The Scottish Parliament elections took place on 7th May, the ballots have been counted and 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) have been elected (or newly re-elected) - so what happens next?
MSPs get to work
This week MSPs (members of the Scottish Parliament) will start their new roles. On Thursday, 14th May, they will make their required ‘oath of allegiance’ or ‘solemn affirmation’.
After this, MSPs will vote to elect a new Presiding Officer. Similar to the UK Parliament’s ‘Speaker of the House’, the Presiding Officer will ensure that debates run according to the Scottish Parliament’s rules.
The First Minister is Elected
The next major step for the new Scottish Parliament will be to elect the First Minister. This must take place within 28 days of the election, but usually happens much quicker than that.
The new First Minister is elected by a vote of the Scottish Parliament. Any MSP can stand, but in practice, the leader of the largest party is the most likely to be chosen.
This means the current First Minister, John Swinney, is likely to be re-elected as his party, the SNP, has the most MSPs.
The Government is formed
After the First Minister is selected, they will go on to form a new Scottish Government.
This will involve forming a new cabinet, which is the main decision-making body of the Scottish Government.
The cabinet is made up of the First Minister and Cabinet Secretaries, who are in charge of specific policy areas - they are often supported by Ministers.
For example, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is supported by the Minister for Higher and Further Education in making decisions about colleges and universities.
What does the Scottish Parliament decide?
The Scottish Parliament has powers to legislate (make laws) on many issues, including:
- education - including colleges & universities
- the environment
- housing
- transport
- (some) equality law
- the NHS
- (some) taxes
As well as many other issues.
What the parliament and government decide affects you, which is why it’s important to be involved.
How to contact your MSPs
If there is a political issue you care about or you need assistance with an issue that the Scottish Parliament deals with, you can contact your MSPs.
You have 1 Constituency MSP, who represents your local area, and 7 Regional MSPs, who represent a wider area of Scotland.
To find your MSPs and their email address or other contact details, you can enter your postcode on the Scottish Parliament’s website here:
www.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps/find-your-msp
