The Constitution Unit Bulletin Issue 23 Monitor June 2003 Rainbow Parliament in Scotland Elections to the Scottish Parliament and National in Glasgow to 53% in West of Scotland. In Wales Assembly for Wales were held on 1 May 2003. In turnout was down by 8% on 1999, and ranged Scotland, the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition from 50% in Ynys Mon to 25% in Alyn and was returned with a majority of three seats. In Deeside. Wales, Labour formed a single-party administration with a majority of one. The turnout in both elections appears to be a reflection of the low stature of the Parliament and Scotland saw a shift towards smaller parties and the Assembly. John Curtice of Strathclyde independents, and away from Labour and the University found that in 2001 66% of Scots SNP on both the first vote, second vote and the believed that the UK government has most total seats. The Greens now have seven seats, influence in Scotland, and only 15% the Scottish the Socialists six, and there are seats for the Parliament. In contrast in 1999, only 39% Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party (SSCUP), thought the UK government would be the most and prominent independents Dennis Canavan, influential body once the Scottish Parliament was Margo MacDonald and Jean Turner. In Wales, up and running. no small parties won seats but they did increase their vote. The Electoral System The use of the additional member electoral In Scotland of the 129 MSPs elected, 26 (20%) system had different effects in Scotland and are new and 51 (40%) are women. In Wales 14 Wales. The additional member system imposes (23%) of AMs are new and 30 (50%) are women. a de facto threshold of 5–6% in each region There are no MSPs or AMs from ethnic minority which means that small parties need to get groups. A total of 408 candidates contested first around 7% of the vote in order to be confident of past the post (FPTP) seats in the Scottish representation. In Scotland both the Scottish elections, an increase of 85 from the 1999 Socialist Party (SSP) and the Greens had election. In Wales, a total of 200 candidates sufficient votes to surmount this hurdle in a contested constituency seats, an increase of one majority of regions, as did Margo Macdonald in on 1999. the Lothians and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party in Central Scotland. None of these Turnout parties would have been elected under first-past- In Scotland, the level of turnout at constituency the-post. The only independents elected in the level ranged from 35% in Glasgow Shettleston, single member districts were Dennis Canavan in to 58% in the Western Isles. In the 1999 Falkirk West and Dr. Jean Turner (a single issue elections, turnout ranged from 41% in Glasgow hospital candidate) in Strathkelvin & Bearsden. Shettleston to 68% in Stirling. In the case of the Yet the electoral system was not wholly regional vote, turnout ranged from a low of 41% responsible for the defection to smaller parties. For example, the SSP’s share of the first vote In this issue: Europe’s New Constitution: One Step Forward for Europe’s Regions p. 2 Parliament p. 3 Devolution p. 5 Civil Service and Government p. 8 Elections and Parties p. 9 Director: Professor Robert Hazell www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit Freedom of Information & Data Protection p. 9 email [email protected] Human Rights p. 10 phone 020 7679 4977 Publications p. 11 fax 020 7679 4978 ISSN 1465–4377 was only half a point less than its share of the incumbency and the ability to foster a ‘personal second vote. It is possible that the success of vote’ of local loyalty. small parties in Scotland was as much a product of the greater willingness to vote for small parties The Nationalist Parties where the election is not perceived as being The big losers in both Scotland and Wales were important. the nationalist parties, the SNP and Plaid Cymru. Both parties ran a sophisticated campaign, Why did the same effect not occur in Wales? targeting key areas and distributing a variety of Here, the most successful of the small parties, election material. The SNP in particular the UK Independence Party and the Greens won attempted to reinvent itself as a pro-business no more than 4.5% in any one region. This was party, playing down its desire for an independent well below the effective threshold of 8% needed Scotland. However, both parties had vague to secure representation. The problem was that manifesto commitments which differed little from although small parties in Wales received 11% of those of other parties. Voters may have been put the list vote in total, their vote was not off by this and turned to other parties as more concentrated enough in any one region to win a credible alternatives. But in the Hansard seat. If Wales had used a national list rather than Society’s Mock Elections to the Scottish its 5 regional lists small parties and independents Parliament, in which 526 schools took part, the would have won 2–3 seats. One Independent SNP came first and Labour came fourth, after the candidate, John Marek secured a constituency Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Socialists. seat in Wrexham while his party list polled 6.3% on the North Wales list. Marek was a Labour Full election results can be found on our website incumbent and Deputy Presiding Officer who had at www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/update/ been deselected by his constituency party. His 2003_results.htm. success emphasizes the advantage of (Simon King, [email protected]) Europe’s New Constitution: One Step Forward for Europe’s Regions The Convention on the Future of Europe’s The draft Constitution seeks to strengthen the draft Constitution attracted much publicity role of national Parliaments in the Union’s when it appeared in late May. Predictably, legislative process. It creates new procedures much of the fuss concerned whether it to improve the flow of information from the EU increased control from Brussels and whether to member states’ parliaments, whenever one the UK should hold a referendum. But the draft of the EU institutions issues a formal paper or also has implications for sub-national legislative proposals. And national parliaments governments. One relates to subsidiarity: the should involve sub-national parliaments’ views new subsidiarity provisions recognise the role in their deliberations, where appropriate. of sub-national governments as well as the member states. A second relates to the The likely impact on the devolved institutions Committee of the Regions, established by the in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland will be Maastricht treaty and widely regarded as a modest. The regions with legislative powers disappointment. The Constitution provides for failed to secure direct recognition of their role this to advise not only the Council but also the in the draft. But if implemented these Parliament and the Commission. It will be also provisions would create some new safeguards able to go the European Court where it for the interests of regional or sub-national considers the Union legislation does not governments. Those will be particularly comply with the principle of subsidiarity. A third important in member states where (unlike the aspect is the creation of a new obligation for UK) the national government pays little heed to the Commission to take regional and local its regions when EU matters arise. interests into account in consultations on The draft constitution can be found at: proposed EU legislation. european-convention.eu.int/ bienvenue.asp?lang=EN. 2 Monitor: Issue 23—June 2003 ISSN 1465–4377 Parliament were 81 candidates in all, with 37 of those Joint Committee on Lords reform receiving no first preference votes at all. Direct issues ultimatum canvassing was prohibited, and the turnout On 9 May 2003 the Joint Committee on House was 64% of those peers eligible to vote. of Lords Reform issued its first report (HL97/ HC668) since the two chambers voted Two new appointed peers were announced by inconclusively on its composition options in the Prime Minister in May, once again February 2003. It was evident from this that bypassing the Appointments Commission the cracks in the Committee are beginning to whose role it is to appoint crossbench peers. show. These were Lord Cullen, Lord Justice-General and Lord President of the Court of Session in The report demands a reply from the Scotland and Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, the Government within two months, giving an former Chief of Defence Staff. indication of what (if any) direction the Committee’s future work should take. In the Following her resignation from the cabinet, absence of agreement on the main issue of Clare Short was replaced as Secretary of State composition, it sets out a number of areas that for International Development by Baroness could be subject to future investigation, Amos. This appointment bucked another including the size of the House, the modern convention: no cabinet since 1985 has appointments process, the continued contained more than two ministers from the membership of the Bishops and hereditary Lords (Lord Chancellor and Leader of the peers in the chamber, and the possibilities of House). No Labour government has done so indirect election. However, the collective since 1968. attitude of the Committee to carrying out this work was clearly ambivalent. Although the A new type of Leader for the report was published unanimously there had House of Commons been many divisions, and nine of the The resignation of Robin Cook left a vacuum at committee’s 24 members issued a the heart of the Commons with no replacement supplementary joint statement on the day of appointed for some weeks.