Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Background
By James Cook, editor of BBC Scotland
The poll in the local elections takes place during the week of key political anniversaries.
It’s been a quarter of a century since Tony Blair jumped on Downing Street after the first convincing election victory for the New Labor Party.
And it’s been 15 years since the Scottish National Party upset the Labor apple cart by taking over Hollywood.
Looking back, what is striking is the extremely short difference – historically – between these two events, proof of how quickly Scotland’s political landscape has changed at the turn of the century.
The defining event of this era, of course, was the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament, which was suspended in 1707 with the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
But another, much lower profile, reform has also played a role.
In 2003, the cost of the Liberal Democrats forming a coalition with Jack McConnell’s Labor Party in Holyrood was a change in the voting system used for local government, from a system for the first time to that of proportional representation.
Read more about this story here.
Add Comment