4th Scottish Parliament facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 4th Scottish Parliament |
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| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Scottish Parliament | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Scotland | ||||
| Meeting place | Scottish Parliament Building | ||||
| Term | 11 May 2011 – 24 March 2016 | ||||
| Election | 2011 | ||||
| Government | Second Salmond government First Sturgeon government |
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| Members | 129 | ||||
| Presiding Officer | Rt Hon Tricia Marwick | ||||
| First Minister of Scotland | Alex Salmond (2011–14) Nicola Sturgeon (2014–16) |
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| Deputy First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon (2011–14) John Swinney (2014–16) |
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| Leader of the Opposition | Iain Gray (2011) Johann Lamont (2011–14) Jackie Baillie (2014) Kezia Dugdale (2014–15) Iain Gray (2015) Kezia Dugdale (2015–16) |
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The 4th Scottish Parliament was a group of elected people who made laws for Scotland. They were called Members of the Scottish Parliament, or MSPs for short. This Parliament met from May 2011 to March 2016.
There were 129 MSPs in total. Some were chosen directly by voters in local areas called constituencies. Others were chosen from larger areas called regions, to make sure all parts of Scotland were represented fairly.
The election in 2011 was a big one. The Scottish National Party won the most seats, getting 69 out of 129. This meant they had a majority government. The leader of the Scottish National Party, Alex Salmond, became the First Minister. He led the government for part of this term. Later, Nicola Sturgeon took over as First Minister.
How the Parliament Looked
This section shows how many MSPs each political party had. It compares the numbers right after the 2011 election to how they looked just before the Parliament ended in 2016.
| Party | May 2011 election |
March 2016 dissolution |
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| • | Scottish National Party | 69 | 64 |
| Scottish Labour Party | 37 | 38 | |
| Scottish Conservative Party | 15 | 15 | |
| Scottish Liberal Democrats | 5 | 5 | |
| Scottish Green Party | 2 | 2 | |
| Independents | 1 | 3 | |
| Presiding Officer | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 129 | 128 | |
| Vacant | 0 | 1 | |
| Government majority | 9 | 1 | |
Parties in the government are marked with a small dot (•).
Visualizing Party Strengths
These pictures help you see how the different political parties compared in strength. The first picture shows the Parliament right after the 2011 election. The second picture shows how it looked when the Parliament finished in March 2016.
- Remember, these are not the actual seating plans inside the Scottish Parliament building.
Important Changes During the Term
Sometimes, things change during a Parliament's term. MSPs might change their party, or new MSPs might join if someone leaves or passes away. Here are some of the key changes that happened during the 4th Scottish Parliament:
| Date | Constituency/region | Gain | Loss | Note | ||
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| 11 May 2011 | Mid Fife and Glenrothes | Presiding Officer | SNP | Tricia Marwick was chosen as the Presiding Officer. This role is like the speaker of the Parliament, so she stepped back from her party duties. | ||
| 4 March 2012 | Dunfermline | Independent | SNP | Bill Walker became an independent MSP. | ||
| 23 October 2012 | Highlands and Islands | Independent | SNP | John Finnie left the SNP over a disagreement about NATO. He later joined the Scottish Green Party but remained an independent MSP in Parliament. | ||
| 23 October 2012 | Highlands and Islands | Independent | SNP | Jean Urquhart also left the SNP for the same reason as John Finnie. | ||
| 07 December 2012 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Labour | Labour | John Park resigned to take a job with a trade union. Jayne Baxter took his place. | ||
| 25 April 2013 | Aberdeen Donside | SNP | Brian Adam sadly passed away, which led to a special election. | |||
| 14/15 May 2013 | North East Scotland | SNP | SNP | Mark McDonald resigned his regional seat to run in the special election for Aberdeen Donside. Christian Allard then filled his regional seat. | ||
| 20 June 2013 | Aberdeen Donside | SNP | Mark McDonald won the special election for the SNP. | |||
| 12 August 2013 | Lothian | Conservative | Conservative | David McLetchie passed away. Cameron Buchanan took his place. | ||
| 7 September 2013 | Dunfermline | Labour | Independent | Bill Walker resigned. This caused another special election, and Cara Hilton won the seat. | ||
| 9 November 2013 | Cowdenbeath | Labour | Labour | Helen Eadie passed away, leading to a special election. Alex Rowley won the seat. | ||
| 4 April 2014 | Lothian | Independent | Margo MacDonald passed away. Since she was an independent MSP elected from a region, no one could be chosen to replace her. | |||
| 23 September 2014 | Central Scotland | Independent | SNP | John Wilson left the SNP due to the same NATO disagreement. He later joined the Scottish Green Party but continued as an independent MSP. | ||
| 11 January 2016 | North East Scotland | Labour | Labour | Richard Baker resigned to work for a charity. Lesley Brennan took his place. | ||
