Hansard

I am pleased to open the debate at stage 3 of the Scottish Elections (Dates) Bill.

I thank the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee for its scrutiny of, and support for, the bill. Throughout the passage of the bill, I have emphasised that it is very short and straightforward. Nonetheless, it is an important bill, and Parliament has rightly subjected it to the same level of scrutiny as all other bills are subjected to. From the Government’s perspective, it has gone through the same processes as all other bills to ensure its robustness, so I take this opportunity to thank my bill team for their efforts and diligence. That the bill has got to this stage without any amendments being lodged speaks for itself.

I will take this opportunity to recap what the bill will do. As things stand, there will be elections to both the Scottish and UK Parliaments on 7 May 2020. Therefore, the bill proposes moving our election, which is currently scheduled for 7 May 2020, to 6 May 2021. That will mean a five-year term for the next Parliament, and will mirror the one-year extension to this current term. Moving the Parliament election to May 2021 would mean that it would clash with the local government elections that we had scheduled for the same date, so the bill will also move those elections, which are currently scheduled for 6 May 2021, to 5 May 2022. Again, that will mean a five-year term, and will replicate the one-year extension to the current local government term.

During the stage 1 debate, I set out the reasons why I consider the clash of election dates to be undesirable and why the bill is therefore necessary. I will not repeat those reasons now, but it is worth noting that the tenor of the debate at stage 1 indicated consensus in support of the arguments that underpin the bill. However, there is clearly less unanimity on the longer-term solution to the clash of election debates. There was a very interesting debate about future term lengths during the stage 1 debate, in which members expressed a range of views.

It is important to reiterate that decisions on permanent changes to the timing of elections will be for members in the next session of Parliament to take. However, I restate my party’s commitment to publicly consult on the issue, should we be returned to Government. That consultation would be wide ranging, and I hope that it would prove to be useful to those who make the decisions. The contributions that have been made by members during the passage of this bill will undoubtedly also help to inform future decisions.

In conclusion, I emphasise that this short bill presents a straightforward and pragmatic solution to the issue of a clash of election dates.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees that the Scottish Elections (Dates) Bill be passed