143-535: Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( / ˈ s æ m ən d / SAM -ənd ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Scottish National Party ( SNP ) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of
286-637: A confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland. The Conservative Party, which had governed as a senior coalition partner from 2010 and as a single-party majority government from 2015 , was led by May as Prime Minister. It was defending a working majority of 17 seats against the opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn . It was the first general election to be contested by either May or Corbyn as party leader; May had succeeded David Cameron following his resignation as prime minister
429-462: A devolved Scottish Assembly . Salmond started his political life as a committed left-winger inside the SNP and was a leading member of the socialist republican organisation within it, the 79 Group . He was, along with other group leaders, suspended from membership of the SNP when the 79 Group was banned within the larger party. In 1981, he married Moira French McGlashan, then a senior civil servant with
572-484: A referendum on Scottish independence due to insufficient support. At the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the SNP won with an overall majority, a feat previously thought almost impossible under the additional member system used in elections for the Scottish Parliament. As of 2024, this is the only election in which a party has won a majority in the Scottish Parliament. Salmond used this mandate to hold
715-690: A "Royal Bank/BBC oil index" that is still used. Salmond became active in the SNP when he joined the Federation of Student Nationalists at the University of St Andrews in 1973. His conversion is generally credited to his then girlfriend, Debbie Horton, an English student from London, who was secretary of the St Andrews University Labour club. After an argument in December 1973, she told him: "If you feel like that, go and join
858-564: A "pro Europe", "pro developing world" and "against military adventurism" stance. Following his return to the Commons he attracted media attention after telling Business Minister Anna Soubry during a debate, "Behave yourself, woman." Soubry said Salmond's attitude belonged "firmly in the 19th century". However, his then party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, defended the remarks and said, "It was in a boisterous House of Commons debate. The fundamental question, 'does that language indicate that Alex Salmond
1001-411: A "social wage", as well as driving work forward to deliver the governments commitment to the abolition of bridge tolls, free concessionary travel, prescription charges and personal care. The most prominent aspect of the governments programme was on the constitutional question of Scottish independence, with the programme for government confirmed that a white paper would be published on the issue, and that
1144-467: A charity lunch, he held up the bluff card as the Prime Minister began querying Scotland's economic prospects should independence occur. Throughout his time in politics, Salmond has maintained his interest in horse racing , writing a weekly column for The Scotsman and appearing a number of times on Channel 4 's The Morning Line . During the election campaign, Salmond was photographed feeding
1287-855: A committee. On 16 May 2007, with the support of the Greens, Salmond was elected by the Parliament to succeed Jack McConnell as First Minister of Scotland . The following day he received the Royal Warrant from the Queen and was officially sworn into office at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Under section 45(7) of the Scotland Act 1998 he became Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland at
1430-623: A crisis or emergency is considered to affect the entirely of either the United Kingdom or the British Isles, such as the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack , the UK Government and Scottish Government (along with the governments of both Wales and Northern Ireland), will develop a co-ordinate response to a UK wide emergency or crisis. The First Minister is directly responsible for co-ordinating this policy and would be called to attend
1573-534: A hung parliament. After he declared his candidacy, he was described as a " bogeyman " (both by Lesley Riddoch and by himself), and was reportedly "demonised" by "Conservative propaganda" portraying Labour Party leader Ed Miliband "compliantly dancing to Salmond the piper's tune" after the election. During the election campaign, Salmond recorded in his diary: "The Tory candidate, Colin Clark , cuts an impressive figure but his politics are far too dry for this area. If
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#17328024319721716-475: A larger majority to "strengthen [her] hand" in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. Opinion polls had consistently shown strong leads for the Conservatives over Labour. From a 21-point lead, the Conservatives' lead began to diminish in the final weeks of the campaign. The Conservative Party returned 317 MPs—a net loss of 13 seats relative to 2015—despite winning 42.4% of the vote (its highest share of
1859-829: A meeting of the Scottish Government security advisers in St Andrew's House in Edinburgh, followed by a request from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown for Salmond, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill and the Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini to attend an emergency COBRA meeting. By the evening of 30 June, Salmond had attended an online conference discussion with the Prime Minister of
2002-646: A political scandal . Salmond later was announced as the leader of a new pro-independence party, the Alba Party . The party failed to gain any seats in the 2021 national and 2022 local elections . He led the party until his death in 2024. Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was born in his parents' home at 101 Preston Road, Linlithgow , West Lothian , Scotland, on 31 December 1954. He was the second of four children born to Robert Fyfe Findlay Salmond (1921–2017) and Mary Stewart Salmond (née Milne; 1922–2003), both of whom were civil servants . Robert Salmond, who served in
2145-611: A progressive candidate beating the Conservatives", including South West Surrey , the seat of Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt , in favour of the National Health Action Party candidate. The Scottish Green Party contested just three constituencies. The Liberal Democrats agreed to stand down in Brighton Pavilion . After indicating it might not nominate candidates in seats held by strongly pro-Brexit Conservative MPs, UKIP nominated 377 candidates; it
2288-412: A reconfigured version of Gordon. The SNP's overall majority assured Salmond of another term as First Minister, and he was re-elected unopposed on 18 May 2011. This was the first single-party majority government in the history of the devolved parliament. Salmond's second government ended on 18 November 2014 upon his resignation. As a consequence of obtaining a majority, it gave Salmond the ability to call
2431-511: A referendum on Scottish independence. On 10 January 2012, the Scottish Government announced that they intended to hold the referendum in late 2014. On 7 November 2012, Salmond surpassed the 2,001-day term of his predecessor, Jack McConnell. In September 2012, Salmond made a snap reshuffle in light of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum . Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Neil switched roles, with Sturgeon taking on responsibility for
2574-509: A referendum on the issue would be held in the second half of the Scottish parliamentary term. An agreement was signed on 15 October 2012 by David Cameron and Salmond which provided a legal framework for the referendum to be held, and on 21 March 2013 the SNP government announced that the referendum would be held on 18 September 2014. Scotland's Future , a white paper setting out the Scottish Government's vision for an independent Scotland,
2717-579: A referendum, which led to the signing of the Edinburgh Agreement and the 2014 referendum. The Yes Scotland campaign , which his deputy Sturgeon led, was defeated in the referendum. As a result, Salmond resigned and was succeeded by Sturgeon. Returning to Westminster, Salmond was elected MP for Gordon in the 2015 general election . He was the SNP International Affairs and Europe spokesperson from 2015 to 2017. He left
2860-1003: A reserved matter under the devolution settlement, and advice on the appointment of the Lords Lieutenants in Scotland, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and members of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Forestry Commission. There are also matters where a Minister of the Crown gives advice to the reigning monarch and the First Minister would need to be consulted by
3003-568: A time in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing on 22 May. The SNP had been scheduled to release their manifesto for the election but this was delayed. Campaigning resumed on 25 May. Major political parties also suspended campaigning for a second time on 4 June, following the London Bridge attack . UKIP chose to continue campaigning. There were unsuccessful calls for polling day to be postponed. The UK's withdrawal from
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#17328024319723146-496: A total of four seats. The Green Party retained its sole seat, but its share of the vote declined. In Northern Ireland, the DUP won 10 seats, Sinn Féin won seven, and Independent Unionist Sylvia Hermon retained her seat. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost all their seats. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch first entered Parliament in this election. Negotiation positions following
3289-626: A visit to Inverurie that, "We won the local government election in Gordon this week, beating the SNP into second place. It means that in this seat, as in many others, it is a two-horse race between us and the nationalists." In response to Davidson's comments, Salmond riposted, "It's just arrogance, for Ruth Davidson to continue the line of 'we're going to take this seat, and we're going to take that seat'. Once it doesn't happen, it's very bad news for Ruth Davidson's credibility." On election night, Salmond lost his seat as member for Gordon to Colin Clark of
3432-531: A young supporter a Solero ice cream during an event at Stirling University , creating a photograph that would become iconic. Salmond was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and was one of its highest-profile members as Leader of the Opposition . He stood down as SNP leader in 2000, facing internal criticism after a series of high-profile fall-outs with party members, and was replaced by his preferred successor John Swinney , who defeated Alex Neil for
3575-642: Is an official consultee regarding selections for membership of the Supreme Court . The Office of the First Minister has responsibility for all functions relating to reports made by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and Intelligence Services Commissioner as detailed in both Sections 58 and 60 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. During times of national crisis, such as flooding, terror attacks or public health emergencies,
3718-838: Is defeated in a general election, they do not immediately vacate office. The first minister only leaves office when the Scottish Parliament nominates a successor individual. After accepting office, the first minister takes the Official Oath , as set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868. The oath is tendered by the Lord President of the Court of Session at a sitting of the Court in Parliament House in Edinburgh. The oath is: I, [ name ], do swear that I will well and truly serve His Majesty King Charles in
3861-423: Is no term of office for a first minister; they hold office " at His Majesty's pleasure ". In practice, a first minister cannot remain in office against the will of the Scottish Parliament; indeed, the Scotland Act explicitly requires the first minister to either resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution (and with it, new elections) if his or her government "no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament." Whenever
4004-513: Is overseen by the First Minister and Scottish Government ministers: The First Minister is directly responsible for each of the corresponding resilience levels in Scotland, and has the responsibility of the Scottish Government Liaison Offices who can be deployed in emergencies and national crisis to act as the principal point of contact for the First Minister, Scottish Government and other Scottish ministers. If
4147-417: Is sexist?' Absolutely not, there's no man I know who is less sexist." In the 2017 British general election, Salmond's seat was widely watched as a potential Tory gain amid a nationwide backlash to Sturgeon's decision to call for a second independence referendum. The Scottish Conservatives had taken the most votes in the area at the 2017 local council elections , prompting party leader Ruth Davidson to say on
4290-438: Is then formally appointed by the monarch . Although any member of the Scottish Parliament can be nominated for first minister, the government must maintain the confidence of the Scottish Parliament in order to gain supply (access to exchequer funds) and remain in office. For this reason, every permanent first minister has been the leader of the largest party, or the leader of the senior partner in any majority coalition . There
4433-615: The 2007 election to the 3rd Scottish Parliament . In the election, Salmond stood as a candidate for the Gordon constituency, which had been represented since 1999 by the Liberal Democrat Nora Radcliffe . Salmond won the seat with 41% of the vote, and a majority of 2,062, returning to the Scottish Parliament after six years' absence. In the election the SNP emerged as the largest party, winning 47 seats to Labour's 46. Having won more seats than any other party in
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4576-434: The 2011 election , and thus had enough numbers to vote in its leader, Alex Salmond , as first minister for a second term. After the election of the Scottish Parliament , a first minister must be nominated within a period of 28 days. Under the terms of the Scotland Act, if the Parliament fails to nominate a first minister, within this time frame, it will be dissolved and a fresh election held. If an incumbent first minister
4719-743: The 2015 election . David Cameron , who had been the leader of the Conservative Party since 2005 and Prime Minister since 2010 , was replaced in July 2016 by Theresa May following the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union . Jeremy Corbyn replaced Ed Miliband as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in September 2015, and was re-elected leader in September 2016. While
4862-776: The Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024. A graduate of the University of St Andrews , he worked as an economist in the Scottish Office , and later, the Royal Bank of Scotland . He was elected to the British House of Commons in 1987 , serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Banff and Buchan from 1987 to 2010. In 1990, he successfully defeated Margaret Ewing in the SNP leadership contest . Salmond led
5005-574: The Brexit negotiations , and led the Parliament of the United Kingdom into a period of protracted deadlock which would eventually bring about another general election two and a half years later . Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to the House of Commons using first-past-the-post voting . If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form
5148-1449: The Conservatives , receiving 19,254 votes to the Conservatives' 21,861. This represented a swing of 20.4% away from Salmond, larger than the 14.4% swing to him from the Liberal Democrats which saw him win the seat in the 2015 election. It also marked first time since the 1987 general election that Salmond was not in an elected position in either the British or Scottish parliament. First Minister of Scotland Charles III William , Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP The first minister of Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic : prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba , [ˈpʰrʲiəv ˈvinɪʃtʲɛr nə ˈhal̪ˠapə] , formally known as
5291-734: The English Democrats in 7, the Women's Equality Party in 7, the Social Democratic Party in 6, the National Health Action Party in 5 and the Workers Revolutionary Party in 5, while an additional 79 candidates stood for 46 other registered political parties. In Wales, 213 candidates stood for election. Labour, Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, and Liberal Democrats contested all forty seats and there were 32 UKIP and 10 Green candidates. In Scotland,
5434-577: The Father of the House of Commons , had said he would retire in 2020 and so stood again in the 2017 election, leaving it open for him to retire possibly in 2022 (he eventually retired in 2019 when that year's national election was called). Tony Lloyd , a former Labour MP for Manchester Central who served as Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 and interim Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2015 stood in Rochdale . Eli Aldridge
5577-626: The First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal , is the head of government of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish Government , the executive branch of the devolved government of Scotland. The first minister also serves as the keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland whilst in office. The first minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development, and presentation of
5720-572: The Government , with its leader as Prime Minister . If the election results in no single party having a majority, there is a hung parliament . In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition . The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was not due to report until 2018, and therefore this general election took place under existing boundaries, enabling direct comparisons with
5863-685: The Liberal Democrats and their predecessors had long been the third-largest party in British politics, they returned only 8 MPs in 2015 (having been part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition from 2010 until 2015)—49 fewer than at the previous election and the fewest in their modern history. Tim Farron became the Liberal Democrat leader in July 2015, following the resignation of Nick Clegg . Led by First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon ,
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6006-508: The Liberal Democrats , the third- and fourth-largest parties, both lost vote share; media coverage characterised the result as a return to two-party politics . The SNP, which had won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at the previous general election in 2015, lost 21. The Liberal Democrats made a net gain of four seats. UKIP , the third-largest party in 2015 by number of votes, saw its share of the vote reduced from 12.6% to 1.8% and lost its only seat. In Wales, Plaid Cymru gained one seat, giving it
6149-524: The Lockerbie bombing incident in December 1988. In a statement addressing the attacks in Glasgow, Salmond stated "terrorist acts are the work of individuals not communities and the arrival of terror on our soil must not result in racist attacks on ethnic minorities whose only crime is to share the same religion and colour as the bombers. It is to be hoped that yesterday's attack is an isolated incident, but
6292-633: The Royal Navy during the Second World War , had originally worked as an electrician, and his family had been resident in Linlithgow since the mid-18th century. Salmond's grandmother, Abigail Ireland, married Alexander Salmond, one of six children to Robert Dobie Salmond and Margaret Elms, the daughter of Margaret Duncan and Henry Elms, a native of England. Salmond's middle names come from his family's tradition of naming their children after
6435-523: The Scotland Act 1978 . This would have established an autonomous Scottish Executive with a leader termed 'First Secretary', a post for which Strathclyde political leader Geoff Shaw was widely expected to be chosen. Shaw died prematurely and the failure of the referendum of 1979 led to the Act not being implemented. Following the 1997 referendum and Scotland Act 1998 , Scottish devolution led to
6578-416: The Scotland referendum of 1997. Many hardline fundamentalists in the SNP objected to committing the party to devolution, as it was short of full political Scottish independence. Salmond's first spell as leader was characterised by a moderation of his earlier left-wing views and by his firmly placing the SNP into a gradualist , but still pro-independence, strategy. Salmond was one of the few politicians in
6721-419: The Scottish Greens , resulting in Salmond's appointment as first minister. Salmond led an SNP minority government in his first term. His government passed landmark legislation, including the abolition of university tuition fees , the scrapping of prescription charges and commitment to renewable energy . Salmond was the first nationalist first minister and in his first term he failed to obtain support for
6864-431: The Scottish Office . Following the SNP's National Council narrowly voting to uphold the expulsion, Salmond and the others were allowed back into the party a month later, and in 1985 he was elected as the SNP's Vice Convener for Publicity. In 1987 he stood for Parliament in Banff and Buchan and defeated the incumbent Conservative MP, Albert McQuarrie . Later that year Salmond became Senior Vice Convener (Deputy Leader) of
7007-475: The Secretary of State for Scotland , Jim Murphy , to meet with the Scottish cabinet to discuss the economic challenges at a time he issued a warning to the UK Government about their plans to cut £1 billion in investment to the Scottish budget. A white paper for an independence referendum, setting out four possible options ranging from no change to full independence, was published by the Scottish Government on 30 November 2009. A draft bill for public consultation
7150-445: The Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election earlier in 2017, UKIP leader Paul Nuttall contested Boston and Skegness . Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk stood as an independent candidate, after being rejected from standing with that party and then withdrawing his party membership. After the Liberal Democrats rejected David Ward , the former MP for Bradford East , for anti-semitism , he contested that seat as an independent. Ahead of
7293-509: The general election on 7 May 2015 . This removed the power of the Prime Minister , using the royal prerogative , to dissolve Parliament before its five-year maximum length. The Act permitted early dissolution if the House of Commons voted by a supermajority of two-thirds of the entire membership of the House. On 18 April 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would seek an election on 8 June, despite previously ruling out an early election. A House of Commons motion to allow this
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#17328024319727436-690: The party's headquarters from an existing list of candidates, without inviting applications; candidates in non-target seats were to be appointed directly by central party offices; and successful MPs were to be confirmed by a meeting of their local parties. This was controversial with local associations. The Labour Party required sitting MPs to express their intention to stand, automatically re-selecting those who did; and it advertised for applications from party members for all remaining seats by 23 April. Having devolved selections to its Scottish and Welsh parties, Labour's National Executive Committee endorsed all parliamentary candidates on 3 May except for Rochdale ,
7579-424: The presiding officer would appoint an interim first minister, until the Scottish Parliament determined on a new nominee to be appointed by the monarch. During their tenure in office, the First Minister is supported by the Chief of Staff to the First Minister , who acts at the first minister's principal adviser on the first minister's strategic programme in government, inter-governmental relations, co-ordination of
7722-477: The results by constituency in 2015 . To vote in the general election, one had to be: Individuals had to be registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day (22 May). Anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on 31 May to register. A person who has two homes (such as a university student with a term-time address but lives at home during holidays) may be registered to vote at both addresses, as long as they are not in
7865-415: The 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP initially approached the Scottish Liberal Democrats to form a coalition, but they declined to take part in negotiations. This left the SNP without any possibility to form a coalition with an overall majority. Ultimately, the Scottish Green Party agreed to vote in an SNP minority government in return for concessions on climate policy and naming a Green to chair
8008-463: The 2015 election. The Conservatives, Greens, and four other minor parties also stood. Despite contesting 10 seats last time, UKIP did not stand in Northern Ireland. 3,304 candidates stood for election, down from 3,631 in the previous general election. The Conservatives stood in 637 seats, Labour in 631 (including jointly with the Co-operative Party in 50) and the Liberal Democrats in 629. UKIP stood in 377 constituencies, down from 624 in 2015, while
8151-399: The 2016 EU referendum. The Conservatives held the safe seat of Sleaford and North Hykeham in December 2016. In by-elections on 23 February 2017, Labour held Stoke-on-Trent Central but lost Copeland to the Conservatives, the first time a governing party had gained a seat in a by-election since the Conservatives took Mitcham and Morden in 1982 . The general election came soon after
8294-453: The 2017 election as an independent in Manchester Gorton . In Northern Ireland , the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Féin , the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Green Party of Northern Ireland and the Alliance Party contested the 2017 election. Sinn Féin maintained its abstentionist policy. The DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, UUP and APNI were all led by new party leaders, changed since
8437-415: The Assembly elections in March. Former employment minister Esther McVey was selected to contest Tatton . Zac Goldsmith was adopted as the candidate for Richmond Park , having lost the 2016 by-election as an independent in protest against the form of the Government's chosen expert's recommended Heathrow expansion . He had served as the seat's Conservative MP between 2010 and 2016. Kenneth Clarke ,
8580-487: The Conservatives won metro mayor elections in Tees Valley and the West Midlands , areas traditionally seen as Labour heartlands. Initially scheduled for 4 May, a by-election in Manchester Gorton was cancelled; the seat was contested on 8 June along with all the other seats. On 6 May, a letter from Church of England Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu stressed the importance of education, housing, communities and health. All parties suspended campaigning for
8723-421: The English parliament, forming the Parliament of Great Britain . The re-establishment of a dedicated legislature and executive for Scotland was known as devolution and initiated a measure of home rule (self-governance) in its domestic affairs, such as health , education and justice . The devolution movement came to a head in the 1970s, and resulted in a Royal Commission on the Constitution , leading to
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#17328024319728866-436: The European Union was expected to be a key issue in the campaign, but featured less than expected. May said she called the snap election to secure a majority for her Brexit negotiations . UKIP supported a "clean, quick and efficient Brexit" and, launching his party's election campaign, Nuttall stated that Brexit was a "job half done" and UKIP MPs were needed to "see this through to the end". Labour had supported Brexit in
9009-458: The First Minister chairs the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR). The function of the resilience room committee is to co-ordinate policy and response to major events in Scotland that affect the population and, with the help of specialist teams within the division assist department, develop detailed risk assessments which are used to inform policy across Scotland. There are currently different levels of resilience response in Scotland which
9152-421: The Greens stood in 468, down from 573. The SNP contested all 59 Scottish seats and Plaid Cymru stood in all 40 Welsh seats . In Great Britain, 183 candidates stood as independents ; minor parties included the Christian Peoples Alliance which contested 31 seats, the Yorkshire Party which stood in 21, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 12, the British National Party in 10, the Pirate Party in 10,
9295-608: The House of Commons at the 2017 general election after losing his seat to the Scottish Conservative Party candidate Colin Clark . In August 2018, Salmond resigned from the party to fight allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denied. In January 2019, he was charged with 14 offences, including attempted rape and sexual assault, but was awarded compensation of £500,000 by the Scottish Government in August 2019 and later acquitted of all charges after trial in March 2020. In 2021, he criticised Sturgeon for her government's flawed investigations into these allegations which resulted in
9438-399: The Labour Party. After election, Labour legislated for a devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh. Although still committed to a fully independent Scotland, Salmond signed the SNP up to supporting the campaign for devolution, and, along with Scottish Labour leader Donald Dewar and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Jim Wallace , played an active part in securing the victory for devolution in
9581-411: The Liberal Democrats also ruled out a coalition deal with the Conservatives and SNP. Labour ruled out an electoral pact with the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Greens. Notwithstanding national arrangements, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and UKIP indicated they might not stand in every constituency. The Green Party of England and Wales chose not to contest 22 seats explicitly "to increase the chance of
9724-450: The London-based media. In 1998, Salmond won the Spectator Award for Political Strategist of the Year. Following an appearance on the entertainment programme Call My Bluff , Salmond used one of the 'bluff' cards that are used as props in the show in the run-up to the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. To counter his frustration at having to sit in silence through what he claimed was an inappropriately political speech by Tony Blair at
9867-411: The Minister of the Crown, or would be required to give advice to that Minister of the Crown. The Scotland Act 1998 confers upon the First Minister various functions of advising the monarch directly. Such functions include seeking the monarch's approval regarding the appointment of Scottish Ministers as well as recommending to the monarch nominations for appointment as Scottish Law Officers. Section 95 of
10010-457: The Northern Ireland Assembly election on 2 March. Talks on power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Féin had failed to reach a conclusion, with Northern Ireland thus facing either another Assembly election, or the imposition of direct rule . The deadline was subsequently extended to 29 June. Local elections in England, Scotland and Wales took place on 4 May. These saw large gains by the Conservatives, and large losses by Labour and UKIP. Notably,
10153-403: The Privy Council and is appointed by the Monarch. There are a variety of matters in which the Prime Minister would offer advice to the monarch on the exercise of their functions and on which it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to consult or to take advice from the First Minister. Such matters include the recommendations of Scottish candidates for honours and dignities, which are currently
10296-399: The SNP again pledged to hold an independence referendum if it won another term. The Westminster Labour government had initially designed the additional member system to make it impossible for one party to win an outright majority, but the SNP won enough seats from the other parties to take 69 seats, a majority of four. At this election, Salmond was re-elected for Aberdeenshire East, essentially
10439-593: The SNP candidate for the Westminster constituency of Gordon in the 2015 May election . He indicated that he did not intend to replace Angus Robertson , MP for Moray , as the SNP leader in the House of Commons . Nicola Sturgeon, his successor as SNP leader and First Minister, repeatedly reminded voters at the March 2015 SNP conference that she, not he, was party leader after he gave interviews about his possible role in
10582-461: The SNP group leader at Westminster and was replaced by Angus Robertson . The Guardian reported in November 2007 that Salmond believed Scotland would be independent within "the next decade". Salmond had been First Minister for just over a month when a vehicle rammed the front entrance of the main terminal building at Glasgow Airport on 30 June 2007, the first terrorist attack in Scotland since
10725-500: The SNP sought to form a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats . When those talks failed, the SNP chose to form a one-party minority government. The SNP and Scottish Greens signed an agreement where the Greens supported SNP ministerial appointments, but did not offer support for any confidence or budget votes ("confidence and supply"). Due to the agreement signed with the Greens, Salmond's investiture vote
10868-432: The SNP stands only in Scotland; it won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats in 2015. UKIP, then led by Nigel Farage , who was later replaced by Diane James and then by Paul Nuttall in 2016, won 12.7% of the vote in 2015 but gained only one MP, Douglas Carswell , who left the party in March 2017 to sit as an independent. After securing 3.8% of the vote and one MP in the previous general election, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett
11011-715: The SNP, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats stood in all 59 seats while UKIP contested 10 seats and the Greens only 3. Of the 109 candidates in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance contested all 18 seats; the DUP stood in 17, the UUP in 14 and the Conservatives and Greens stood in 7 each. People Before Profit and the Workers' Party contested two seats while Traditional Unionist Voice and
11154-418: The SNP. He was at this time still viewed as being firmly on the left of the party and had become a key ally of Jim Sillars , who joined him in the House of Commons when he won a by-election for the seat of Glasgow Govan in 1988. Salmond served as a member of the House of Commons Energy Select committee from 1987 to 1992. When Gordon Wilson stood down as SNP leader in 1990, Salmond decided to contest
11297-432: The Scotland Act highlights the arrangements for the First Minister to nominate for the appointment as Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice Clerk. Additionally, the Scotland Act also grants the First Minister to recommend to the monarch the appointment of other judges. The First Minister is the head of the Scottish Government and is responsible for the overall development, implementation and presentation of
11440-519: The Scotland Act. The First Minister has the power to sign royal warrants on behalf of the monarch. As Keeper of the Great Seal, First Minister Humza Yousaf was the first First Minister to oversee the departure of the Stone of Scone , an ancient symbol of Scotland's nationhood, for Westminster Abbey for usage in the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May. The First Minister is a member of
11583-547: The Scottish Government's policies. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad. The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament by members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and is formally appointed by the monarch . Members of the Scottish Cabinet, junior ministers of the Scottish Government, as well as
11726-411: The Scottish Government's policy agenda. The First Minister is directly responsible for the management of the civil service in Scotland, as well as civil service staff within the Scottish Government. The First Minister has responsibility in respect of the exercise of operation and functions during vacancies which may arise in the offices of Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice Clerk and
11869-450: The Scottish Parliament for their actions and the actions of the overall Scottish Government. MSPs can scrutinise the activities of the first minister and their Cabinet by tabling written questions or by asking oral questions in the Scottish Parliament. Direct questioning of the first minister takes place at First Minister's Questions (FMQs) each Thursday at noon when Parliament is sitting. The 30-minute session enables MSPs to ask questions of
12012-615: The Scottish Parliament needed to help harness Scotland's green energy potential and therefore take full advantage of the "renewable revolution". Earlier, in December 2009, he campaigned for climate change legislation at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to promote Scotland's role in tackling and mitigating climate change . This included signing a Partnership Agreement with the Maldives , one of
12155-464: The Scottish Parliament's European and External Relations Committee. On 15 July 2004, Salmond said that he would be a candidate in the forthcoming election for the leadership of the SNP. This came as a surprise because he had previously declared that he would definitely not be a leadership candidate. In the postal ballot of all members he went on to receive over 75% of the votes cast, placing him well ahead of his nearest rival Roseanna Cunningham . As he
12298-414: The Scottish Parliament. Additionally, the First Minister has various functions and responsibilities regarding the appointments and removal of Scottish judges within the Scottish court system. The Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government is nominated by the First Minister. The permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant in Scotland who serves to promote, implement, develop and communicating
12441-401: The Scottish Parliament. Ministers hold office at His Majesty's Pleasure and may be removed from office, at any time, by the first minister. The first minister also has the power to appoint the law officers and chief legal officers of the Scottish Government – the lord advocate and the solicitor general but only with the support of the Scottish Parliament. The first minister is responsible to
12584-545: The Scottish law officers, are appointed by the first minister. The first minister is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their actions and the actions of the wider government and cabinet. The office is currently held by John Swinney , the MSP for Perthshire North and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Swinney was elected first minister by the Scottish Parliament on 7 May 2024, and
12727-556: The UK Government's emergency room, COBRA , for instances such as a significant terrorist attack, a serious outbreak of animal disease or emergencies affecting large numbers of British citizens overseas. The First Minister is the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland which is considered to be one of the highest privileges of the office. The First Minister has additional responsibility over how Wafer Scottish Seals are to be kept and how they are to be taken under section 38(4) & 38(5)(b) of
12870-566: The UK to oppose the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. He was opposed to the conflict because it was not authorised by a United Nations Security Council resolution , which was a controversial subject at the time . Despite this, Salmond was heavily criticised in the media for describing Tony Blair 's decision to intervene militarily as an "unpardonable folly". Several years as party leader earned Salmond an unusually high profile for an SNP politician in
13013-546: The UK's invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union in March 2017 to leave the EU were expected to feature significantly in the campaign, but did not as domestic issues took precedence instead. The campaign was interrupted by two major terrorist attacks: Manchester and London Bridge ; thus, national security became a prominent issue in its final weeks. The outcome of the election would have significant implications for
13156-648: The United Kingdom Gordon Brown and his governmental cabinet. At the start of the Global financial crisis in 2009 , Salmond claimed that the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown , was to blame for the trouble the economy had found itself in, claiming that the problem was "one created at 10 Downing Street ". In April 2009, Salmond pledged £95 million in investment from the Scottish Government to aid economic recovery efforts. Salmond offered
13299-568: The bloody SNP". The next day Salmond did. The following day he and a friend attended the sparsely populated AGM of the university branch of the Federation of Student Nationalists. Being the only two fully paid-up members of the SNP at the university, they were duly elected president and treasurer. Although a left-winger at the time he joined, Salmond had considerable doubts as to whether or not the Labour Government would legislate for
13442-499: The constituency were composed entirely of michty fairmers then he might be the ideal candidate. But it isn't and he is not." Salmond gained the seat of Gordon with 47.7% of the vote, replacing the Liberal Democrat Malcolm Bruce as the constituency's Westminster MP . On 13 May 2015, Salmond was appointed as the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman in the House of Commons. He tweeted that the party would advocate
13585-470: The early election, as did Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and the Green Party . The SNP stated that it was in favour of fixed-term parliaments, and would abstain in the House of Commons vote. UKIP leader Paul Nuttall and First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones criticised May for being opportunistic in the timing of the election, motivated by the then strong position of the Conservative Party in
13728-606: The establishment of a post of first minister as head of the devolved Scottish Government. Since 1999, the Secretary of State for Scotland of the British Government has had a much reduced role at the renamed Scotland Office as a result of the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government. The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament at the beginning of each term, by means of an exhaustive ballot among its members, and
13871-516: The expiration of the four-year term, but only if two-thirds (or more) of elected MSPs vote for such action in a resolution of the Scottish Parliament. If a simple majority of MSPs voted a no-confidence motion in the first minister or government, that would trigger a 28-day period for the nomination of a replacement; should that time period expire without the nomination of a new first minister, then an extraordinary election would have to be called. The first minister, once appointed, continues in office as
14014-596: The first minister, on any issue. The leaders of the largest opposition parties have an allocation of questions and are allowed to question the first minister each week. Opposition leaders normally ask an opening question to the first minister, relating to their meeting with the Scottish Cabinet, or when they next expect to meet the Prime Minister, and then follow this up by asking a supplementary question on an issue of their choosing. 2017 United Kingdom general election Theresa May Conservative Theresa May Conservative The 2017 United Kingdom general election
14157-413: The general election, crowdfunding groups such as More United and Open Britain were formed to promote candidates of similar views standing for election, and a " progressive alliance " was proposed. Former UKIP donor Arron Banks suggested a "patriotic alliance" movement. A Tactical voting spreadsheet to keep the Conservatives out of government went viral on social media. Gina Miller , who took
14300-563: The government to court over Article 50 , set out plans to tour marginal constituencies in support of pro-EU candidates. Within a few days of the election being announced, the Green Party of England and Wales and the SNP each proposed to collaborate with Labour and the Liberal Democrats to prevent a Conservative majority government. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron quickly reaffirmed his party's opposition to an electoral pact or coalition with Labour, citing "electorally toxic" Corbyn and concerns over Labour's position on Brexit. On 22 April
14443-411: The government's policies, as well as responsible promoting and representing Scotland at home and overseas. The role and powers of the first minister are set out in sections 45 to 49 of the Scotland Act 1998 . Following their appointment, the first minister may then nominate ministers to sit in the Scottish Cabinet and junior ministers to form the Scottish Government. They are then formally elected by
14586-415: The head of the Scottish Government until they resign, are dismissed or die in office. Resignation can be triggered by the passage of a Motion of No Confidence in the first minister or the Scottish Government or by rejecting a motion of confidence in the Scottish Parliament. In those situations, the first minister must tender their resignation and the resignation of their government. In such circumstances,
14729-680: The incapacity of the holders of those offices as outlined in the Senior Judiciary (Vacancies and Incapacity)(Scotland) Act 2006. Additionally, the First Minister considers any action relating to recommendations made by the Standards Commission or Chief Investigating Officer in regards of Crown Appointments under Section 23 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000. The First Minister
14872-446: The independence referendum. Salmond published his first programme for the Scottish Government following his re–election as first minister in September 2011. Entitled Renewing Scotland: The Government's Programme for Scotland 2011–2012 , Salmond set out a number of key commitments for the Scottish Government ahead of the parliamentary term. Salmond further pledged to continue the freeze of council tax across Scotland in order to establish
15015-469: The leadership. His only opponent was Margaret Ewing , whom Sillars decided to support. This caused considerable consternation amongst the SNP left as the two main left leaders were opposing each other in the contest. Salmond went on to win the leadership election by 486 votes to Ewing's 146. His first test as leader was the general election in 1992 , with the SNP having high hopes of making an electoral breakthrough. Whilst considerably increasing its share of
15158-413: The local Church of Scotland minister, in this case Gilbert Elliot Anderson of St Ninian's Craigmailen Parish Church in Linlithgow. He remained a member of the Church of Scotland his whole life. From a young age, Salmond suffered very bad asthma . His parents were loving and caring and although he did not grow up poor, "money was tight" and the importance of education was emphasised in the family. Salmond
15301-622: The monarch to form a government as Prime Minister, while the leader of the largest party not in government becomes the Leader of the Opposition . Other parties also form shadow ministerial teams. The leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the DUP are not MPs; hence, they appoint separate leaders in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party and the Labour Party have been the two biggest parties since 1922 , and have supplied all Prime Ministers since 1922. Both parties changed their leader after
15444-402: The most exposed countries to the consequences of rising sea levels. In September 2010, Salmond proposed legislation that would give Scottish Water powers to build "green" power stations, windfarms and hydropower schemes in cooperation and competition with existing energy companies. He stated that this would make Scotland the 'world's first hydro-economy'. Before the 2011 Scottish election ,
15587-408: The new Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance stood in one each; four independents including incumbent Sylvia Hermon also stood. Unlike in previous elections, the timetable of the snap election required parties to select candidates in just under three weeks, to meet the 11 May deadline. For the Conservatives, local associations in target seats were offered a choice of three candidates by
15730-570: The now defunct Scottish Office . Two years later he joined the staff of the Royal Bank of Scotland , where he worked for seven years, initially as an assistant economist. In 1982 he was appointed oil economist, and from 1984 he worked as a bank economist as well as continuing to hold the position of oil economist. While with the Royal Bank, he wrote and broadcast extensively for both domestic and international outlets. He also contributed regularly to oil and energy conferences. In 1983, Salmond created
15873-464: The office of first minister falls vacant, the sovereign is responsible for appointing the new incumbent upon nomination by the Scottish Parliament; the appointment is formalised at a meeting between the sovereign and the first minister designate. Given the additional member system used to elect its members, it is difficult for a single party to gain an overall majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP did gain an overall majority of seats in
16016-538: The office of first minister of the Scottish Government , So help me God. The period in office of a first minister is not linked to the term of members of the Scottish Parliament . The Scotland Act set out a four-year maximum term for each session of Parliament. The Act specifies than an election to the Scottish Parliament will be held on the first Thursday in May, every four years, starting from 1999. Parliament can be dissolved and an extraordinary general election held, before
16159-426: The opinion polls. On 25 April, the election date was confirmed as 8 June, with dissolution on 3 May. The government announced that it intended for the next parliament to assemble on 13 June, with the state opening on 19 June. The key dates are listed below (all times are BST ): The cost of organising the election was around £140 million – slightly less than the EU referendum, of which £98 million
16302-405: The parliaments existence, Salmond claimed that the majority obtained by the SNP was "a victory for a society and a nation", and later confirmed that an independence referendum would be held in the second half of the parliamentary term. Salmond in his 2010 New Year message highlighted the importance of sustainable development and renewable energy in Scotland and the required increase in powers of
16445-464: The party subsequently selected candidates for McGarry's and Thomson's former seats, as well as for the three Scottish constituencies it did not win in 2015. The Liberal Democrats had already selected 326 candidates in 2016 and over 70 in 2017 before the election was called. Meetings of local party members from UKIP, the Greens and Plaid Cymru selected their candidates. Parties in Northern Ireland were not believed to have already selected candidates due to
16588-433: The party through the first election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 , where the SNP emerged as the second largest party, with Salmond as the Leader of the Opposition . He was elected as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Banff and Buchan in that year's election. He resigned as leader in 2000 and stood down as an MSP the following year, when he was appointed leader of the SNP's Westminster group. Salmond
16731-554: The party's national conference in Perth on 14 November. Salmond submitted his resignation as First Minister to the Scottish Parliament and to the Queen on 18 November, and the formal selection of Sturgeon as his successor by the Scottish Parliament took place the following day. My time as leader is nearly over, but for Scotland, the campaign continues and the dream shall never die. On 7 December 2014, Salmond announced that he would stand as
16874-545: The post. He resigned from the Scottish Parliament on 14 May 2001 to lead the SNP group in the House of Commons . During the prolonged parliamentary debates in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq he voiced strong opposition to the UK's participation. In the aftermath of the war, he lent support to the attempt of Adam Price , a Plaid Cymru MP, to impeach Tony Blair over the Iraq issue. Salmond went further than many anti-war politicians in claiming that Blair's statements on
17017-473: The presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were consciously intended to deceive the public. He also claimed that Blair had made a pact with George W. Bush "to go to war come what may". After the June 2004 European Parliament elections , which were perceived as a "disaster" for the SNP, pressure mounted on Swinney to resign as leader. Swinney announced his resignation on 22 June 2004 to become Convener of
17160-434: The previous parliament – Corbyn did not vote against the triggering of Article 50. Corbyn's actions in the previous parliament therefore dispelled the doubts of Labour voters who had voted to leave the EU. However, his vision for Brexit prioritised different plans for the UK outside the EU. He wanted for Britain to still maintain the benefits of the single market and the custom union. The Liberal Democrats and Greens called for
17303-497: The previous summer, while Corbyn had succeeded Ed Miliband after he resigned following Labour's failure to win the general election two years earlier. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 an election had not been due until May 2020, but Prime Minister May's call for a snap election was ratified by the necessary two-thirds vote in the House of Commons on 19 April 2017. May said that she hoped to secure
17446-481: The reality is that we will have to deal with more in the future. We must not allow terrorists to stop us from going about our lives as we always have – to do so would be to hand a victory to the men of terror." Salmond issued a statement regarding the attacks in Edinburgh , calling for "the need for vigilance and unity against the forces of terror and rightly praised the work of the emergency services". Salmond called
17589-448: The same electoral area, but can vote in only one constituency at the general election. On 18 May, The Independent reported that more than 1.1 million people between 18 and 35 had registered to vote since the election was announced on 18 April. Of those, 591,730 were under the age of 25. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced fixed-term Parliaments to the United Kingdom, with elections scheduled every five years since
17732-494: The same time. He was appointed to the British Privy Council four weeks later. Salmond became the first nationalist politician to hold the office of First Minister. He appointed Sturgeon as his Deputy First Minister and reappointed Elish Angiolini as Lord Advocate , the first time a Lord Advocate had served two different governments. Having won the largest number of seats in the general election (47 of 129),
17875-444: The seat of suspended MP Simon Danczuk . On 7 May, Steve Rotheram announced he was standing down as MP for Liverpool Walton following his election as Liverpool City Region mayor , leaving five days to appoint a candidate by close of nominations. The SNP confirmed on 22 April that its 54 sitting MPs would be re-selected and that its suspended members Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson would not be nominated as SNP candidates;
18018-412: The team of special advisers to the first minister. As detailed in the Scotland Act 1998, the First Minister is responsible for recommending to the monarch a nominee for the position of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland . The First Minister is also responsible for advocating whether a Lord Advocate or Solicitor General who is currently in post should be removed, subject to the approval of
18161-522: The vote since 1983 ), whereas the Labour Party made a net gain of 30 seats with 40.0% (its highest vote share since 2001 and its highest increase in vote share between two general elections since 1945 ). It was the first election since 1997 in which the Conservatives made a net loss of seats or Labour a net gain of seats. The election had the closest result between the two major parties since February 1974 and resulted in their highest combined vote share since 1970 . The Scottish National Party (SNP) and
18304-413: The vote, it failed to win a large number of seats. Sillars lost his, causing him to describe the Scottish people as '90-minute patriots'. This comment ended the political friendship between Salmond and Sillars, and Sillars would soon become a vocal critic of Salmond's style of leadership. The SNP increased its number of MPs from four to six in the 1997 general election , which saw a landslide victory for
18447-684: Was a skinny child, often referred to by his father as a "skink", as in Cullen Skink . Salmond was educated at Linlithgow Primary School , before attending Linlithgow Academy from 1966 to 1972. He studied at Edinburgh College of Commerce from 1972 to 1973, gaining an HNC in Business Studies , and was then accepted by the University of St Andrews , where he studied Economics and Medieval History . During his time at St Andrews, Salmond lived in Andrew Melville Hall . He
18590-712: Was elected as vice-president (education) of the students' representative council in 1977 and was also nominated to join St Andrews Community Council that year. Salmond graduated with a 2:2 Joint Honours MA in Economics and Medieval History in May 1978. After graduating in 1978, he entered the Government Economic Service (GES) as an assistant economist in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, part of
18733-433: Was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015 ; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing Conservative Party led by the prime minister Theresa May remained the largest single party in the House of Commons but lost its small overall majority, resulting in the formation of a Conservative minority government with
18876-877: Was just 18 years old when he challenged then Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron in his Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. News coverage showed Aldridge balancing campaigning with revision for his A-level examinations, even missing the start of his end-of-year ball to speak at a hustings in Kendal. Those ministers defeated in 2015 who stood for election in their former seats included Vince Cable in Twickenham , Ed Davey in Kingston and Surbiton , Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire , and Simon Hughes in Bermondsey and Old Southwark . After coming second in
19019-406: Was not an MSP at the time, his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon , took over as Leader of the SNP group and the main opposition leader at Holyrood. Although he was re-elected in the 2005 general election , he made clear his intention to return to the Scottish Parliament at the 2007 Scottish parliamentary election in an attempt to win power for the first time. Salmond led the Scottish National Party through
19162-401: Was passed on 19 April, with 522 votes for and 13 against, a majority of 509. The motion was supported by the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, while the SNP abstained. Nine Labour MPs, one SDLP MP and three independents ( Sylvia Hermon and two former SNP MPs, Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson ) voted against the motion. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supported
19305-422: Was published on 25 February 2010, setting out a two-question yes/no referendum, proposing further devolution or full independence. Opposition parties issued statements claiming that they would not support the draft bill for public consultation on the issue of independence. Following the 2011 Scottish Parliament election , in which the SNP won a majority of seats and forming the first majority Scottish Government in
19448-443: Was published on 26 November 2013. On 19 September 2014, following the results of the independence referendum which confirmed a majority of the Scottish people had voted against independence, Salmond announced that he would be resigning as First Minister in November 2014. On 15 October, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was the only candidate to stand for the leadership , and formally succeeded Salmond as SNP leader following
19591-418: Was re-elected as leader of the SNP in the 2004 leadership contest , after running on a joint ticket with Nicola Sturgeon . She led the SNP at Holyrood until Salmond was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2007 for Gordon (later Aberdeenshire East ). The SNP placed first, ahead of the governing Labour Party in the 2007 election by one seat, with Salmond securing a confidence and supply support from
19734-445: Was reached; the Greens said there was "too much distance" between the parties, Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy was criticised, and the SDLP admitted an agreement was unlikely. On 8 May, the SDLP rejected Sinn Féin's call for them to stand aside in some seats. Prior to the calling of the general election, the Liberal Democrats gained Richmond Park from the Conservatives in a by-election , a seat characterised by its high Remain vote in
19877-480: Was spent on administrative costs, and £42.5 million was spent on campaign costs. Most candidates were representatives of a political party registered with the Electoral Commission . Candidates not belonging to a registered party could use an "independent" label, or no label at all. The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the House of Commons is the person who is called on by
20020-637: Was succeeded by joint leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley in September 2016. Smaller parties that contested the 2015 election and chose not to put forward candidates in 2017 included Mebyon Kernow , the Communist Party of Britain , the Scottish Socialist Party , and the National Front . The Respect Party , which had previously held seats, was dissolved in 2016; its former MP George Galloway stood and lost in
20163-504: Was successful despite only having 47 of 129 seats in the Parliament. The vote was 49–46, with the SNP and Greens voting in favour and the 46 Scottish Labour MSPs voting against, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats abstaining. Salmond reduced the size of the Cabinet from nine members to six, and said he would seek to govern on a "policy by policy" basis. In order to concentrate on his new role as First Minister, Salmond stood down as
20306-608: Was suggested this would help the Conservatives in marginal seats. In Northern Ireland, there were talks between the DUP and UUP . Rather than engaging in a formal pact, the DUP agreed not to contest Fermanagh and South Tyrone , while the UUP chose not to stand in four constituencies. Talks took place between Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party in Northern Ireland about an anti-Brexit agreement (the Alliance Party were approached but declined to be involved) but no agreement
20449-588: Was sworn in on the following day. Following the referendum in 1997 , in which the Scottish electorate gave their consent, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive (later the Scottish Government) were established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Labour government of the prime minister , Tony Blair . Under the Acts of Union 1707 , the former Parliament of Scotland merged with
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