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First Sturgeon Government
Nicola Sturgeon formed the first Sturgeon government on 20 November 2014, following the resignation of previous SNP First Minister, Alex Salmond. Sturgeon, who had been Deputy First Minister under Salmond, was elected to succeed him by the SNP majority in the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2014, before being officially sworn in in front of senior judges at the Court of Session the next day. Sturgeon's cabinet dissolved on 18 May 2016 following the 2016 election to the 5th Scottish parliament, which saw Sturgeon returning to office and forming a second government. History Following the defeat of the campaign for Scottish independence in a 2014 referendum, then First Minister Alex Salmond, who had arranged the referendum, announced that he would resign as Scottish National Party leader and first minister after a new leader was chosen. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took the leadership unopposed at the SNP's annual conference on 14 November 2014. This also ef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in the capital city, Edinburgh. It has been described as one of the most powerful devolved governments globally, with full legislative control over a number of areas, including education, healthcare, justice and the legal system, rural affairs, housing, the crown estate, the environment, emergency services, equal opportunities, public transport, and tax, amongst others. Ministers are appointed by the first minister with the approval of the Scottish Parliament and the monarch from among the members of the Parliament. The Scotland Act 1998 makes provision for ministers and junior ministers, referred to by the current administration as Cabinet secretaries and ministers, in addition to two law officers: the lord advocate and the solicito ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2016 Scottish Parliament Election
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth Next Scottish Parliament election, election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote, under the provisions of the Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act (the voting age had previously been 16 in the 2014 Independence Referendum). It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women. Parliament went into dissolution on 24 March 2016, allowing the official period of campaigning to get underway. Five parties had MSPs in the previous parliament: Scottish National Party (SNP) led by First Minister of Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour led by Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson, Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Willie Rennie, Scottish Greens, led by their c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2014 Scottish National Party Leadership Election
The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland, following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP. In the previous election, held ten years prior in 2004, Salmond was elected, on a joint ticket with Sturgeon as depute, to succeed John Swinney after he resigned following poor SNP electoral performances. Salmond led the party through the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, with the SNP emerging as the largest party and forming a minority government, with the support of the Scottish Greens. The SNP won an overwhelming majority in the 2011 election. Salmond's new majority administration pushed for its manifesto commitment of holding a referendum on Scottish independence. In the 2014 referendum, a majority of Scots voted in favour of remaining part of the Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the January 1910 general election, which was held before the introduction of universal suffrage. The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 set out the arrangements for the referendum and was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013, following an Edinburgh Agreement (2012), agreement between the devolved Scottish government and the Government of the United Kingdom. The independence proposal required a simple majority to pass. All European Union (EU) or Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth citizens residing in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yes Scotland
Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a ''Yes'' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 25 May 2012 and dissolved in late 2014 after Scotland voted against independence. Yes Scotland's chief executive was Blair Jenkins, and Dennis Canavan was the chair of its advisory board. Stephen Noon, a long term employee and policy writer of the SNP, was Yes Scotland's chief strategist. Its principal opponent in the independence campaign was the unionist Better Together campaign. By the formal start of the referendum campaign period in May 2014, it had become the "biggest grassroots movement in Scottish political history", said Jenkins. The campaign did not win independence, but "transformed politics in Scotland", suggested '' The Herald''. History Establishment Yes Scotland was launched in Edinburgh on 25 May 2012. The launch featured actors Alan Cumming and Brian Cox. A few days afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5th Scottish Parliament
This is a list of members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were returned to the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament. Of the 129 MSPs returned at the 2016 general election, 73 were returned from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members returned from eight regions, each electing seven MSPs as a form of mixed member proportional representation. Parliament reconvened on 12 May 2016 with the swearing-in of MSPs and the election of the presiding officer and two deputy presiding officers. Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the fifth session on 2 July 2016. Composition Government parties denoted with bullets (•) Graphical representation These are graphical representations of the Scottish Parliament showing a comparison of party strengths as it was directly after the 2016 general election and its composition at dissolution: *Note this is not the official seating plan of the Scottish Parliament. List of MSPs This is a list of MSPs. The ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Of Session
The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with other royal, state and church courts but as those were disbanded, the role of the Court of Session ascended. The Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union which established the Kingdom of Great Britain on 1 May 1707 provided that the court will "remain in all time coming" as part of Scotland's separate Scots law, legal system. Cases at trial court, first instance are heard in the Outer House by a single judge. The Inner House hears appeals from the Outer House and all other courts and tribunals in Scotland. Only Scottish advocates and solicitor-advocates may argue cases before the court. The Court of Session has sat at Parliament House, Edinburgh, Parliament House since 1707. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the Principal Clerk of Session ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. It is a democratically elected body and its role is to scrutinise the Scottish Government and legislate on devolved matters that are not Devolved, reserved and excepted matters, reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament comprises 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected for five-year terms under the regionalised form of Additional-member system (MMP): 73 MSPs represent individual geographical Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions, constituencies elected by the Plurality voting system, plurality (first-past-the-post) system, while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight Additional-member system, additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-lis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Scottish National Party (Scottish National Party, SNP) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of the Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024. A graduate of the University of St Andrews, he worked as an economist in the Scottish Office, and later, the Royal Bank of Scotland. He was elected to the British House of Commons in 1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987, serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Banff and Buchan (UK Parliament constituency), Banff and Buchan from 1987 to 2010. In 1990, he successfully defeated Margaret Ewing in the 1990 Scottish National Party leadership election, SNP leadership contest. Salmond led the party through the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Minister Of Scotland
The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is the keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, keeper of the Great Seal, one of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom)#Scotland, great officers of state in Scotland. The first minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development, and presentation of the Scottish Government's policies. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad, as part of the Scottish Government's approach to International relations of Scotland, international relations. The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament by Member of the Scottish Parliament, members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and is formally appointed by the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Budget
The Scottish Government budget is an annual Act of the Scottish Parliament, giving statutory authority to the Scottish Government for its revenue and expenditure plans. For the financial year 2024/25 the budget was approximately £59.7 billion. The Scottish Government Budget Bill is presented to Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance. The current Cabinet Secretary for Finance is Shona Robison who was appointed to the role in March 2023. Purpose The Scottish Government is ultimately accountable to the members of the Scottish Parliament and to the Scottish public for its use of public money and how its spending is allocated. The Scottish Government allocates funding for areas which include schools, hospitals, policing, certain social security benefits, the economy, climate change and the environment, amongst others, from the Scottish budget. The Scottish budget is primarily funded via the Scottish block grant as well as revenue from devolved taxes. An agreement betwee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
