May 2007 will herald many changes in the Scottish political landscape, but the local authority elections will also see a shift in voting system. The traditional First Past the Post (FPTP) method will be replaced by the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system of proportional representation (PR).
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What will it mean for candidates?
Parties have worked out that to minimise the risk of splitting their vote, they should not stand more candidates in any seat than they can realistically expect to have elected. This means that in most three-member wards no party would field more than two candidates and most would field only one. The upshot of this tactical positioning by all the parties is that in May 2007 there will be fewer candidates than in previous elections, and ballot papers in many wards may only have one candidate from each party. This will, according to predictions, will remove vast swathes of Labour councillors from power across the country, and cause several councils to lose their Labour majorities.
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Scottish Local Authority Websites
Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council
Argyll & Bute Council
Clackmannanshire Council
Dumfries & Galloway Council
Dundee City Council
East Ayshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Lothian Council
East Renfrewshire Council
Edinburgh City Council
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Falkirk Council
Fife Council
Glasgow City Council
Highland Council
Inverclyde Council
Midlothian Council
Moray Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Orkney Islands Council
Perth and Kinross Council
Renfrewshire Council
Scottish Borders Council
Shetland Islands Council
South Ayrshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
Stirling Council
West Dunbartonshire Council
West Lothian Council
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