Elections in Scotland

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


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 (%)
	SNP	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
	Conservative	31		592,518	21.9	0.1	637,131	23.5	0.6	1,229,649	22.62	0.15	24.0
	Labour	22	2	584,392	21.6	1.0	488,819	18.0	1.0	1,073,211	19.74	1.07	17.05
	Green	8	2	34,990	1.3	0.7	220,324	8.1	1.5	255,314	4.69	1.11	6.2
	Liberal Democrats	4	1	187,746	6.9	0.9	137,152	5.1	0.1	324,898	5.97	0.54	3.1
	Other	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

A map showing the constituency winners of the Election by their party colours.
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 (%)
	SNP	63	6	1,059,897	46.5	1.1	953,587	41.7	2.3	2,013,484	44.10	0.60	48.8
	Conservative	31	16	501,844	22.0	8.1	524,222	22.9	10.6	1,026,066	22.47	9.34	24.03
	Labour	24	13	514,261	22.6	9.2	435,919	19.1	7.2	950,180	20.81	8.18	18.60
	Green	6	4	13,172	0.6	0.6	150,426	6.6	2.2	163,598	3.58	1.40	4.65
	Liberal Democrats	5		178,238	7.8	1.0	119,284	5.2		297,522	6.51	0.04	3.87
	Other	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


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 (%)
	SNP	69	23	902,915	45.5	12.5	876,421	44.0	13.0	1,779,336	44.70	12.74	53.48
	Labour	37	7	630,461	31.7	0.5	523,469	26.3	2.9	1,153,930	28.99	1.64	28.68
	Conservative	15	5	276,652	13.9	2.7	245,967	12.4	1.5	522,619	13.13	2.01	11.6
	Liberal Democrats	5	12	157,714	7.9	8.2	103,472	5.2	6.1	261,186	6.56	7.18	3.87
	Green	2	1	0	0.0	0.1	86,939	4.4	0.3	86,939	2.18	0.08	1.55
	Other	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


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 (%)
	SNP	47	20	664,227	32.9	9.1	633,611	31.0	10.1	1,297,838	31.96	9.65	36.43
	Labour	46	4	648,374	32.1	2.5	595,415	29.1	0.2	1,243,789	30.63	1.36	35.65
	Conservative	17	1	334,743	16.6		284,035	13.9	1.6	614,778	15.14	0.91	13.17
	Liberal Democrats	16	1	326,232	16.2	0.8	230,651	11.3	0.5	556,883	13.74	0.17	12.40
	Green	2	5	2,971	0.1	8.5	82,577	4.0	2.9	85,584	2.10	1.34	1.55
	Other	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


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 (%)
	Labour	50	6	663,585	34.6	4.2	561,375	29.3	4.3	1,224,960	31.96	4.25	38.8
	SNP	27	8	455,722	23.8	5.1	399,659	20.9	6.4	855,381	22.31	5.70	20.9
	Conservative	18		318,279	16.6	1.0	296,929	15.5	0.1	615,208	16.05	0.60	14.0
	Liberal Democrats	17		294,347	15.4	1.2	225,774	11.8	0.6	520,121	13.57	0.25	13.2
	Green	7	6	-	-	-	132,138	6.9	3.3	132,138	3.44	1.65	5.4
	Other	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


Party	Seats	Constituency votes	Constituency votes, of total (%)	Regional votes	Regional votes, of total (%)	Total votes	Total votes, (%)	Seats won, of total (%)
	Labour	56	908,346	38.8	786,818	33.6	1,695,164	36.21	43.41
	SNP	35	672,768	28.7	638,644	27.3	1,311,412	28.01	27.13
	Conservative	18	364,425	15.6	359,109	15.4	723,534	15.45	13.95
	Liberal Democrats	17	333,179	14.2	290,760	12.4	623,939	13.32	13.17
	Green	1	-	-	84,023	3.6	84,023	1.79	0.77
	Other	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

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

2024

Party	Seats	Seats change	Seats contested	Votes	Votes, of total (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	37	36	57	851,897	35.3	16.7
	SNP	9	39	57	724,758	30.0	15.0
	Conservative	5	1	57	307,344	12.7	12.4
	Liberal Democrats	6	4	57	234,228	9.7	0.2
	Reform	0	New	57	167,979	7.0	6.5
	Green	0		44	92,685	3.8	2.8
	Other	0			35,919	1.5	1.4
Turnout	2,414,810	59.2	8.4

2019

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

2017

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

2015

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

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

2010

Party	Seats	Seats change	Seats, of total (%)	Candidates	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	41		69.4	59	1,035,528	42.0	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	11		18.6	59	465,471	18.9	3.7
	SNP	6		10.16	59	491,386	19.9	2.3
	Conservative	1		1.69	59*	412,855	16.7	0.9
	UKIP	0		0	34	17,223	0.7	0.3
	Green	0		0	20	16,827	0.7	0.4
	Other	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

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

2001

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

1997

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

1992

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

1987

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

1983

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

1979

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

October 1974

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

February 1974

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

1970

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

1966

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

1964

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

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	0	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

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	30	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Labour	37	11	931,432	43.1	2.0
	Unionist	20	16	776,397	35.9	4.8
	Liberal	13	5	390,896	18.1	1.5
	Scottish Prohibition	1	-	25,037	1.2
	Communist	0	-	24,868	1.1	0.4
	National Party of Scotland	0	-	3,313	0.2	New
	Other	0		8,613	0.4
Total	71		2,161,350	100

1924

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

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

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

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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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	2.0
Total	70		660,442	100

1906

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

Party	Seats	Seats change	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

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

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

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

1885

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

1880

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

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Liberal	40	11	148,345	70.1	12.4
	Conservative	18	11	63,193	29.9	12.4
Total	58		211,538	100

1868

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1830

Party	Seats	Seats 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, 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

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

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

European Election 2019: Scotland
List	Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	SNP	Alyn Smith, Christian Allard, Aileen McLeod Margaret Ferrier, Heather Anderson, Alex Kerr	594,553 (198,184.3)	37.8%	+8.8
	Brexit Party	Louis Stedman-Bryce Karina Walker, James Ferguson-Hannah, Stuart Waiton, Paul Aitken, Calum Walker	233,006	14.8%	New
	Liberal Democrats	Sheila Ritchie Fred Mackintosh, Catriona Bhatia, Vita Zaporozcenko, John Edward, Clive Sneddon	218,285	13.8%	+6.8
	Conservative	Nosheena Mobarik Ian McGill, Shona Haslam, Iain Whyte, Andrea Gee, Michael Kusznir	182,476	11.6%	−5.6
	Labour	David Martin, Jayne Baxter, Craig Miller, Amy Lee Fraioli, Callum O’Dwyer, Angela Bretherton	146,724	9.3%	−16.6
	Green	Maggie Chapman, Lorna Slater, Gillian Mackay, Chas Booth, Mags Hall, Allan Faulds	129,603	8.2%	+0.1
	Change UK – The Independent Group	David Macdonald,1 Kate Forman, Peter Griffiths, Heather Astbury, Colin McFadyen, Cathy Edgeworth	30,004	1.9%	New
	UKIP	Donald MacKay, Janice MacKay, Otto Inglis, Mark Meechan, Roy Hill	28,418	1.8%	−8.7
	Independent	Gordon Edgar	6,128	0.4%	N/A
	Independent	Ken Parke	2,049	0.1%	N/A
Turnout	1,561,226	39.9%	+ 6.4

2014

European Parliament election 2014: Scotland
List	Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Alyn Smith, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, Stephen Gethins, Toni Giugliano, Chris Stephens	389,503 (194,751.5)	29.0	–0.1
	Labour	David Martin, Catherine Stihler, Derek Munn, Katrina Murray, Asim Khan, Kirsty O'Brien	348,219 (174,109.5)	25.9	+5.1
	Conservative	Ian Duncan, Belinda Don, Nosheena Mobarik, Jamie Gardiner, Iain McGill, Stuart McIntyre	231,330	16.8	+0.4
	UKIP	David Coburn, Kevin Newton, Otto Inglis, Denise Baykal, Hugh Hatrick, Malcolm Mackay	140,534	10.5	+5.3
	Green	Maggie Chapman, Chas Booth, Grace Murray, Alastair Whitelaw, Anne Thomas, Steen Parish	108,305	8.1	+0.8
	Liberal Democrats	George Lyon, Christine Jardine, Richard Brodie, Jade Holden, Siobhan Mathers, Euan Davidson	95,319	7.1	–4.4
	Britain First	James Dowson, John Arthur Randall, Jayda Fransen, Geoffrey Clynch, Margaret Clynch, Jane Shepherd	13,551	2.0	[new]
	BNP	Kenneth McDonald, David Orr, Victoria McKenzie, Angus Matthys, Paul Stafford, Stacey Fleming	10,150	0.8	–1.7
	NO2EU	John Foster. Andrew Elliott, Murdo Maclean, Gail Morrow, Brian Smith, Richard Veitch	6,388	0.5	–0.4
Turnout	1,343,299	33.5%	+5.0%

2009

European Parliament election 2009: Scotland
List	Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Alyn Smith Aileen McLeod, Drew Hendry, Duncan Ross, Gordon Archer	321,007 (160,503.5)	29.1	+9.4
	Labour	David Martin, Catherine Stihler Mary Lockhart, Paul McAleavely, Kirsty Connell, Nasim Khan	229,853 (114,926.5)	20.8	−5.6
	Conservative	Struan Stevenson Belinda Don, Helen Gardiner, Donald G. MacDonald, Gerald Michaluk, PJ Lewis	185,794	16.8	−0.9
	Liberal Democrats	George Lyon Euan Robson, Robert Aldridge, Patsy Kenton, Douglas Herbison, Clive Sneddon	127,038	11.5	−1.6
	Green	Elaine Morrison, Chas Booth, Kirsten Robb, Alastair Whitelaw, Ruth Dawkins, Peter McColl	80,442	7.3	+0.5
	UKIP	Peter Adams, Paul Hencke, Phillip Anderson, Matthew Desmond, Donald Mackay, Paul Wiffen, Kathleen Desmond	57,788	5.2	−1.5
	BNP	Gary Raikes, Charlie Baillie, Deborah McKnight, Roy Jones, Max Dunbar, Elise Jones	27,174	2.5	+0.8
	Socialist Labour	Louise McDaid, David Jacobsen, Katherine McGavigan, James Berrington, Claire Watt, James McDaid	22,135	2.0	+2.0
	Scottish Christian	Sheila McLaughlan, John Smart, Brian Ross, Archie Linnegan, Christine Cormack, Isobel Anne Macleod	16,738	1.5	+1.5
	Scottish Socialist	Colin Fox, Angela Gorrie, Johanna Dind, Nick McKerrell, Raphie de Santos, Felicity Garvie	10,404	0.9	−4.3
	Independent	Duncan Robertson	10,189	0.9	+0.9
	NO2EU	John Foster, Tommy Sheridan, Leah Ganley, Stuart Hyslop, Ajit Singh Uppal, Tom Morrison	9,693	0.9	+0.9
	Jury Team	Alan Wallace, John O'Callaghan, Stuart Brown, Kenneth Lees, Mev Brown, Austin Compson-Bradford	6,257	0.6	+0.6
Turnout	1,104,512	28.5	−2.4

2004

European Parliament election 2004: Scotland
List	Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	Labour	David Martin, Catherine Stihler Bill Miller, Kirsty O'Brien, Colin Smyth, Catriona Renton, Gemma Doyle	310,865 (155,432.5)	26.4	−2.3
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Alyn Smith Kenneth Gibson, Douglas Henderson, Alexander Nicholson, Alex Orr, Janet Law, Duncan Ross	231,505 (115,752.5)	19.7	−7.5
	Conservative	Struan Stevenson, John Purvis Cameron Buchanan, Sebastian Leslie, Anne Harper, Paul Nelson, Douglas Taylor	209,028 (104,514)	17.8	−2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Elspeth Attwooll Robert Aldridge, Alex Bruce, Karen Freel, Douglas Herbison, Clive Sneddon, Christine James, Jermaine Allison	154,178	13.1	+3.3
	Green	Chas Booth, Tara O'Leary, Martin Bartos, Moira Dunworth, Alastair Whitelaw, Katherine Joester, James Park	79,695	6.8	+1.0
	UKIP	Peter Troy, Philip Anderson, George Cormack, Michael Phillips, Janice Murdock, Donald Mackay, Peter Nielson	78,828	6.7	+5.4
	Scottish Socialist	Felicity Garvie, Nick McKerrel, Hugh Kerr, Catriona Grant, Lynn Sheridan, John Sangster, Andrew Rossiter	61,356	5.2	+1.2
	Christian Vote	George Hargreaves, William Thompson, Richard Russell, David Braid, Marion McNeill, Mary Hay, Rose Irtwange	21,056	1.8	N/A
	BNP	Steven Blake, Scott McLean, David Kerr, Stephen Burns, Bryan Dickson, Craig McComb, John Bean	19,427	1.7	+1.3
	Scottish Wind Watch	Brendan Hamill, Sylvia Thorne, Charles Bennie, Jennifer Scobie, Bennie Palmer, Helen Pass, Richard Hammock	7,255	0.6	N/A
	Independent	Fergus Tait	3,624	0.3	N/A
Turnout	1,176,817	30.9	+6.2

1999

European Parliament election 1999: Scotland
List	Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	Labour	David Martin, Bill Miller, Catherine Taylor Christine May, Hugh McMahon, James Paton, John Clifford, Jeanette Bradley	283,490 (94,496.67)	28.7	N/A
	SNP	Ian Hudghton, Neil MacCormick Anne Gillies, Gordon Wilson, Janet Law, Kris Browne, Ian Goldie, Josephine Docherty	268,528 (134,264)	27.2	N/A
	Conservative	Struan Stevenson, John Purvis Anne Harper, Cameron Buchanan, Sebastian Leslie, Iain Mitchell, Peter Ramsay, Anthony Gilbey	195,296 (97,648)	19.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Elspeth Attwooll Robert Aldridge, Neil Mitchison, Heather Lyall, Clive Sneddon, Danus Skene, Karen Freel, Jayne Struthers	96,971	9.8	N/A
	Green	Marion Coyne, Eleanor Scott, Phil O'Brien, Graeme Farmer, Linda Hendry, Chris Ballance, Kay Allan, Alastair Whitelaw	57,142	5.8	N/A
	Scottish Socialist	Hugh Kerr, Rosie Kane, Harvey Duke, Catherine Stewart, Colin Fox, Shareen Blackall, Steve Arnott, Frances Curran	39,720	4.0	N/A
	Pro-Euro Conservative	Paul Dwyer, Joanna Lavender, Douglas McConchie, Richard Ashurst, Neasa MacEarlean, Oliver Grant, Alexander Skinner, James Waters	17,781	1.8	N/A
	UKIP	Alistair McConnachie, Donald Mackay, James McKenna, Stuart Brown, Matthew Henderson, Joseph Smith, Peter Nielson, John Mumford	12,459	1.3	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Louise McDaid, Christopher Herriot, Katharine McGavigan, Stephen Mayes, Patricia Graham, Colin Turbett, Margaret Stead, James Galloway	9,385	1.0	N/A
	BNP	Kenneth Smith, Scott McLean, Russell Bradley, Mark Allen, Paul Wilkinson, Robert Currie, David Kerr, James Mills	3,729	0.4	N/A
	Natural Law	James McKissock, George Stidolph, Diana Kras, Kenneth Blair, David Pettigrew, Iain Petrie, Anna Rawlinson, Thomas Pringle	2,087	0.2	N/A
	Accountant for Lower Scottish Taxes	Charles Lawson	1,632	0.2	N/A
Turnout	988,310	24.7	N/A

Pre-1999 elections

For full details of results please referee to related articles;

1994

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	6	-1	635,955	42.51	+0.65
	SNP	2	+1	487,239	32.57	+6.94
	Conservative	0		216,669	14.48	–6.41
	Liberal Democrats	0		107,811	7.21	+2.92
	Green	0		23,304	1.56	–5.69
	Scottish Militant Labour	0	–	12,113	0.81	–
	Natural Law	0	–	5,037	0.34	–
	Liberal	0	–	3,249	0.22	–
	Socialist (GB)	0	–	1,832	0.12	–
	UKIP	0	–	1,096	0.07	–
	Communist	0		689	0.05	–0.02
	Independent	0	–	584	0.04	–
	International Communist	0		381	0.03	+0.02
Turnout:	1,495,959

1989

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	7	+2	664,263	41.86	+0.87
	SNP	1		406,686	25.63	+7.81
	Conservative	0	–2	331,495	20.89	–4.83
	Green	0		115,028	7.25	+7.05
	SLD	0		68,056	4.29	–11.31
	Communist	0	–	1,164	0.07	–
	International Communist	0	–	193	0.01	–
Turnout:	1,586,885

1984

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	5	+3	526,066	40.99	+8.00
	Conservative	2	–3	332,771	25.72	–7.96
	SNP	1		230,594	17.82	–1.56
	Alliance	0		201,782	15.60	–1.65
	Ecology	0	–	2,560	0.20	–
Turnout:	1,293,773

1979

Party	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative	5	–	430,772	33.68	–
	Labour	2	–	421,968	32.99	–
	SNP	1	–	247,836	19.38	–
	Liberal	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.

External links

– Electoral Commission