Parliament News
issue 9 / july 2001
Institute of Governance > Parliament News, issue 9 / july 2001 |
|
Parliament Newsissue 9 / july 2001 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EventsBY-ELECTIONSTwo by-elections for Holyrood seats were held on the same day as the General Election on 7 June. Alex Salmond had resigned his seat as MSP for Banff and Buchan in order to concentrate on his Westminster MP post. Sam Galbraith had resigned his seat as MSP and MP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden for health reasons. Brian Fitzpatrick, Labour, won the Strathkelvin and Bearsden seat and Stewart Stevenson, SNP, won the Banff and Buchanan seat. The results were:
THE GENERAL ELECTION IN SCOTLANDAt the UK general election held on the same day, the Labour Party won a majority of 165 seats in the House of Commons. The results were:
In Scotland there was little change in the distribution of seats with only one seat changing hands from the SNP to the Conservatives. The results in Scotland were as follows:
Peter Duncan gained the Conservative Party its only Westminster seat in Scotland in Galloway and Upper Nithsdale. At the 1997 General Election this seat was won by the SNP. MSPs who also held seats as MPs did not stand for re-election to their Westminster seats, apart from Alex Salmond, SNP, who resigned his seat as MSP and was replaced by Stewart Stevenson at the by-election. Phil Gallie, Conservative, was unsuccessful in his bid to become MP for the Ayr constituency. He retains his position as an MSP in the Scottish Parliament elected through the Conservative party list.
THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTOn 8 June the Scottish Parliament announced an 'Open Day' for the public. This was held on June 30 to mark the Parliament's second anniversary and was well attended. On 14 June, on the second day of his state visit to Scotland, President Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa gave a speech to the Scottish Parliament where he received a lengthy standing ovation. On 19 June Mr Alan Ezzi, Project Director of the new parliament building Holyrood Project, resigned after seven months in the post. Sarah Davidson, a civil servant, was appointed as his replacement. Two days later the Scottish Parliament approved an increase in the funding available for the Holyrood Project with members voting 75 to 33 to waive the £195 million limit which had been set last year. On 20 June Bertie Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister, visited Scotland to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Carfin grotto memorial to the Irish people who came to Scotland after the potato famine. Mr Ahern's visit had originally been planned for February but was cancelled when Motherwell and Wishaw, Labour MP, Frank Roy, advised that it might cause sectarian violence due to the fact that a Rangers-Celtic football match was being held on the same day. Before travelling to the unveiling ceremony Mr Ahern addressed the Scottish Parliament where he received a standing ovation. On 21 June Angus MacKay, the Finance and Local Government Minister, announced in Parliament that 52 quangos (non departmental public bodies) were to be abolished. Amongst those to be axed are Scotland's three water boards which will be merged into a single water authority for the whole of Scotland, and 43 of the National Health Service Trusts will be replaced by 15 new unified NHS boards. A further 61 quangos are to be reviewed. On June 26 John Swinney, SNP leader, announced a reshuffle of his shadow Holyrood cabinet:
Other spokespersons in John Swinney's Westminster team include:
On 28 June Angus MacKay, the Finance and Local Government Minister, announced the spending plans of the Scottish Executive. A total budget of £489 million is available for allocation (£200 in new money from the UK budget announcement plus a further £289 resulting from realignment of existing expenditure). Health and Education were given priority. £286 million of the total is to be allocated to Health, £200 of which is to be used to fund the various recommendations for implementing free personal care for the elderly (work on which is to be begin in April 2002). Education will be allocated £146 million of the £489 million budget, with part of the money going towards meeting the costs of the teachers' pay settlement in 2003-4. The Minister also announced a £10 million post foot-and-mouth disease recovery package to help both the farming and tourism industries. Opinion PollsThe Herald newspaper monthly polls show that the Westminster standing of Tories has fallen two points to 11% while that of the LibDems has increased by one point to 12%. On the first vote for Holyrood constituencies the Tories are static on 10% with the LibDems up two to 14% and, on the second vote, the Tories slide three points to 8%, while the LibDems are up 3 points to 18%, their highest since the start of the Scottish Parliament. The SNP is down two points for Westminster to 24% and down four points on the first Holyrood vote to 31% but the second vote, although down two to 32%, is one point ahead of Labour on the same question this month. Labour is up three points on its Westminster standing to 50% and up one per cent on the first Holyrood vote to 40% and up one per cent on the second vote to 31%. Both the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Greens have become permanent features with both standing on 4% on the second Holyrood vote. BillsOn 26 June Nicola Sturgeon, SNP, lodged a proposal for a private member's bill for a ban on tobacco advertising. This follows the omission of tobacco advertising from the Queen's Speech the previous week, indicating that the relevant legislation had been deferred. The Labour Government had introduced a Bill banning tobacco advertising in the House of Commons in December 2000, which the Scottish Parliament had unanimously agreed should apply in Scotland. The Bill had, however, fallen as a result of the general election. On 28 June the Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Bill was introduced in Parliament. The bill will prevent the accused in rape and other sexual offence cases from personally cross-examining the complainer and will strengthen existing provisions restricting evidence regarding the sexual history of the victim. From the end of June until September 3 the Parliament will be in summer recess. Committee ReportsOn 1 June the Standards Committee published a consultation paper on its intention to introduce the UK's first statutory registration scheme for commercial lobby companies. The paper offers the chance for those affected by the scheme and other interested parties to put forward their views on how the new system should be operated.
Research opportunitiesThe Scottish Parliament has a budget for commissioning research for Parliamentary committees and holds a database for researchers interested in tendering for committee research. Anyone wishing to be included in the database should complete the on-line form on the Parliament website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/whats_happening/news-00/pa00-039.htm PublicationsScottish Executive publications can be accessed on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/recent.asp Some of those published in the last month include: Voluntary Issues Unit Information Leaflet: publication offering information, advice and assistance. 6.6.01 Scottish Local Government's Self-Review of its Political Management Structures - Report of the Leadership Advisory Panel. 12.6.01 Early Education and Childcare - Draft National Care Standards - A Consultation Paper: services for children and young people up to the age of 16 years which fall to be regulated under the Regulation of Care Bill. 12.6.01 Report of the Scottish Youth Summit 200: detailing an event where young people from across Scotland and from a variety of backgrounds discussed matters of importance to them and made their views known to Ministers. 13.6.01 Scottish Household Survey Bulletin No 6: part of a continuous survey considering the differences and similarities between adults and households living in different geographical areas and area types. Scottish Agriculture: A guide to Grants and Services: details of a business scheme for farmers/crofters and their immediate families. 18.6.01 Public Bodies: Proposals for Change: review of the current 180 or so public bodies. 21.6.01 The Role of the Private Sector in Social Inclusion Partnerships: study examining private sector interventions to promote social inclusion. 22.6.01 Summary Results of The September 2000 School Census: results from primary, secondary and special schools. 25.6.01 United Kingdom Employment Action Plan 2001: plan summarising progress made by the UK since the start of the Luxembourg process in 1991. 26.6.01. A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture: strategy setting out where the Steering Group believes the industry should be going and how it can get there. 26.6.01 Scottish Economic Report: fourth edition of the report incorporating a review of the progress and prospects for the Scottish Economy. 28.06.01
Parliament News will resume in September when the Parliament reconvenes.
The Governance of Scotland Forum held three conferences in June, two covering the General Election in Scotland and the other reporting the results of the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey. Further information on these events can be obtained from Lindsay Adams.
Links to other issues of Parliament NewsContactShould you have any comments or enquiries please do not hesitate to contact Margaret MacPherson at the Institute of Governance. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Online Articles & Papers |
Scottish
Affairs journal |
CONSULTANCY at the Institute |
home | news & events | about | consultancy & research | publications | parliament news | online articles & papers | internship programme | site map | search | contact |
|
|
Institute of Governance |
|
Institute of Governance |
|
This page last updated 29 May 2004. |
|
back
to top