System of government: as of July 1st, Scotland has four layers of government. As a member of the EU with the rest of Britain, Scotland is subject to European Law. As a member of Britain her sovereign government is in Westminster. A devolved parliament, called Holyrood by virtue of its location in Edinburgh, deals with devolved matters. Local authorities provide local services.
Europe: Scotland returns MEPs elected by a list system whereby voters cast a single ballot for a party list or independent candidate. Labour won 28.86 per cent of the vote, the SNP 27.17 per cent, the Conservatives 19.7 per cent and the Liberal Democrats 9.8 per cent. Labour returned three MEPs, the SNP and Conservatives two each and the Liberal Democrats one.
Westminster: Scotland elects 72 MPs, one per constituency, by a first-past-the-post system. The election of May 1st, 1997 returned 56 Labour MPs, six SNP MPs, 10 Liberal Democrats and no Conservatives. The Secretary of State for Scotland is John Reid who runs the Scotland Office in London and Edinburgh and sits on the British cabinet.
Holyrood: The devolved parliament was founded by the 1998 Scotland Act, elections were held on May 6th, 1999 and the parliament was officially opened and acquired its powers on July 1st. It is the first parliament to sit in Edinburgh since the dissolution of the old Scots parliament under the 1707 Act of Union, which passed power to Westminster.
A form of proportional representation elects 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Seventy three are drawn from constituencies (one more than in Westminster elections) by a first-past-the-post system. Constituencies are also grouped in eight regions, for which there is a separate list vote. Every constituency won reduces a party's chance of gaining extra members from the lists. This is designed to provide a fairer reflection of the nation's political preference.
Constituency and List MSPs have equal rights within the parliament. Labour won a total of 56 MSPs, the SNP 35, the Conservatives 18 and the Liberal Democrats 16 with one MSP each for the Green Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and an independent.
Local Authorities: There are 32 local authorities, each elected by first-past-the-post.
The structure of devolved government: Holyrood is governed by a coalition of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. There are 10 ministers who form the cabinet, known as the Scottish Executive. A civil service based in Edinburgh serves them. The Executive has a budget of £14.5 billion sterling, known as the Scottish Bloc, which is allocated by the British Treasury and represents a percentage share of government spending in England and Wales.
The Parliament has powers over education, health, law, environment, economic development, local government, housing, police, fire, planning, tourism, some transport, arts, sports, agriculture, fisheries and food standards. The powers reserved for Westminster govern the macro-economy, foreign affairs, defence and social security. Holyrood has the power to vary the basic rate of income tax by 3p in the pound. The current administration has not exercised this right.
The parliament has plenary sessions and eight committees that can scrutinise and initiate legislation. The committees are separate from the Executive and are seen as powerful bodies acting as a check on the Executive.
