Party of Government
The Scottish National Party was victorious in the 2007 Parliamentary election. The party emerged as the largest with 47 seats, narrowly defeating the incumbent Scottish Labour Party with 46 seats. The Conservatives won 17 seats, the Lib Dems 16 seats, the Greens 2 seats and the Independent - Margo MacDonald won re-election. On 16 May 2007 Alex Salmond was elected First Minister by Parliament and sworn in the next day at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The SNP went on to win the 2008 Glasgow East by-election and the largest share of the popular vote in the 2009 European election in Scotland. The 2010 Westminster election proved disappointing as the party only held their six seats and marginally increased their share of the popular vote.
The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to elect MSPs and was originally implemented to prevent single party governments as well as produce proportional results in Scotland. The SNP won 69 seats; a result that made all opposition party leaders feel the need to resign their positions.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Scottish National Party
Famous quotes containing the words party and/or government:
“The real grounds of difference upon important political questions no longer correspond with party lines.... Politics is no longer the topic of this country. Its important questions are settled... Great minds hereafter are to be employed on other matters.... Government no longer has its ancient importance.... The people’s progress, progress of every sort, no longer depends on government. But enough of politics. Henceforth I am out more than ever.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of government is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)