A bill has been passed by the Scottish Parliament which will ensure that there is no clash between the Scottish Parliament election and the UK General Election in 2020.
The Scottish Elections (Dates) Bill, which will now proceed to Royal Assent, addresses the potential issue of the two elections taking place on the same day – 7 May 2020. Both the Scottish and UK Governments agreed that, primarily to avoid voter confusion, the polls should not be scheduled to take place on the same day.
The passing of the Bill should mean that future elections to the Scottish and UK Parliaments will now be appropriately scheduled. The problem has arisen before with the introduction of fixed terms for the UK Parliament. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced provisions for the forthcoming Holyrood election to be moved from May 2015 to May 2016, to avoid a clash with last year’s UK General Election.
Under the Bill, the next term of the Scottish Parliament, which commences following the election on 5 May 2016, will be extended from four years to five years; with the next election scheduled to take place in May 2021. After the UK General Election of May 2015, the current term of the UK Parliament will run for five years, with another election due in May 2020.
However, another consequence of this re-scheduling is the knock-on effect for the Scottish local government election, due to take place in May 2021. To avoid another clash, the Bill provides for this to be moved to May 2022. This will result in a five year local government term, with the Bill providing that this reverts to four years after the 2022 election.
It is worth remembering, that currently, responsibility for the dates and arrangements for Scottish Parliament elections lies with the UK Parliament. The Smith Commission recommended that this power be devolved to Holyrood in the Scotland Bill, which is still going through the legislative process at Westminster. However, both the Scottish and UK Governments recognised that it was crucial for the Scottish electorate to have certainty about the length of the future terms of the Scottish Parliament before the May 2016 election. The UK Government agreed to transfer the power to the Scottish Parliament in advance of the completion of the Scotland Bill.
There has been cross-party support for the Bill, particularly following the recommendation of the Electoral Commission that each of the elections be separated.
In summary, we can expect elections in Scotland on the following dates:
5 May 2016 – Scottish Parliament Election
7 May 2020 – UK Parliament Election
6 May 2021 – Scottish Parliament Election
5 May 2022 – Scottish Local Government Election
