Success in Scotland

Future local elections in Scotland will use the proportional Single Transferable Vote system. The Scottish Parliament’s decision, on 23 June 2004, in favour of STV is a huge success for Fairshare, the cross-party group which, with backing from the Electoral Reform Society, and participation of LCER Scotland, has campaigned for a fairer voting system for Scottish local politics.

“This is a great day for local democracy”, said Councillor Andrew Burns, LCER member and Chair of Fairshare. “STV will give us councils that are properly representative of the communities they are elected to serve. With STV, parties and other groups will now win seats broadly in line with their local support”. “But STV will do more than that”, he added. “STV will give real choice to the electors and restore power to the voters. Most voters will have a councillor they helped to elect, a councillor who will be accountable to them. That will, indeed, renew local democracy.”

Although the final vote was overwhelmingly in favour of reform – by 96 votes to 18 with only 2 abstentions – there has been fierce resistance to change, particularly in some of the areas of Scotland where Labour councils have enjoyed unfettered power. LCER members in Scotland have therefore had a particularly important role in putting the democratic case reform – and pointing out that there are parts of Scotland where Labour is likely to benefit from proportionality!

The first elections under STV will not be until 2007, but between now and then there is much to be done in drawing boundaries for the 3- and 4-member STV wards (Scottish local government only has single-member wards at present), in training the staff who must conduct the elections and in making voters aware of the new system. There will also be work to be done within the Party in making sure activists know how the system works and its implications for campaigning – another job for LCER Scotland?