Holyrood 1994

The Holyrood election of 1994 was the first of devolved election in Great Britain and came about due to Liberal Democrat manifesto pledges saying that a Scottish Parliament would be a guarantee if they were elected. The formation of the post-1992 (July) coalition, saw Labour supply enough votes to secure a Scottish Parliament, with a Welsh parliament thought to be on the way if the Scottish parliament proved a success. No referendum was held on the formation of the parliament, something the Conservative party focused on in their campaign. To the surprise of many, the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties agreed to a pact for the election, which would ensure that their candidates would fight under one banner. The leaders were as follows: Tavish Scott (Liberal Democrats), Iain Gray (Labour), David McLetchie (Conservatives), Alex Salmond (SNP) and Robin Harper (Greens)

Debates
Two debates were broadcast on BBC Scotland for the 1994 Holyrood election, the same number as that for the general election two years earlier. The first debate was held in Falkirk East and, the second, in Edinburgh West (the same location as that for the 1992 General Election debate). Instant polling from the first debate suggested that Iain Gray, the senior of the Lib-Lab pact, lagged far behind his Liberal Democrat counterpart Tavish Scott in both charisma, ability and like-ability. "Who won?" instant polling showed Labour at 27%, Liberal Democrats at 29%, Conservatives at 21%, the SNP at 19% and and the others at 6%, in a poll of 659 viewers. This revelation in polling for Labour caused the alliance to give the much more popular Scott far more public appearances and campaign stops than Gray. The second debate showed that Alex Salmond and Tavish Scott both preformed well, although David McLetchie hit home with his parties message that there had been no referendum on a Scottish Parliament and he came to blows with Alex Salmond on the issue multiple times during the debate. Gray was very quiet during the debate and made little headway in his fast falling personal ratings.

Polling
Constituency polling for the election showed the Lib-Lab pact ahead with roughly 40%, the Tories at 26% and the SNP at 34%. Regional polling showed the Lib-Lab pact at 36%, the Tories at 16%, the SNP at 42% and the Greens at 6%. These polls removed others/don't knows.

Final polling
Final constituency polling of the campaign saw the Lib-Lab pact at around 37%, the Tories at 27% and the SNP at 36%. The final regional polling put the Lib-Lab pact at 35%, the Tories at 19%, the SNP at 39% and the Greens at 7%. This was a huge shock to the Lib-Lab alliance, as the poll suggested that they could be a smaller grouping than the SNP, despite having dominated Scottish elections for over a decade.

Exit Poll
BBC Scotland released this exit poll. It suggested that the night would be very close between the Lib-Lab alliance and the SNP, with the SNP tipped to win out by 2 seats, although short of an overall majority. If accurate, the Lib-Lab pact would have failed and it would be a scramble to form government with whoever would supply them. A key pledge made by the Lib-Lab alliance said that there would be "no deals" with the SNP, whatever the result.



Final results
Final results gave the Lib-Lab pact and the SNP the same number of both seats and percentages. Both parties were unable to form majortiy rule on their own or with the Greens and had ruled out a deal with the Tories. This left a sticky, unstable situation that would delay already unveiled plans for a Welsh and, a surprise, Cornish parliament. The Lib-Lab pact backed down and agreed to go into coalition with the SNP. Tavish Scott lost by 161 votes to the SNP (roughly 7.5%). Ian Gray won East Lothian by 2,306 votes (7%). David McLethie won by 11,107 votes in Edinburgh Pentlands (30%). Alex Salmond won Aberdeenshire East by 5.850 votes (32.5%). Robin Harper was elected on the third ballot of the Lothian's regional list.