The recent Scottish Parliament election should give all of us cause for reflection. With voter turnout sitting at just over 52 per cent, nearly half of eligible voters chose not to participate in one of the most important democratic exercises in our nation.
The troubling story here is the growing sense of apathy and disengagement among the public, with the election campaign failing to ignite the public’s enthusiasm.
The SNP clearly won the election, but attracted only about one in five potential voters, and the Labour Party one in ten.
When almost one in every two voters stays at home, it raises profound questions about trust in politics, political representation, and whether our institutions are genuinely connecting with the people they serve.
Low turnout should not simply be accepted as the new normal. It should serve as a warning sign that democratic participation in Scotland cannot be taken for granted. The alarming lack of interest is a crisis that should concern all parties, and they should devote themselves to addressing this apathy by engaging the public.
If this trend continues unchecked, the Apathy Party risks further eroding the legitimacy of our institutions and undermining public confidence in government, paving the way for the rise of more extreme parties.
Politics must once again become something people feel part of — not something done to them from a distance.
Newly elected MSPs will take part in their first formal meeting at the Scottish Parliament at 9.30am on Thursday 14 May.
All MSPs will start their work in the Parliament by making an oath or affirmation, which must happen before they can take part in any other parliamentary business at Holyrood.
John Swinney MSP, as leader of the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, will be the first to be sworn in, followed by the other party leaders. Other MSPs will be called forward in alphabetical order.
This initial meeting will be chaired by current Presiding Officer, Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP.
In the afternoon MSPs will be asked to elect a new Presiding Officer, who will serve for the rest of the new parliamentary session. It is expected that two Deputy Presiding Officers will be elected later in the afternoon.
Ahead of their first meeting in the Chamber, MSPs will have taken part in the first part of an induction programme in the parliament building. The programme aims to welcome MSPs to their roles and will:
allow MSPs to establish a temporary office within the Parliament
help MSPs establish their constituency or regional offices
inform MSPs about what support is available to them to help their constituents
give MSPs information about how to take part in debates and votes in the Chamber
let MSPs know more about the parliamentary roles and responsibilities
Speaking ahead of the MSPs arriving at the Scottish Parliament, David McGill, the Parliament’s Clerk/Chief Executive, said:“It is great to be able to welcome new MSPs into the Parliament, where our dedicated staff team will be on hand to help them get acquainted with their roles and responsibilities.
“This Parliament’s first formal meeting, on Thursday 14 May, will be particularly significant for those performing their first duties as MSPs, and for those seeking to become Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officers.
“The first sitting day has an important role in formally introducing MSPs to the public, but the election of the Presiding Officer in particular starts to set the agenda for the session ahead.”
The first sitting day will be able to be view live on the Parliament’s website.
STARMER RECRUITS BROWN AND HARMAN AS CALLS FOR RESIGNATION GROW
Keir Starmer has appointed two old (‘New’?) Labour figures following disastrous election results on Thirsday. The latest in a long line of ‘resets’ will see Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman taking on rolesin government.
Keir Starmer appointed Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister’s Special Reviewer on Global Finance and Cooperation yesterday. The former Prime Minister will advise on how global finance cooperation can build a stronger Britain, boosting the country’s security and resilience.
His appointment comes as the UK prepares to hold the Presidency of the G20 next year.
He will be tasked with developing new international finance partnerships that can support defence and security-related investment, including measures that underpin the UK’s relationship with Europe.
As part of the role he will engage with international leaders and finance institutions as well as private finance partners to establish multilateral finance mechanisms.
Gordon Brown was Britain’s longest-serving modern Chancellor of the Exchequer.
As Prime Minister, he worked with international counterparts as they responded to the worldwide financial crisis.
In April 2009, he hosted the G20 Summit in London where world leaders pledged to make an additional $1.1 trillion available to help the world economy through the crisis and restore credit, growth and jobs.
Gordon Brown will report directly to the to the Prime Minister. This is an unpaid part-time role.
Keir Starmer also appointed Harriet Harman as the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Women and Girls.
Baroness Harman will advise the PM on how to galvanise Government to deliver for women and girls.
She will work with ministers across Government to drive an impactful agenda focusing on tackling violence against women and girls, unlocking economic opportunity, and improving representation.
The role will see her draw on work with women across Parliament to identify action needed to tackle misogyny and deliver greater opportunity for women in parliamentary and public life.
As part of the appointment, she will also work with the Cabinet Secretary to drive a shift in culture across the Civil Service and Ministerial offices, enhancing opportunity for women and enhancing government delivery for women.
Throughout her career, Baroness Harman has been a vocal advocate for women and girls, including on issues such as women’s political representation, maternity rights, and tackling violence against women and girls.
In her previous role as Solicitor General, Harriet led a successful drive within government to make tackling domestic violence a priority.
The campaign led to the introduction of a new law – the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act – to ensure more effective prosecutions for domestic violence and a new network of 60 specialist domestic violence courts.
Her appointment underlines the Government’s commitment to empowering women and girls.
For the first time, this government has declared the scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is a national emergency.
The landmark Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy sets out how we will achieve our pledge to halve these vile crimes in a decade – stopping violence before it starts, relentlessly pursuing perpetrators and better supporting victims and survivors.
Baroness Harman will report directly to the to the Prime Minister. This is an unpaid part-time role.
The appointments come after a dreadful set of election results across the country on Thursday, brought about by increasing criticism of the Prime Minister’s decision-making.
The appointments smack of desperation as Starmer tries to shore up his position – incredible given the scale of his majority just two years ago.
Some (doubtless unwanted) words of advice from another Labour Party leader:
Growing anger within the Labour movement has now seen one backbench MP threaten to challenge Starmer’s leadership if no-one in the cabinet is willing to do so.
Catherine West has given her colleagues until tomorrow (Monday) to put up or shut up. Doubtless some telephones will be red hot over this weekend.
Following a poor Holyrood result that saw Labour sharing a distant second place with Reform, there’s a call for change at the top of Scottish Labour, too.
Campaign for Socialsim said: “Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie have failed to convince working class voters that we are on their side.
“They must now resign with grace and pass on the torch to those who can.”
The results for Edinburgh’s six city constituencies, along with the seven seats for the Edinburgh and Lothians East region were announced at the Royal Highland Centre yesterday (Friday 8 May).
The declarations were made by Paul Lawrence, Returning Officer for the Edinburgh constituencies, and Regional Returning Officer for Edinburgh and Lothians East.
The newly elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are listed below, with further details of the results available on the city council’s website:
Edinburgh Central: Lorna Jane Slater, Scottish Green Party (4,582 majority)
Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith: Ben Macpherson, Scottish National Party (3,071 majority)
Edinburgh North Western: Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Liberal Democrats (13,016 majority)
Edinburgh Northern: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Scottish Liberal Democrats (2,493 majority)
Edinburgh South Western: Simita Kumar, Scottish National Party (3,289 majority)
Edinburgh Southern: Daniel Guy Johnson, Scottish Labour Party (4,963 majority)
Edinburgh and Lothians East (Region):
Kate Nevens – Scottish Green Party
Angela Ross – Reform UK
Irshad Ahmed – Scottish Labour Party
Miles Briggs – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Q Manivannan – Scottish Green Party
Katherine Sangster – Scottish Labour Party
Kayleigh Ferguson Kinross-O’Neill – Scottish Green Party
Paul Lawrence, Constituency and Regional Returning Officer said: “I’d like to thank our colleagues in the Elections team and across the Council for their hard work and many months of planning in delivering this election.
“This is one of the most important duties that we carry out and truly is public service at its very best. I’d also like to thank Police Scotland, the candidates, agents, and media for working with us throughout the process.
“I wish our new MSPs the best of luck and I have no doubt they will represent our city, our region, and its residents with great pride.
“Finally, I’d like to thank our residents for taking the time to cast their votes and make their voices heard.”
The total electorate for the city constituencies was 387,355, total votes cast 223,815, and turnout 57.8%.
For the region, the electorate was 564,571, total votes cast 320,286 and turnout 56.7%.
Following the conclusion of the Scottish Parliament election count, Cahir Hughes, Acting Head of the Electoral Commission, Scotland, said: “The verification and counting of votes for the Scottish Parliament election has now concluded, and all 73 constituencies and 8 regions have declared their results. their results.
“Our initial assessment is that the count ran smoothly and took place transparently in the presence of candidates, their agents and the media.
“Delivering the Scottish Parliament election is a considerable task, with around 2,500 polling places across Scotland and more than 4.3 million registered voters, including many 16- and 17-year-olds taking part for the first time. We want to thank the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, electoral administrators and Returning Officers across Scotland for their dedication and professionalism in delivering these well-run and accessible polls.
“In the lead up to the poll, we joined with the Electoral Management Board and Police Scotland to call for a campaign free from abuse and intimidation, and the Commission published a new set of principles to guide campaigning at these elections. The abuse and intimidation of candidates, elected officials and electoral workers comes at a great personal cost and it is damaging to our democracy.
“We have been alert to the spread of false information, including AI-generated content, but have not seen significant deepfakes affecting the Scottish Parliament election. We will now collect evidence from voters, candidates, campaigners and administrators, to better understand their experiences.
“We will publish our statutory report on the Scottish Parliament election in the autumn, recommending improvements to the system where necessary.
“Thank you to everyone in Scotland who contributed to this being a free, fair and well-run election.”
MACPHERSON, Ben – Scottish National Party (SNP): 13,630
NEVENS, Kate – Scottish Green Party: 10,559
OWEN, Liss – Scottish Liberal Democrats: 1,895
THOMAS, Oliver Philip – Scottish Labour Party: 7,894
YOUNG, Haris – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: 1,297.
Ben Macpherson (SNP) has been duly elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith constituency with 13,630 votes.
MOWAT, Jo – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: 2,262
MURRAY, Craig John – Alliance to Liberate Scotland: 150
NEILL, Gary – Reform UK: 1,876
POWNALL, Robert Neil – Independent: 41
ROBERTSON, Angus – Scottish National Party (SNP): 7,702
SLATER, Lorna – Scottish Green Party: 12,680
Lorna Jane Slater (Scottish Green Party) has been duly elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Edinburgh Central constituency with 12,680 votes
ALLISTON PICKARD, Jane Patricia – Scottish Liberal Democrats: 3,334
BROCK, Deidre Leanne – Scottish National Party (SNP): 12,000
JOHNSON, Daniel Guy – Scottish Labour Party: 16,963
MUNRO, Marie-Clair – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: 3,421
TURNER, Charles – Reform UK: 3,317
WILKINSON, Marc – Edinburgh & East Lothian People: 524
Daniel Guy Johnson (Scottish Labour Party) has been duly elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Edinburgh Southern constituency with 16,963 votes
COWDY, Christopher – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: 1,900
DIJKSTRA-DOWNIE, Sanne – Scottish Liberal Democrats: 12,972
HYSLOP, Euan – Scottish National Party (SNP): 10,479
KINROSS-O’NEILL, Kayleigh Ferguson – Scottish Green Party: 5,289
MCLAUGHLIN, Andrew – Reform UK: 2,867
MERON, Abu – Scottish Workers Party of Britain: 258
RYAN-SAHA, Eleanor – Scottish Labour Party: 3,744
Sanne Dijkstra-Downie (Scottish Liberal Democrats) has been duly elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Edinburgh Northern constituency with 12,972 votes.
TODAY – Thursday 7 May – the people of Scotland will decide which MSPs will represent them in the Scottish Parliament, and which party will form a new Scottish Government.
But how does the voting system work in Scotland?
Everyone gets two votes
73 constituency MSPs are chosen by First Past the Post
56 regional MSPs, representing Scotland’s eight regions, are chosen by the share of the regional vote (Additional Member System)
Each constituency has one MSP and seven MSPs are chosen to represent each region
It’s REALLY important that you use your vote, so that our elected politicians best reflect the views of the people of Scotland.
Watch this video to find out how the system works in more detail:
On Thursday 7 May, the people of Scotland will decide which MSPs will represent them in the Scottish Parliament, and which party will form a new Scottish Government.
