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2007 Scottish Parliament election facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was a big event that happened on May 3, 2007. People in Scotland voted to choose who would represent them in the Scottish Parliament. This election was important because it decided which political parties would lead the country and who would be the First Minister.

Before this election, the Scottish Labour Party had the most seats and worked with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Their leader, Jack McConnell, was the First Minister.

What Happened in the Election?

The Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats in this election, getting 47 seats. This was a big deal because it was the first time since 1964 that the Labour Party didn't get the most votes in Scotland. The SNP also got their highest number of votes ever!

Even though the SNP won the most seats, they didn't win enough to have a full majority government. This means they didn't have more than half of all the seats. So, the Scottish National Party formed a minority government, and their leader, Alex Salmond, became the new First Minister.

Here's how many seats each main party won:

Some parties that had seats in the 2003 election, like the Scottish Socialist Party, didn't win any seats this time.

How Did People Vote?

Scotland is split into 73 areas called constituencies. Each area has about the same number of people. In each of these areas, voters choose one person to be their Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). This is done using a system called "First Past the Post," where the person with the most votes wins.

These 73 areas are also grouped into eight bigger regions. Each of these regions chooses seven more MSPs using a system called proportional representation. This system tries to make sure that the number of MSPs a party gets matches the total number of votes they received. When you add all these MSPs together, there are 129 MSPs in total in the Scottish Parliament.

Who Were the Main Party Leaders?

Here are the leaders of the main political parties during the 2007 election:

  • Scottish National Party: Alex Salmond
  • Scottish Labour Party: Jack McConnell
  • Scottish Conservative Party: Annabel Goldie
  • Scottish Liberal Democrats: Nicol Stephen
  • Scottish Green Party: Robin Harper / Shiona Baird

When Was the Next Election?

The next election for the Scottish Parliament happened a few years later, on May 5, 2011.

Images for kids

  • Count machines

    Scanners counting votes in Glasgow's SECC.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Elecciones parlamentarias de Escocia de 2007 para niños

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