Holyrood given power to set own election dates

The Scottish Parliament is to be given power to decide when elections for MSPs should be held, the UK Government announced today.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell confirmed that the Scotland Office would take forward an order under s 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 to devolve the power to Holyrood to set an alternative date for the Scottish Parliament election which had been due to take place in 2020.

The Parliament was originally required to sit for a fixed four year term, but when the UK Parliament moved to a fixed term with a general election being held this year, the Scottish Parliament elected in 2011 was empowered to sit for a further year to prevent a clash of elections. However four years on from 2016 there will be a further clash, so Holyrood will now decide for itself how long the 2016 Parliament will last to avoid this.

The UK and Scottish Governments have agreed that voters should be aware of the length of term they will be electing MSPs to in 2016.

Power to set election dates beyond the next Scottish Parliament election will be included in the Scotland Bill. Holyrood will be able to set a date which avoids holding the poll on the same day as UK Parliament, European Parliament or local government elections.

The move is consistent with the Smith Commission’s recommendation that power over Scottish elections should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and the s 30 order has the support of the UK and Scottish Governments, the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer and the leaders of all parties represented at Holyrood.

Mr Mundell said: "This is a sensible move which ensures clarity for voters in Scotland by giving the Scottish Parliament the power to set its own parliamentary terms. It will ensure Holyrood elections take place separately from others in future."