2011 Scottish Parliament election

2011 Scottish Parliament election

← 2007 5 May 2011 (2011-05-05) 2016 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	Constituency - 50.5% 3.4pp Regional - 50.5% 3.5pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Alex Salmond Iain Gray Annabel Goldie Party SNP Labour Conservative Leader's seat Aberdeenshire East East Lothian West Scotland Last election 47 seats 46 seats 17 seats Seats before 46 44 17 Seats won 69 37 15 Seat change 23* 7* 2* Constituency vote 902,915 630,461 276,652 % and swing 45.4% 12.5% 31.7% 0.5% 13.9% 2.7% Regional vote 876,421 523,469 245,967 % and swing 44.0% 13.0% 26.3% 2.9% 12.4% 1.5%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Tavish Scott Patrick Harvie / Eleanor Scott Party Liberal Democrats Scottish Green Leader's seat Shetland Glasgow / Contested Highlands and Islands Last election 16 seats 2 seats Seats before 17 1 Seats won 5 2 Seat change 12* 1* Constituency vote 157,714 Did not contest % and swing 7.9% 8.2% Did not contest Regional vote 103,472 86,939 % and swing 5.2% 6.1% 4.4% 0.3%
The map shows the election results in single-member constituencies. The additional member MSPs in the 8 regions are shown around the map. * Indicates boundary change - so this is a nominal figure
First Minister before election Alex Salmond SNP First Minister after election Alex Salmond SNP

This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the
Politics of Scotland
The Crown The Monarch Charles III Heir apparent William, Duke of Rothesay Prerogative Royal family Succession Privy Council Union of the Crowns Balmoral Castle Holyrood Palace Scottish republicanism
Executive Scottish Government Yousaf government First Minister The Rt Hon Humza Yousaf MSP Deputy First Minister Shona Robison MSP Cabinet Secretaries Junior Ministers Directorates Scottish budget Taxation Executive agencies Public bodies Bute House St Andrew's House International relations
Legislature Scottish Parliament Sixth session Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP Primary legislation Statutory instrument Committees First Minister's Questions Scotland Act 1998 2012 Act 2016 Act EU Continuity Act 2020
Law and justice Justice Secretary Keith Brown MSP Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC Lord President The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC Scots law Udal law Courts Judiciary Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Police Scotland Scottish Prison Service Advocate General Solicitor General
Elections and referendums Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next United Kingdom Parliament elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 European Parliament elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Local elections 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1977 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 2022 Referendums 1975 1979 1994 1997 2005 2011 2014 2016 Scottish Parliament constituencies Scottish Parliament electoral regions Scottish Westminster constituencies Proposed second independence referendum Electoral system Political parties
Scotland and the United Kingdom United Kingdom Government Sunak ministry Prime Minister The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP Secretary of State for Scotland The Rt Hon Alister Jack MP Scottish devolution Treaty of Union House of Commons House of Lords Scotland Office Scottish Affairs Committee Scottish Grand Committee Interministerial Standing Committee Barnett formula Reserved matters Sewel motion
Administration Council areas History Sheriffdoms Community councils Lieutenancy areas Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Category Scotland portal Other countries
v t e

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional Member System used to elect MSPs was allegedly originally implemented to prevent any party achieving an overall parliamentary majority.^[1] The Scottish National Party (SNP) won a landslide of 69 seats, the most the party has ever held at either a Holyrood or Westminster election, allowing leader Alex Salmond to remain as First Minister of Scotland for a second term. The SNP gained 32 constituencies, twenty two from Scottish Labour, nine from the Scottish Liberal Democrats and one from the Scottish Conservatives. Such was the scale of their gains that, of the 73 constituencies in Scotland, only 20 came to be represented by MSPs of other political parties. Scottish Labour lost seven seats and suffered their worst election defeat in Scotland since 1931, with huge losses in their traditional Central Belt constituencies and for the first time having to rely on the regional lists to elect members within these areas. They did, however, remain the largest opposition party. Party leader Iain Gray announced his resignation following his party's disappointing result. The Scottish Liberal Democrats were soundly defeated; their popular vote share was cut in half and their seat total reduced from 16 to 5. Tavish Scott announced his resignation as party leader shortly after the election.^[2] For Scottish Conservatives, the election proved disappointing as their popular vote dropped slightly and their number of seats fell by 2, with party leader Annabel Goldie also announcing her resignation.^[3]

During the campaign, the four main party leaders engaged in a series of televised debates, as they had in every previous general election. These key debates were held on 29 March (STV), 1 May (BBC), and 3 May (STV). The results of the election were broadcast live on BBC Scotland and STV, on the night of the election.

It was the fourth general election since the devolved parliament was established in 1999 and was held on the same day as elections to the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as English local elections and the UK-wide referendum on the alternative vote.