Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball PÃ rlamaid 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
additional member system produces a form of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, where each constituency has its own representative, and each region has seats given to political parties to reflect as closely as possible its level of support among voters.
Each registered voter is asked to cast 2 votes, resulting in MSPs being elected in one of two ways:
* 73 are elected as
First past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
constituency MSPs and;
* 56 are elected as
Regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
additional member MSPs. Seven are elected from each of eight regional groups of
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
.
Types of candidates
With the additional members system, there are 3 ways in which a person can stand to be a MSP:
* a constituency candidate
* a candidate named on a party list at the regional election
* an individual candidate at the regional election
A candidate may stand both in a constituency and on a regional list. Constituency seats are decided first. Candidates who succeed in being elected to a constituency seat will then have their name removed from the regional list process.
Elections
All MSP positions become simultaneously vacant for
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...
held on a five-year cycle. The
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...
as amended by the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that for the first time set in legislation a default fixed election date for a general election to the Westminster parliament. Since the repeal ...
sets out that ordinary general elections for the Scottish Parliament are held on the first Thursday in May, every five years.
If a
vacancy arises at another time, due to death or resignation, then it may be filled in one of two ways, depending on whether the
vacancy is for a
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
constituency MSP or for an additional-member MSP.
A constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election. An additional-member vacancy may be filled by the next available candidate on the relevant party list. In case there is no next available person, then the vacancy will remain. This situation occurred in April 2014 following the death of
Margo MacDonald
Margo Symington MacDonald (''née'' Aitken; 19 April 1943 – 4 April 2014) was a Scottish people, Scottish politician, teacher and Television presenter, broadcaster. She was the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (United Kingdo ...
, independent MSP for the Lothian region.
Title
An MSP is known as ''Name'' MSP (''Name'' BPA in Gaelic). For instance,
Mike Russell can be entitled either Mike Russell MSP or Mìcheal Ruiseal BPA.
See also
*
Commissioner (Scottish Parliament)
A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other c ...
for the historic representatives of the pre-1707 Estates of Parliament
*
1st Scottish Parliament
This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the first Scottish Parliament at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. Of the 129 members, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight ...
*
2nd Scottish Parliament
This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the second Scottish Parliament at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election. Of the 129 members, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight ...
*
3rd Scottish Parliament
This is a list of Member of the Scottish Parliament, members (MSPs) returned to the third Scottish Parliament at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. Of the 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, MSPs, 73 were elected from first past the post ...
*
4th Scottish Parliament
This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the fourth Scottish Parliament at the 2011 general election. Of the 129 MSPs, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight regions, ...
*
5th Scottish Parliament
This is a list of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were returned to the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament. Of the 129 MSPs returned at the 2016 general election, 73 were returned from first past the post constituencies with a ...
*
6th Scottish Parliament
The 6th Scottish Parliament was elected at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. It was opened with the Escort to the Crown of Scotland Parade and Speech from the Throne on 2 October 2021.
Composition
Government parties denoted with bullets (â ...
*
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
The Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood), created by the Scotland Act 1998, has used a system of constituencies and electoral regions since the first general election in 1999.
The parliament has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of th ...
*
MSPs' Salaries, Expenses and Allowances
*
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
*
Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)
*
Member of the Senedd
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Member Of The Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament