.57	7,754,920	49.49	8.62

1999

See main article: 1999 Scottish Parliament election.


Party		Seats	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	56	908,346	38.8	786,818	33.6	1,695,164	36.21	43.41
	35	672,768	28.7	638,644	27.3	1,311,412	28.01	27.13
	18	364,425	15.6	359,109	15.4	723,534	15.45	13.95
	17	333,179	14.2	290,760	12.4	623,939	13.32	13.17
	1	-	-	84,023	3.6	84,023	1.79	0.77
	2	63,770	2.7	179,481	7.5	243,251	5.19	1.55
			2,342,488	100	2,338,835	100	4,681,323	100
Registered voters/Turnout			4,027,433	58.16	4,027,433	57.97	8,054,866	58.11

By-elections

See main article: List of Scottish parliamentary by-elections.

2019 Shetland by-election, Lib Dem hold
2017 Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election, Con hold
2014 Cowdenbeath by-election, Lab hold
2013 Dunfermline by-election, Lab gain from SNP
2013 Aberdeen Donside by-election, SNP hold
2006 Moray by-election, SNP hold
2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election, Lab hold
2001 Banff and Buchan by-election,SNP hold
2001 Strathkelvin and Bearsden by-election, Lab hold
2000 Glasgow Anniesland by-election, Lab hold
2000 Ayr by-election, Con gain from Lab

UK Parliament

2019

See main article: 2019 United Kingdom general election. ^[1]

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats contested	Votes	Votes, of total (%)	Change (%)
	48	13	59^[2]	1,242,380	45.0	8.1
	6	7	59^[3]	692,939	25.1	3.5
	4		59	263,417	9.5	2.8
	1	6	59^[4]	511,838	18.6	8.5
	0		22^[5]	28,122	1.0	0.8
	0		15	13,243	0.5	New
	0		6	3,303	0.1	0.1
	0			3,819	0.1	0.2
Turnout					2,759,061	68.1	1.7

2017

See main article: 2017 United Kingdom general election. ^[6]

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats contested	Votes	Votes, of total (%)	Change (%)
	35	21	59	977,569	36.9	13.1
	13	12	59	757,949	28.6	13.7
	7	6	59*	717,007	27.1	2.8
	4	3	59	179,061	6.8	0.7
	0		3	5,886	0.2	1.1
	0		10	5,302	0.2	1.4
	0			6,921	0.3
Turnout					2,649,695	66.4	4.7

2015

See main article: 2015 United Kingdom general election.

At the 2015 election the SNP won a majority of Scottish seats for the first time.

^[7]

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats, of total (%)	Seats contested	Votes	Votes, of total (%)	Change (%)
	56	50	94.6	59	1,454,436	50.0	30.1
	1	40	1.7	59*	707,147	24.3	17.7
	1	0	1.7	59	434,097	14.9	1.8
	1	10	1.7	59	219,675	7.5	11.3
	0		0	41	47,078	1.6	0.9
	0		0	32	39,205	1.3	0.7
	0		0	37	8,827	0.3	0.5
Turnout						2,910,465	71.1	6.3

2010

See main article: 2010 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats change	Seats, of total (%)	Candidates	Votes	%	% change
	41	69.4	59	1,035,528	42.0	2.5
	11	18.6	59	465,471	18.9	3.7
	6	10.16	59	491,386	19.9	2.3
	1	1.69	59*	412,855	16.7	0.9
	0	0	34	17,223	0.7	0.3
	0	0	20	16,827	0.7	0.4
	0	0	45	19,555	0.8	0.14
Turnout:					2,465,722	63.8	3.2

Philip Lardner, the Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran was disowned by the Conservative Party for comments he posted on his website, calling homosexuality 'abnormal'. It was too late for him to be replaced and he still read as the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party candidate on the ballot paper.

2005

See main article: 2005 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Seats, of total (%)	Votes	%	% change
	41	15	69.4	922,402	39.5	4.5
	11	1	18.6	528,076	22.6	6.3
	6	1	10.16	412,267	17.7	2.4
	1		1.7	369,388	15.8	0.2
	0		0	43,514	1.9	1.2
	0		0	25,760	1.1	1.1
	0		0	8,859	0.4	0.3
	0		0	15,490	0.66
Turnout:					2,333,887	60.6	2.4

2001

See main article: 2001 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	56		1,001,173	43.3	2.3
	10		378,034	16.3	3.3
	5	1	464,314	20.1	2.1
	1	1	360,658	15.6	1.9
	0		72,516	3.1	2.8
Turnout:				2,315,703	58.2	13.1

1997

See main article: 1997 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	56	7	1,283,350	45.6	6.6
	10	1	365,362	13.0	0.1
	6	3	621,550	22.1	0.6
	0	11	493,059	17.5	8.2
	0		53,427	2.0	1.2
Turnout:				2,816,748	71.3	4.2

1992

See main article: 1992 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	49	1	1,142,911	39.0	3.4
	11	1	751,950	25.6	1.6
	9		383,856	13.1	6.1
	3		629,564	21.5	7.4
	0		23,417	0.8	0.5
Turnout:				2,931,698	75.5	0.4

1987

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	50	9	1,258,132	42.4	7.3
	10	11	713,081	24.0	4.4
	9	1	570,053	19.2	5.3
	3	1	416,473	14.1	2.3
	0		10,069	0.3
Turnout:				2,967,808	75.1	2.4

1983

See main article: 1983 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	41	3	990,654	35.1	6.5
	21	1	801,487	28.4	3.0
	8	5^[8]	692,634	24.5	15.5
	2		331,975	11.8	5.5
	0		7,830	0.3	0.2
Turnout:				2,824,580	72.7

1979

See main article: 1979 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	44	3	1,211,455	41.5	5.2
	22	6	916,155	31.4	6.7
	2	9	504,259	17.3	13.1
	3		262,224	9.0	0.7
	0		13,737	0.5	New
	0		2,881	0.1	0.1
Turnout:				2,916,637	76.84

October 1974

See main article: October 1974 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	41	1	1,000,581	36.3	0.3
	16	5	681,327	24.7	8.2
	11	4	839,617	30.4	8.5
	3		228,855	8.3	0.4
	0		7,453	0.3	0.2
	0		86	0.0	New
	0		182	0.0	0.1
Turnout:				2,758,101	74.81

February 1974

See main article: February 1974 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	40	4	1,057,601	36.6	7.9
	21	2	950,668	32.9	5.1
	7	6	633,180	21.9	10.5
	3		229,162	7.9	2.4
	0		15,071	0.5	0.1
	0		1,393	0.1	0.1
Turnout:				2,887,075	78.86

1970

See main article: 1970 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	44	2	1,197,068	44.5	5.4
	23	3	1,020,674	38.0	0.4
	1	1	306,802	11.4	6.4
	3	2	147,667	5.5	1.3
	0		11,408	0.4	0.2
	0		4,616	0.2	0.2
Turnout:				2,688,235	73.91

1966

See main article: 1966 United Kingdom general election.

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	46	3	1,273,916	49.9	1.2
	20	4	960,675	37.6	3.0
	5	1	172,447	6.8	0.8
	0		128,474	5.0	2.6
	0		16,230	0.6	0.1
	0		638	0.0	0.2
Turnout:				2,552,380

1964

See main article: 1964 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party	43	5	1,283,667	48.7	2.0
	Unionist	24	1	981,641	37.3	2.5
	National Liberal & Conservative	0	6	88,054	3.3	4.2
	Liberal	4	3	200,063	7.6	3.5
	SNP	0		64,044	2.4	1.6
	Communist	0		12,241	0.5	0.0
	Other	0		4,829	0.2	0.1
Total		71		2,634,539	100

1959

See main article: 1959 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party	38	4	1,245,255	46.7	0.0
	Unionist	25	5	1,060,609	39.8	1.7
	National Liberal & Conservative	6		199,678	7.5	1.1
	Liberal	1		108,963	4.1	2.1
	Independent Unionist	1	1	12,163	0.5	New
	SNP	0		21,738	0.8	0.3
	Communist	0		12,150	0.5	New
	Fife Socialist League	0		4,886	0.2	New
	Other	0		2,071	0.1	0.2
Total		71		2,667,513	100

1955

See main article: 1955 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Unionist	30	1	1,056,209	41.5	1.6
	National Liberal & Conservative	6		217,733	8.6	0.1
	Labour Party	34	1	1,188,058	46.7	1.2
	Liberal	1		47,273	1.9	0.8
	Communist	0		13,195	0.5	0.1
	SNP	0		12,112	0.5	0.2
	Other	0		8,674	0.3	0.2
Total		71		2,543,254	100

1951

See main article: 1951 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Unionist	29	3	1,108,321	39.9	2.7
	National Liberal & Conservative	6	1	240,977	8.7	1.1
	Labour Party	35	2	1,330,244	47.9	1.7
	Liberal	1	1	76,291	2.7	3.9
	Communist	0		10,947	0.4	0.6
	SNP	0		7,299	0.3	0.1
	Other	0	1	3,758	0.1	0.9
Total		71		2,777,837	100

1950

See main article: 1950 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party	37		1,259,410	46.2	1.7
	Unionist	26	2	1,013,909	37.2	0.5
	National Liberal & Conservative	5	2	208,101	7.6	4.0
	Liberal	2	2	180,270	6.6	1.0
	SNP	0		9,708	0.4	0.9
	Communist	0	1	27,559	1.0	0.4
	Other	1	2	27,727	1.0	0.7
Total		71		2,726,684	100

1945

See main article: 1945 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour Party	37	17	1,144,310	47.9	11.1
	Unionist	24	11	878,206	36.7	5.3
	National Liberal & Conservative	3	4	85,937	3.6	3.1
	Independent Labour Party	3	1	40,725	1.7	3.3
	Independent Liberal	2	2	26,127	1.1	1.1
	Communist	1	-	33,265	1.4	0.8
	Independent Unionist	1	1	13,647	0.6	0.6
	Liberal	0	3	132,849	5.6	1.1
	SNP	0	-	30,595	1.3	0.2
	Common Wealth Party	0	-	4,231	0.2	0.2
Total		71		2,389,892	100

1935

See main article: 1935 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	*National Government (Total)*		43	21	*1,135,403*	*49.8*	15.2
		Unionist	35	13	962,595	42.0	7.5
		National Liberal	7		149,072	6.7
		National Labour	1		19,115	0.9	0.1
		National	0		4,621	0.2
	Labour Party		20	13	863,789	36.8	4.2
	Liberal		3	4	174,235	6.7	1.9
	Independent Labour Party		4		111,256	5.0
	SNP		0		25,652	1.1
	Communist		1	1	13,462	0.6	0.8
Total			71		2,323,797	100

1931

See main article: 1931 United Kingdom general election.

See main article: 1931 United Kingdom general election in Scotland.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	*National Government (Total)*		64		*1,385,385*	*64.0*
		Unionist	48	28	1,056,768	49.5	13.6
		National Liberal & Conservative	8	New	101,430	4.9	New
		Liberal	7	6	205,384	8.6	9.5
		National Labour	1	New	21,803	1.0	New
	Labour Party		7	29	696,248	32.6	9.7
	Communist		0		35,618	1.4	0.3
	National Party of Scotland		0		20,954	1.0	0.8
	New Party		0	New	3,895	0.2	New
	Other		0		32,229	0.8
Total			71		2,174,329	100

1929

See main article: 1929 United Kingdom general election.

See main article: 1929 United Kingdom general election in Scotland.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	36	10	937,300	42.3	1.2
	Unionist	20	16	792,063	35.9	4.8
	Liberal	13	5	407,081	18.1	1.5
	Communist	0	-	27,114	1.1	0.4
	Scottish Prohibition	1	-	25,037	1.1
	National Party of Scotland	0	-	3,313	0.2	New
	Other	1		51,033	1.3
Total		71		2,242,941	100

1924

See main article: 1924 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Unionist	36	22	688,299	40.7	9.1
	Labour	26	8	697,146	41.1	5.2
	Liberal	8	14	286,540	16.6	11.8
	Communist	0	-	15,930	0.7	1.7
	Other	1	-	29,193	0.9	0.8
Total		71		1,717,108	100

1923

See main article: 1923 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	34	5	532,450	35.9	3.7
	Liberal (Reunited)	22	5	422,995	28.4	10.8
	Unionist	14	1	468,526	31.6	6.5
	Communist	0	1	39,448	2.4	1.0
	Other	1	-	37,908	1.7	0.4
Total		71		1,501,327	100

1922

See main article: 1922 United Kingdom general election.

See main article: 1922 United Kingdom general election in Scotland.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	29	23	501,254	32.2	9.3
	Liberal	15	7	328,649	21.5	6.1
	Unionist	13		379,396	25.1
	National Liberal	12	13	288,529	17.7	1.4
	Communist	1		23,944	1.4
	Other	1		47,589	2.1
Total		71		1,569,361	100

1918

See main article: 1918 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	% Change
	Coalition (Total)		54	584,259	52.3
		Coalition Unionist	28	336,530	30.8
		Coalition Liberal	25	221,145	19.1
		Coalition Labour	1	14,247	1.3
		Coalition NDP	0	12,337	1.1
	Labour		6	265,744	22.9	+19.3
	Liberal		8	163,960	15.0	-36.6
	Unionist		2	21,939	2.0
	Co-operative Party		0	19,841	1.8
	Highland Land League		0	8,710	0.8
	Scottish Prohibition Party		0	5,212	0.5
	NDP		0	4,297	0.4
	Other		1	52,749	4.7
Total			71	1,126,711	100

1910 December

See main article: December 1910 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	57	1	306,378	53.6	0.6
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist	10	1	244,785	42.6	3.0
	Labour Party	3	1	24,633	3.6	1.5
	Other	0	1	1,947	0.2	0.9
Total		70		577,743	100

1910 January

See main article: January 1910 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	58		354,847	54.2	2.2
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist	9	1	260,033	39.6	1.4
	Labour Party	2		37,852	5.1	2.8
	Other	1	1	7,710	1.1
Total		70		660,442	100

1906

See main article: 1906 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	58	24	336,400	56.4	6.2
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist	10	26	225,802	38.2	10.8
	Labour	2	2	16,897	2.3
	Other	0		17,815	3.1
Total		70		596,914	100

1900

See main article: 1900 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Votes	%	% Change
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist	36	5	237,217	49.0	1.6
	Liberal	34	5	245,092	50.2	1.5
	Scottish Workers'	0		3,107	0.6
	Other	0		814	0.2
Total		70		486,230	100

1895

See main article: 1895 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	39	12	236,446	51.7	2.2
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	31	12	214,403	47.4	3
	Independent Labour Party	0		4,269	0.8	0.8
Total		70			100

1892

See main article: 1892 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	51	8	256,944	53.9	0.3
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	19	8	209,944	44.4	2.0
	Scottish Trades Councils Labour	0		2,313	0.5	0.5
	Scottish Parliamentary Labour	0		2,043	0.4	0.4
	Other	0		3,886	0.8	0.8
Total		70		475,130	100

1886

See main article: 1886 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	43	8	193,801	53.6	0.3
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	27	19	164,314	46.4	12.1
Total		70		358,115	100

1885

See main article: 1885 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	51	1	238,627	53.3	16.8
	Conservative	8	2	151,137	34.3	4.4
bgcolor=		Independent Liberal & Crofters Party	4	4	16,551	3.7	3.7
	Independent Liberal	7	7	align=center rowspan=2	38,214	align=center rowspan=2	8.6	align=center rowspan=2	8.6
	Others	0
	Scottish Land Restoration League	0		2,359	0.5	0.5
Total		70	12	446,888	100

1880

See main article: 1880 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	52	12	195,517	70.1	1.7
	Conservative	6	12	75,145	29.9	1.7
Total		58		269,662	100

1874

See main article: 1874 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	40	11	148,345	68.4	14.1
	Conservative	18	11	63,193	31.6	14.1
Total		58		211,538	100

1868

See main article: 1868 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	51	9	125,356	82.5	2.9
	Conservative	7	4	23,985	17.5	2.9
Total		58	5	149,341	100

1865

See main article: 1865 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	42	2	43,480	85.4	21.0
	Conservative	11	2	4,305	14.6	19.0
Total		53		47,785	100

1859

See main article: 1859 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	40	1	5,174	66.4	18.4
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	13	1	2,616	33.6	18.4
Total		53		7,790	100

1857

See main article: 1857 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	39	6	31,999	84.8	12.2
	Conservative & Liberal Unionist	14	6	4,060	15.2	12.2
Total		53		36,059	100

1852

See main article: 1852 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	-	21,015	72.6	9.1
	Conservative & Liberal Conservative	20	-	6,955	27.4	9.1
Total		53		27,970	100

1847

See main article: 1847 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	-	20,092	81.7	19.9
	Conservative & Liberal Conservative	20	-	3,509	18.3	20.0
Total		53		23,601	100

1841

See main article: 1841 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	31	2	16,356	60.8	6.8
	Conservative	22	2	9,793	38.3	8.3
	Chartist	0		385	0.9
Total		53		26,354	100

1837

See main article: 1837 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	33	5	22,082	54.0	8.8
	Conservative	20	5	18,569	46.0	8.8
Total		53	-	40,651	100

1835

See main article: 1835 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	38	5	28,307	62.8	16.2
	Conservative	15	5	15,733	37.2	16.2
Total		53		44,040	100

1832

See main article: 1832 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Whig	43	22	44,003	79.0
	Tory	10	13	9,752	21.0
Total		53		53,755	100

1831

See main article: 1831 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	% Change
	Tory	23	10
	Whig	21	9
	Doubtful	1	1
Total		45		100

1830

See main article: 1830 United Kingdom general election.

Party	Seats	Seats change	% Change
	Tory	33
	Whig	12
Total		45	100

Local councils

Since 1995, local elections in Scotland have been generally held every four years for all the 32 unitary authorities created under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. Between 1975 and 1992, elections were held every two years for either district or regional council, which sat for four-year terms. Those arrangements were set up by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

As one consequence of the Gould Report,^[9] which was a response to the fiasco of the 2007 elections, the next council elections were scheduled for 2012 (one year after the Parliamentary elections in 2011).

2022

See main article: 2022 Scottish local elections.

2017

The elections were held again using the STV system of proportional representation, and as with the 2012 Scottish local elections, they were delayed for one year to ensure they were not held on the same day as the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections (which was delayed for a year, owing to the 2015 general election). For full analysis see 2017 Scottish local elections.

2012

See main article: 2012 Scottish local elections. The election was contested for the second time under the STV system of proportional representation. It was the first time in 13 years that the elections had not been held on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections.

Past elections

By-elections

2008

date to be announced: Abbey (4-member ward), Dumfries and Galloway, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: result pending (result May 2007: 2 Con, 1 SNP, 1 Lab)
1 May: Troup (3-member ward), Aberdeenshire, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: result pending (result May 2007: 1 SNP, 1 Con, 1 Ind)
6 March: Cambuslang East (3-member ward), South Lanarkshire, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Lab gain from SNP (result May 2007: 2 Lab, 1 SNP; after by election: 3 Lab)
28 Feb: Lerwick South (4-member ward), Shetland, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Ind hold (result May 2007: 4 Ind; after by election: 4 Ind)
21 Feb: Highland (3-member ward), Perth and Kinross, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP hold (result May 2007: 2 SNP, 1 Con; after by election: 2 SNP, 1 Con)
14 Feb: Elgin City South (3-member ward), Moray, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP gain from Ind (result May 2007: 1 SNP, 1 Lab, 1 Ind; after by election: 2 SNP, 1 Lab)
31 January: Kilsyth (3-member ward), North Lanarkshire, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Lab hold (result May 2007: 2 Lab, 1 SNP; after by election: 2 Lab, 1 SNP)

2007

22 November: Lochee (4-member ward), Dundee, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP hold (result May 2007: 2 SNP, 2 Lab; after by election: 2 SNP, 2 Lab)
4 October: Helensburgh and Lomond South (3-member ward), Argyll and Bute, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: Lib Dem gain from Ind (result May 2007: 1 Con, 1 Ind, 1 Lib Dem; after by election: 2 Lib Dem, 1 Con)
16 August: Midstocket/Rosemount (3-member ward), Aberdeen, 1 member elected by single transferable vote: SNP gain from Con (result May 2007: 1 Con, 1 SNP, 1 Lab; after by election: 2 SNP, 1 Lab)

2006

8 December: Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Lab hold (16% swing Lab to SNP)
28 September: Markinch and Woodside East, Fife, SNP gain from Lab
10 August: Lochardil, Highland, Lib Dem gain from Ind
15 June: Dumbarton West, West Dunbartonshire, SNP gain from Lab
18 May: Altonhill Hillhead and Longpark, East Ayrshire, SNP hold
11 May: Biggar, Symington and Black Mount, South Lanarkshire, Con gain from SNP
30 March: Avondale South, South Lanarkshire, Con hold
30 March: Borestone, Stirling, SNP gain from Lab
30 March: King's Park, Glasgow, Lib Dem gain from Lab
16 February: Milton, Glasgow, SNP gain from Lab
2 February: North Carrick and Maybole East, South Ayrshire, Ind gain from Lab

2005

8 December: Kirkshaws, North Lanarkshire, Lab hold
10 November: Knightswood Park, Glasgow, Lab hold
10 November: Loanhead, Midlothian, SNP gain from Ind
10 November: Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Con hold
13 October: Lochside, Dumfries and Galloway, Lab gain from Ind
29 September: Auchtertool and Burntisland East, Fife, SNP gain from Ind
11 August: Herbertshire, Falkirk, SNP gain from Lab
16 June: Kildrum and Park, North Lanarkshire, SNP gain from Ind
9 June: Huntly East, Aberdeenshire, Con hold
9 June: Kilnknowe and Clovenfords, Borders, SNP gain from Ind
17 March: Dalkeith/Woodburn, Midlothian, Lib Dem gain from Lab
17 March: Dumbarton West, West Dunbartonshire, Lab hold

European Parliament

In 1999, a Scotland-wide constituency replaced eight first-past-the-post constituencies used in the elections between 1979 and 1994. This returned eight MEPs under the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation system. Since then the number of MEPs returned by Scotland has been reduced twice, to seven in 2004, and then to six in 2009.

Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020, Scotland no longer elects representatives to the European Parliament.

Elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the number of votes per seat won.

2019

See main article: 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom.

Pre-1999 elections

For full details of results please referee to related articles;

1994

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	6		635,955	42.51
	2		487,239	32.57
	0		216,669	14.48
	0		107,811	7.21
	0		23,304	1.56
	0	–	12,113	0.81	–
	0	–	5,037	0.34	–
	0	–	3,249	0.22	–
	0	–	1,832	0.12	–
	0	–	1,096	0.07	–
	0		689	0.05
	0	–	584	0.04	–
	International Communist	0		381	0.03
Turnout:				1,495,959

1989

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	7		664,263	41.86
	1		406,686	25.63
	0		331,495	20.89
	0		115,028	7.25
	0		68,056	4.29
	0	–	1,164	0.07	–
	International Communist	0	–	193	0.01	–
Turnout:				1,586,885

1984

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	5		526,066	40.99
	2		332,771	25.72
	1		230,594	17.82
	0		201,782	15.60
	0	–	2,560	0.20	–
Turnout:				1,293,773

1979

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes	%
	5	–	430,772	33.68	–
	2	–	421,968	32.99	–
	1	–	247,836	19.38	–
	0	–	178,433	13.95	–
Turnout:				1,279,009

Referendums

To date eight referendums have been held in Scotland, covering a wide range of issues.

1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum
1979 Scottish devolution referendum
1994 Strathclyde water referendum
1997 Scottish devolution referendum
2005 Edinburgh congestion charge referendum
2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum
2014 Scottish independence referendum^[10] ^[11] ^[12]
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Results of the 2019 General Election in Scotland. BBC. 28 December 2019.
[Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (UK Parliament constituency)|Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath]
[Aberdeen North (UK Parliament constituency)|Aberdeen North]
[Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency)|Falkirk]
News: Scottish Greens release list of 2019 general election candidates. Holyrood. 28 December 2019. 14 November 2019.
Web site: Scotland Results. BBC News.
Web site: Scotland Results. BBC News.
Compared to the Liberals in 1979
News: Probe says May poll failed voters . BBC News . 23 October 2007 . 1 May 2010.
News: Scottish independence: Referendum to be held on 18 September, 2014. Black. Andrew. 2013-03-21. BBC News. en-GB. 2016-10-08.
News: Alex Salmond announces Scottish independence referendum date. Carrell. Severin. 2013-03-21. The Guardian. en-GB. 0261-3077. 2016-10-08.
Web site: Scotland decides on 18 September 2014. 21 March 2013.

Elections in Scotland explained

Scottish Parliament

2021

2016

2011

2007

2003

1999

By-elections

UK Parliament

2019

2017

2015

2010

2005

2001

1997

1992

1987

1983

1979

October 1974

February 1974

1970

1966

1964

1959

1955

1951

1950

1945

1935

1931

1929

1924

1923

1922

1918

1910 December

1910 January

1906

1900

1895

1892

1886

1885

1880

1874

1868

1865

1859

1857

1852

1847

1841

1837

1835

1832

1831

1830

Local councils

2022

2017

2012

Past elections

By-elections

2008

2007

2006

2005

European Parliament

2019

Pre-1999 elections

1994

1989

1984

1979

Referendums

See also

External links