Revolution or Evolution? The 2007 Scottish Elections

by John Curtice, David McCrone, Nicola Mcewen

The Scottish parliamentary and local elections of 2007 were significant for two key reasons: the SNP was brought to power for the first time in its history, posing a fundamental challenge to the 300-year Scottish-English Union; and the local elections used the Single Transferable Vote - the first time such an electoral system has been used in Great Britain since 1945.This book explores the significance of these two developments, asking whether they herald a revolutionary break with the past or simply mark a continuing evolution of existing patterns of Scottish politics. It uses a unique source of evidence - representative high quality annual sample surveys of the Scottish public that since 1999 have regularly measured how people in Scotland have reacted to devolution and how they have behaved in elections.Readers will gain an unparalleled insight into the identities, attitudes and electoral behaviour of people in Scotland during the first decade of devolution.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sir John Kevin Curtice is a British political scientist and professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research. He is frequently in demand during election times in the UK and helped to develop the exit poll for use in general elections.