2nd Scottish Parliament
This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the second Scottish Parliament at the 2003 general election. Of the 129 members, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight regions, each electing seven MSPs as a form of mixed member proportional representation.
| 2nd Scottish Parliament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 The Scottish Parliament Building opened during this term | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Scottish Parliament | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Scotland, United Kingdom | ||||
| Meeting place | General Assembly Scottish Parliament Building | ||||
| Term | 7 May 2003 – 2 April 2007 | ||||
| Election | 2003 | ||||
| Government | Second McConnell ministry | ||||
| Members | 129 | ||||
| Presiding Officer | George Reid | ||||
| First Minister | Jack McConnell | ||||
| Deputy First Minister | Jim Wallace (2003-05) Nicol Stephen (2005-07) | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | John Swinney (2003-04) Nicola Sturgeon (2004-07) | ||||
The 2nd Scottish Parliament produced a second hung parliament and became colloquially known as the Rainbow Parliament. This was due to the 2003 general election producing a result whereby the incoming members represented the largest number of political parties, with wide ranging views from across the political spectrum, to be elected at a national level in Scotland. The governing Labour - Liberal Democrat coalition continued in government for a second term. [1]
Composition
| Party | May 2003 election |
April 2007 dissolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • | Scottish Labour Party | 50 | 50 |
| Scottish National Party | 27 | 25 | |
| Scottish Conservative Party | 18 | 17 | |
| • | Scottish Liberal Democrats | 17 | 17 |
| Scottish Green Party | 7 | 7 | |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 6 | 4 | |
| Solidarity | 0 | 2 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Independents | 3 | 5 | |
| Presiding Officer | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 129 | ||
| Government majority | 5 | 6 | |
Government coalition parties denoted with bullets (•)
Graphical representation
These are graphical representations of the Scottish Parliement showing a comparison of party strengths as it was directly after the 2003 general election and its composition at the time of its dissolution in April 2007:
- Note this is not the official seating plan of the Scottish Parliament.
List of MSPs
This is a list of MSPs at dissolution. For a list of MSPs elected in the 2003 election see here. The changes table below records all changes in party affiliation during the session.
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Former MSPs
| Name | Image | Member for | Type | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Watson | Glasgow Cathcart | Constituency | Scottish Labour Party | resigned | ||
| Keith Raffan | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Liberal Democrats | resigned | ||
| David Mundell |  |
South of Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | resigned | |
| Margaret Ewing | Moray | Constituency | Scottish National Party | deceased | ||
| Mary Scanlon |  |
Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | resigned | |
Changes
| Date | Constituency/region | Gain | Loss | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May 2003 | Ochil | Presiding Officer | SNP | George Reid is elected as the Presiding Officer and had to take voluntary suspension from the SNP.[2] | ||
| 10 July 2004 | West of Scotland | Independent | SNP | Campbell Martin was expelled from the SNP.[3] | ||
| 10 January 2005 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Keith Raffan resigned from Parliament, citing reasons of ill health.[4] He was replaced by Andrew Arbuckle.[4] | ||
| 17 June 2005 | South of Scotland | Conservative | Conservative | David Mundell resigned from the Scottish Parliament as he had won election to the UK Parliament.[5] Derek Brownlee replaced Mundell.[5] | ||
| 1 September 2005 | Glasgow Cathcart | Labour | Mike Watson resigned from the Scottish Parliament after pleading guilty to a charge of fire-raising.[6] | |||
| 29 September 2005 | Glasgow Cathcart | Labour | Charlie Gordon wins the Glasgow Cathcart by-election.[7] | |||
| 08 November 2005 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Independent | Conservative | Brian Monteith is expelled from his party after briefing against his party leader David McLetchie. | ||
| 21 March 2006 | Moray | SNP | Margaret Ewing dies in March 2006.[8] | |||
| 7 April 2006 | North East Scotland | SNP | SNP | Richard Lochhead resigned his regional seat to contest the Moray by-election.[9] Maureen Watt replaced Lochhead.[9] | ||
| 7 April 2006 | Highlands and Islands | Conservative | Conservative | Mary Scanlon resigned her regional seat to contest the Moray by-election.[9] Dave Petrie replaced Scanlon.[9] | ||
| 27 April 2006 | Moray | SNP | Richard Lochhead wins the Moray by-election.[10] | |||
| 3 September 2006 | Glasgow | Solidarity | Scottish Socialist | Tommy Sheridan resigned from the SSP and formed Solidarity.[11] | ||
| 3 September 2006 | South of Scotland | Solidarity | Scottish Socialist | Rosemary Byrne resigned from the SSP and joined Solidarity.[11] | ||
See also
References
- "Scottish Parliament at 20: Diversity of 2003 election result a distant memory". The Scotsman. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- "Reid wins presiding officer role". BBC News. BBC. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Nationalists throw out rebel MSP". BBC News. BBC. 10 July 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Health forces MSP to stand down". BBC News. BBC. 7 January 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Tory MSP takes place in chamber". BBC News. BBC. 22 June 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Peer pleads guilty to fire charge". BBC News. BBC. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Labour victory in Cathcart seat". BBC News. BBC. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "SNP veteran Margaret Ewing dies". BBC News. BBC. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Five candidates to contest Moray". BBC News. BBC. 10 April 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "SNP's joy at by-election victory". BBC News. BBC. 28 April 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Sheridan unveils Solidarity party". BBC News. BBC. 3 September 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
External links
- Scottish Parliament website
- Previous Members 2nd Session on Scottish Parliament website
| Scottish Parliaments and Governments | |
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| 1st Parliament (1999–2003) |
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| 2nd Parliament (2003–07) |
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| 3rd Parliament (2007–11) |
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| 4th Parliament (2011–16) |
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| 5th Parliament (2016–present) |
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