The 2008 Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election was an election to choose a new leader of the
Liberal Democrats in
Scotland, triggered following the resignation of
Nicol Stephen for personal reasons. Deputy leader
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
(
MP for
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) took over as interim party leader, and the timetable for the election was agreed on 5 July 2008: Nominations closed on 24 July 2008, the return of the ballot papers was set for 26 August 2008 and the declaration of results occurred on the same date. The last leadership election was held in 2005 after the resignation of
Jim Wallace, when Stephen defeated Mike Rumbles.
Candidates
Successfully nominated candidates
The following
MSPs
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The ad ...
gained the required one nomination from a fellow MSP, and were therefore candidates for the leadership:
*
Mike Rumbles -
MSP for
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
*
Tavish Scott - MSP for
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
and former transport minister
*
Ross Finnie
James Ross Finnie (born 11 February 1947) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and a former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). He is a former Minister for the Environment and Rural Development in the Scottish Executive, and Member ...
MSP for
West of Scotland regional list and former environment minister
Suggested candidates
*
Jeremy Purvis
Jeremy Purvis, Baron Purvis of Tweed (born 15 January 1974) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale from 2003 to 2011. In August 2013 it was announced ...
- MSP for
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, had also been considered to be a possible contender, but he declined to run after Scott and Finnie announced their candidacies.
BBC News , Purvis out of Lib Dem leader race
/ref>
Result
The result of the leadership election was announced on 26 August 2008; turnout was 61%.
References
{{Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election
2000s elections in Scotland
Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Scottish Liberal Democrats leadership election