The 15 newly elected Green MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) having a group photo outside the Parliament at Holyrood. The Scottish Parliament was dissolved in 1707. Following a long campaign the Scotland Act 1998 declared that ‘There shall be a Scottish Parliament’. The Parliament has powers over almost all domestic issues (health, education, justice, housing, etc) with foreign affairs and defence the main areas ‘reserved’ to the UK government. The system is based on a mix of constituencies and proportional representation, so there is usually a minority or a coalition: decisions are almost always based on consensus. At the election on May 7th 2026, six different parties secured at least 10 of the 129 seats – none with an overall majority – so there will need to be lots of negotiation to ensure decisions are made.
