Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2011
16 Mar 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill
The debate is perhaps an opportunity to look at the changing nature of how we run elections. If we go back to the UK election that took place in 1832, which is the earliest one for which I have been able to find records, 658 members of the House of Commons were elected and 827,776 people cast votes, so the number of votes per member of Parliament was just a wee bit over 1,000. That was a very different environment from the one in which we live now. Indeed, fewer votes were cast for each MP than we would now expect to be cast for each member of a local authority.
If we fast-forward to the Westminster election of 1945, we had multimember seats and seats for which the alternative vote or the STV system was used. We are looking at changing the electoral system for Westminster elections, but the Conservatives, in particular, will not be in favour of the multimember first-past-the-post system that Brian Donohoe proposed yesterday in a House of Commons debate as a replacement for the list system for Scottish Parliament elections because, of course, in 1922, when Churchill stood for re-election in Dundee, he came third in a two-member seat. He was defeated by a Scottish prohibitionist, Edwin Scrymgeour and by the Labour candidate. The results are not always what we expect.
In 1945, when three members were elected to the Combined Scottish Universities seat by STV, a form of alternative voting, the third person who was elected on the second ballot obtained only 4.15 per cent of the first preference votes and was elected despite losing their deposit. Therefore, the systems that we have had over the years can lead to various differences.
Moving forward to the general election of October 1974, the turnout in Scotland was 74.81 per cent. That was a highly memorable election. After it, Westminster had more nationalist members than it had Liberal members.
If we fast-forward to the Westminster election of 1945, we had multimember seats and seats for which the alternative vote or the STV system was used. We are looking at changing the electoral system for Westminster elections, but the Conservatives, in particular, will not be in favour of the multimember first-past-the-post system that Brian Donohoe proposed yesterday in a House of Commons debate as a replacement for the list system for Scottish Parliament elections because, of course, in 1922, when Churchill stood for re-election in Dundee, he came third in a two-member seat. He was defeated by a Scottish prohibitionist, Edwin Scrymgeour and by the Labour candidate. The results are not always what we expect.
In 1945, when three members were elected to the Combined Scottish Universities seat by STV, a form of alternative voting, the third person who was elected on the second ballot obtained only 4.15 per cent of the first preference votes and was elected despite losing their deposit. Therefore, the systems that we have had over the years can lead to various differences.
Moving forward to the general election of October 1974, the turnout in Scotland was 74.81 per cent. That was a highly memorable election. After it, Westminster had more nationalist members than it had Liberal members.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson)
NPA
The next item of business is the stage 3 debate on the Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill.09:24
The Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism (Jim Mather)
SNP
I am pleased to be here for the debate. The parliamentary process has been fairly smooth and has reflected the consensus across all parties on the need to co...
Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab)
Lab
When we debated the bill at stage 1, I waited until my closing speech before I thanked everyone who had taken part in the deliberations on the bill, because ...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
The bill is worthy legislation but will not take up much time in the chamber, I suspect. I hope that, at this moment, the clerks are vigorously phoning offic...
Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD)
LD
I welcome the opportunity to open the debate for the Scottish Liberal Democrats. As a member of the Local Government and Communities Committee over the past ...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
SNP
The debate is perhaps an opportunity to look at the changing nature of how we run elections. If we go back to the UK election that took place in 1832, which ...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
LD
Shame!
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
There were 13 Liberal members and 14 nationalist members, including three Plaid Cymru members and others. It is clear that, over the piece, there were change...
Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to be taking part in the stage 3 debate on the Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill. This is the latest piece of legislation and actio...
Jim Tolson
LD
Members will be aware that there are two key themes to this important bill, the first of which is the creation of the electoral management board. In delibera...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
I have plus fours.
Jim Tolson
LD
That worries me, Presiding Officer.
Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD)
LD
Too much information.
Jim Tolson
LD
I agree with my colleague that that is too much information.The autumn stress testing of the new system will be absolutely crucial. I hope that I am proved w...
Alex Johnstone
Con
In my opening speech, I mentioned procedure, and I welcome the fact that the procedures that we use in the chamber have allowed me to upstage Michael McMahon...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
For the record, in those days, candidates required to get 12.5 per cent of the vote to keep their deposit. However, because the constituency elected three me...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
You asked for it, Mr Johnstone.
Alex Johnstone
Con
I stand corrected. However, I would say that, given the intervening time and what has happened in the past 12 months, it probably does not make a great deal ...
Michael McMahon
Lab
I am quite pleased that the debate took the course that it did and was not as uninteresting as some might have feared. The opening speakers stuck to what was...
Jim Mather
SNP
We have less than a week left of the current parliamentary session. We have debated many issues, and there has been some agreement and some disagreement, but...