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Electoral Reform and Party Adaptation: The Introduction of the Single Transferable Vote in Scotland
Author(s) -
CLARK ALISTAIR,
BENNIE LYNN
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-923x.2008.00925.x
Subject(s) - parliament , political science , coalition government , politics , electoral system , general election , adaptation (eye) , element (criminal law) , government (linguistics) , public administration , political economy , primary election , multi party system , single non transferable vote , mainland , law , sociology , history , democracy , linguistics , philosophy , physics , optics , archaeology
The 2007 Scottish Local Government Elections saw the first large scale use of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) in a mainland election in Britain. This presented a range of challenges for Scotland's political parties, more familiar with campaigning under first‐past‐the‐post or the Scottish parliament's semi‐proportional Additional Member System (AMS). Most crucially, STV meant the parties had to come to terms with multi‐member wards and the transferral of votes between parties. Following a short discussion of the results of the STV elections, this article assesses evidence on how the parties adapted to the new electoral system, focussing particularly on candidate and campaign strategies. The article argues that Scotland's parties showed some, but limited, signs of adapting to new electoral conditions. Rather than strategic adjustment, an element of ‘hoping for the best’ was evident in all parties.