2010 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

==Contesting parties==

==Contesting parties==

Since 2005, the [[Scottish National Party]] had come first in the [[2007 Scottish Parliament election]] as well as the [[2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|2009 European election]]. They had also won the [[2008 Glasgow East by-election|Glasgow East by-election]] in 2008, which was one of the safest [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] seats in the UK. This boosted the party's confidence and the party's leader [[Alex Salmond]] set the ambitious target of 20 seats in the general election. Salmond himself was standing down as an MP because he wanted to focus more on his job as [[First Minister of Scotland]]. In the election, the party only increased their share of the vote by 2.3% and had their number of seats reduced to six after being overwhelmingly defeated in the [[Glasgow East]] constituency.

Since the 2005 general election, the [[Scottish National Party]] had won the [[2007 Scottish Parliament election]] as well as the [[2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|2009 European election]]. They had also won the [[2008 Glasgow East by-election|Glasgow East by-election]] in 2008, which was previously one of the safest [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] seats in the UK. This boosted the party's confidence and the party's leader [[Alex Salmond]] set the ambitious target of 20 seats at the general election. Salmond himself was standing down as an MP because he wanted to focus more on his role as [[First Minister of Scotland]]. At the election, the party only increased their share of the vote by 2.3% and had their number of seats reduced to six after losing [[Glasgow East]] to Labour.

The [[Scottish Labour Party]] had held the majority of seats in Scotland in every general election since 1959, and many prominent government officials were representing Scottish constituencies, such as the Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]] and the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer|Chancellor]] [[Alistair Darling]]. In the election, the Labour Party in Scotland increased its share of the vote by 2.5% and regained the Glasgow East and Dunfermline and West Fife constituencies after having lost them in by-elections over the course of the preceding term, giving them 41 out of 59 seats in Scotland.

The [[Scottish Labour Party]] had held the majority of seats in Scotland at every general election since 1959, and many prominent government officials were representing Scottish constituencies, such as the Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]] and the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer|Chancellor]] [[Alistair Darling]]. At the election, the Labour Party in Scotland increased its share of the vote by 2.5% and regained the Glasgow East and Dunfermline and West Fife constituencies after having lost them at by-elections over the course of the preceding term, giving them 41 out of 59 seats in Scotland.

The [[Scottish Conservative Party]] had not held the majority of Scottish seats in a general election since [[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955]] and it lost all eleven of its seats in the election of [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]. Since 2001, the party had only held one Westminster seat in Scotland. In 2005, following the re-organisation of Scottish constituencies, that seat was [[Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale]], a mostly rural constituency near the Scottish borders. However, the party had 11 target seats within Scotland for the election and party officials such as [[William Hague]] had predicted a 'Tory breakthrough' for Scotland.{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/public-accounts/2010/04/160-election-scottish-scotland|title=William Hague predicts Tory election "breakthrough" in Scotland|website=www.newstatesman.com|date=8 April 2010 }} Following the election, the Conservative vote in Scotland increased by roughly 1% but with only the 1 seat being retained.

The [[Scottish Conservative Party]] had not held the majority of Scottish seats in a general election since [[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955]] and it lost all eleven of its seats in the election of [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]. Since 2001, the party had only held one Westminster seat in Scotland. In 2005, following the re-organisation of Scottish constituencies, that seat was [[Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale]], a mostly rural constituency near the Scottish Borders. However, the party had 11 target seats within Scotland for the election and officials such as former party leader [[William Hague]] had predicted a 'Tory breakthrough' for Scotland.{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/public-accounts/2010/04/160-election-scottish-scotland|title=William Hague predicts Tory election "breakthrough" in Scotland|website=www.newstatesman.com|date=8 April 2010 }} Following the election, the Conservative vote in Scotland increased by roughly 1% but with only the solitary seat being retained.

During the 2005 election, the [[Scottish Liberal Democrats]] achieved 11 Scottish seats in Westminster and saw this figure increased to 12 following the [[2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election|Dunfermline and West Fife by-election]] in 2006. Two former Liberal Democrat leaders, [[Charles Kennedy]] and [[Menzies Campbell]] represent Scottish constituencies. In the election, the Liberal Democrat vote fell in Scotland and the party was once again left with 11 seats.

At the 2005 general election, the [[Scottish Liberal Democrats]] gained 11 Scottish seats in Westminster and saw this tally increased to 12 following the [[2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election|Dunfermline and West Fife by-election]] in 2006. Two former Liberal Democrat leaders, [[Charles Kennedy]] and [[Sir Menzies Campbell]] represent Scottish constituencies. At the election, the Liberal Democrat vote share fell in Scotland and no gains were made. The party was once again left with 11 seats.

Minor parties such as the [[UK Independence Party]], the [[British National Party]] and the [[Scottish Green Party]] all contested more Scottish seats than they did in the 2005 election. The [[Socialist Workers Party (Britain)|Socialist Workers Party]] and [[Solidarity (Scotland)|Solidarity]] (a splinter group of the Scottish Socialists) took part in the [[Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition]] for the election. The [[Scottish Socialist Party]] had contested all of the Scottish constituencies in 2005 but because of party splits, it fielded only 10 candidates for the 2010 election.

Minor parties such as the [[UK Independence Party]], the [[British National Party]] and the [[Scottish Green Party]] all contested more Scottish seats than they did in the 2005 election. The [[Socialist Workers Party (Britain)|Socialist Workers Party]] and [[Solidarity (Scotland)|Solidarity]] (a splinter group of the Scottish Socialists) took part in the [[Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition]] for the election. The [[Scottish Socialist Party]] had contested all of the Scottish constituencies in 2005 but because of party splits, it fielded only 10 candidates for the 2010 election.