Liberal Democrat Local Government spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP is campaigning for STV to be used for Scottish Parliament elections.

Speaking in a debate in the Scottish Parliament about the 2007 elections, Mrs McInnes also argued against de-coupling elections, which would mean local and parliamentary elections were not held on the same day.

Commenting, Mrs McInnes said:

“In 2007 local elections used Single Transferable Vote (STV), a much fairer system.

“STV broadened the range of choice to Scottish voters and opened up the electoral process to a much greater range of candidates.

Commenting on proposals to hold local and national elections on different days, Mrs McInnes said:

“Liberal Democrats do not support the recommendation that local and national elections be de-coupled.

“We are not persuaded that the case has been made for separate elections. There is a significant risk of a lower turn out, increased costs, which would fall entirely to local government and disruption to schools. “