Scottish Politics and the British National Elections

 

On 7 May 2015, Scotland and the rest of the UK will be holding its national elections. The leader of the party with the most members elected to the British Parliaments (referred to as MPs) gets to become Prime Minister (the closest equivalent to our US President.)

For the past 5 years, the Conservatives have held the majority, but only just. This year, there is no clear leader, with seven serious candidates in the mix. Most surprisingly is the large amount of support the SNP (Scottish Nationalist Party) has gotten.  By the time we get to Scotland we may be witnessing a transfer of power from one party to another.
 

The parties are below, with the UK leader and their Scottish counterpart:

 Conservative Party

The British equivalent to the Republican Party, with its conservative, right-center political leanings (although still more liberal than our conservatives). They regained control of the British Parliament in 2010 (which it previously controlled throughout the 1980s and early 1990s). Along with Labour, they are one of the two major UK political parties. Their current leader is David Cameron, who is also the current Prime Minister.

Current Prime Minister David Cameron

While never a huge influence in modern, left-leaning Scotland (their last major victory was 1955), the Scottish Conservative Party's conservative platform of maintaining the United Kingdom has been gaining considerable political ground as of late. Their leader is Ruth Davidson.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson

Labour Party

The UK's Labour Party (which was in control of the UK from the mid-1990s till 2010 with two Prime Ministers: Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, both of whom are Scottish). This is the British equivalent of the Democratic Party (sort of). The party's platform is Social Democracy and leans Center-Left. Their leader (and candidate for PM if they prevail) is Ed Milliband.

Labor candidate Ed Milliband

 

Until recently, the Scottish branch of the Labour Party has historically been the dominant Scottish political party. Their current leader is Jim Murphy

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy

Scottish National Party (SNP) 

Currently, the majority party of Scotland (even though they lost the recent Scottish Independence vote) Their platform is ultimately independence from England and the UK.They have been the driving force behind devolution (the gradual rise of self-governing, such as the return of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 after an absence of 392 years). In line with much of Scotland, their political leanings are center-left and social democracy.  Its leader (in Scotland and elsewhere) is Nicola Sturgeon, who is the current First Minister of Scotland. She recently (and surprisingly) won the UK Debates, according to several polls.

Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon

Liberal Democrats

Currently in power as a coalition with the Conservatives, they are very much the minor partner (they are UK's 3rd largest party), and are looking to lose many (if not most) of their seats this election. They were created in 1988 through a merger of the Social Democratic Part (SDP) and the Liberal Party (the UK's main opponents to the Conservatives until the 1920s). They are a more liberal version of the centrist Labour Party. Their current leader is Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Nick Clegg

The Scottish version of the LibDems are a sort of a left-leaning mix of the devolved politics of the SNP (i.e., more Scottish control) and the social democracy of the Labour Party. Their current leader is Willie Rennie.

Scottish leading LibDem Willie Rennie

UK Independence Party

A relatively new -- and to many observers (including this writer) disturbing -- political party that is gaining popularity in the UK. Formed in 1993 (but only recently gaining traction), their main focus is removal of the UK from the European Union. But this is predicated on an anti-immigrant (many say racist) agenda. The Scottish wing the the UKIP disintegrated a couple of years ago. The vast majority of their (still small, but growing) support is in England. There leader is the outspoken Nigel Farage.

The ever hammy Nigel Farage

 

The Green Party

This party is actually three independent but linked parties (following a split in 1990)  One in Scotland, one in Ireland, and one in England and Wales. Center-left in their leanings, they support pacifism, green (environmental) issues. Their leader and candidate is Natalie Bennett.

Natalie Bennett

The Scottish Green Party has about the same % of support as the Scottish Liberal Democratic Party. Their leader is Patrick Harvie.

Scottish Green leader Patrick Harvie

Plaid Cymru

Formed in 1925, the Party of Wales (like the SNP) argues for an independent Wales. They currently have 3 out of 40 Welsh MP seats. They have about 10% of the Welsh support. Leanne Wood is their leader.

Leanne Wood.

The Debates

This is a new development in the UK, as 2010 was the first election to have televised debates. This year, Milliband and Cameron debated on 26 March with moderator Jeremy Paxman, an infamously tough interviewer). Here's the replay:

This was followed by a debate of the seven main candidates on 2 April. Here's that replay:

Then there will be one on 16 April of five candidates (Labour, UKIP, Plaid Cymru, SNP and Green) and a final one on 30 April with the three main parties (Labour, Conservatives and LibDems).