Scottish Independence is restoration NOT secession (Part 5)

NOTE: I DECIDED TO CONDENSE THIS POST SO THAT I COULD POST IT BEFORE THE SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM ON 18 SEPTEMBER 2014. I INTEND TO REVISIT IT AFTER THAT DATE TO EXPAND ON THE DETAIL.

Introduction:

This part covers the period from 2003-2013. It starts with the second Scottish Parliament elections. In 2005 the constituency boundaries for Westminster elections in Scotland was reduced to 59 following a scheduled boundary review which took account of the constituency boundaries for the Scottish Parliament.

2003 - 2013:

Second Scottish Parliament Elections - 2003

On 1 May 2003 the second elections for the Scottish Parliament were held. Once again a coalition of Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive.

ELECTION RESULTS:

Labour 50 (-6) 

Conservative 18 (-)

Lib. Dem. 17 (-)

SNP 27 (-8)

Green 7 (+6)

SSP 6 (+5)

Others 4 (+3)

Westminster Elections - 2005

A General Election for the UK Parliament was held on 5 May 2005. A plan in 2003 by the Boundary Commission led to the reduction of the number of Westminster constituencies in Scotland to 59. The results were as follows -

ELECTION RESULTS:

Labour 41 (-5) nominal change, (-15)

Lib. Dem. 11 (+2) nominal change, (+1)

SNP 6 (+2) nominal change, (+1)

Conservative 1 (+1) nominal change, (-)

Third Scottish Parliament Elections - 2007

On 3 May 2007 the third elections for the Scottish Parliament were held. This time the SNP formed a minority administration after the Liberal Democrats refused to form a coalition with the SNP.

ELECTION RESULTS:

Labour 46 (-4)

Conservative 17 (-1)

Lib. Dem. 16 (-1)

Greens 2 (-5)

SNP 47 (+20)

Others 1 (-)

Scottish Local Government elections were also held on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections. Part of the agreement for a coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats to form a Scottish Executive in 2003 was that Local Government elections were to be conducted using Proportional Representation (PR). Later it was agreed that the type of PR to be used was the Single Transferable Vote (STV).

The number of Local Government councillors elected in Scotland at these elections were as follows -

ELECTION RESULTS:

SNP 363 ( +182)

Labour 348 (-161)

Ind. 192 (-39)

Lib. Dem. 166 (-39)

Conservative 143 (+20)
Green 8 (+6)
Others 2 (-)

There was an embarrassing fiasco at the counts as three different methods of election were being used. The Labour/ Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive had been well warned about this possibility but chose to ignore the advice.

The SNP administration renamed the Scottish Executive as the Scottish Government. A consultation paper 'Choosing Scotland's Future: A National Conversation - Independence and responsibility in the modern world' was published. The inside front cover of this consultation paper bore the following quotation -

'No man has a right to fix the boundary of the march of a nation: no man has a right to say to his country, "Thus far shalt thou go and no further".

                                                  - Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891)'

Plans for an Independence Referendum were reluctantly dropped when it became clear that there was no possibility of getting a Bill through the current Parliament.

Fourth Scottish Parliament Elections - 2011

On 5 May 2011 the fourth elections for the Scottish Parliament were held. For the first time one political party gained an absolute majority in an electoral system where this could supposedly not happen - according to the people who designed it. The SNP received an outright majority and the results at the ballot boxes were as follows -

ELECTION RESULTS:

SNP 69 (+23)
Labour 37 (-7)
Conservative 15 (-5)
Lib. Dem. 5 (-12)
Greens 2 (-)
Others 1 (-)

Local Government Elections - 2012

These elections were held on 3 May 2012. The numbers of local government councillors were as follows -

ELECTION RESULTS:

SNP 425 (+62)

Labour 394 (+46)

Ind. 196 (+4)

Conservative 115 (-28)

Lib. Dem. 71 (-95)

Greens 14 (+6)

Others 8 (+6)

NOTE: 1 additional councillor was elected to the previous number.

Timetable for Independence Referendum (up to 26 November 2013)

Consultation for an Independence Referendum began on 25 January 2012 and closed on 11 May 2012.

On 15 October 2012 the Edinburgh Agreement was made between the UK and Scottish Governments. This promoted a Section 30 agreement under the Scotland Act 1998. Both governments agreed to respect the outcome of that Referendum in 2014 - whatever that might be.

On 30 January 2013 the Scottish Government accepted the Electoral Commission's recommendation on the wording of the Independence Referendum question:

                       'Should Scotland be an independent country?                        Yes/No'

On 21 March 2013 the date of the Scottish Independence Referendum was announced - it was to be on 18 September 2014.

The Scottish Referendum (Franchise) Act 2013 (SIRA) was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 29 June 2013 and received the Royal Assent on 7 August 2013.

The White Paper - 'Scotland's Future - a guide to an independent Scotland' was published on 26 November 2013.