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| The only loser was our democratic procedures | | 12:01am Saturday 5th May 2007 | | Parties invariably discuss electoral systems and the rules surrounding them in terms of democracy and fairness but party interest is always a consideration. There are, of course, many people who have a dispassionate interest in these matters. But it would be naive to ignore the role of party interest. This is not to suggest impropriety. |
| Candidate who did not get a single vote | | 12:01am Saturday 5th May 2007 | | Spare a thought for Shirley Bowes, who, amid all the post-poll propaganda, got somewhat overlooked but brought a brief smile to the face of Tony Blair on a bad night - and morning - for Labour in England. |
| So what went wrong? | | Saturday 5th May 2007 | | THE SYSTEM
Two elections - one day
A new system to elect local councils was introduced this time. It used the single transferable vote system (STV), where voters rank their candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2 and 3 etc on their paper. |
| Excited by their right to shape a nation’s future | | 12:28am Friday 4th May 2007 | | Election focus: Four years ago, only 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the Scottish parliament election. That low level – significantly below the 49% figure for overall turnout – has since been a cause of concern for politicians of all parties. |
 | Grey area: why age concerns us all | | 12:01am Wed 2 May 07 | | Election Focus: Free care for pensioners was a pioneering policy. Helen Puttick asks how well it has translated into action – and what is next on the political agenda for our senior citizens? | | Reader comments (2) |
| Forging a future from the old ashes | | 12:02am Monday 30th April 2007 | | Election focus: As Scotland’s industry changes, so too does its landscape. But what is the best way to provide fresh hope and equality for all? |
| A constant struggle to stay afloat financially | | 12:01am Monday 23rd April 2007 | | Election focus: Every few weeks, Abdul Mannan, a final-year student at Glasgow University, picks up the telephone to call his parents in Manchester to ask for money for food or to help pay the rent. He is already £14,000 in debt. | | Reader comments (6) |
| A £5.4bn industry that must be allowed to thrive | | 12:22am Friday 20th April 2007 | | Election focus: Although every party in the election appears to agree that "culture" is important, it is perhaps the most difficult of areas to quantify in detail, to describe in particular, and to reduce to the easy soundbites of politics. |
 | Why we can’t afford to stand still | | 8:21pm Wed 18 Apr 07 | | Election focus: The Olympics and Commonwealth Games have focused minds, but the future will be shaped by what happens at grassroots level. |
| The power at Scotland’s heart | | 12:01am Wednesday 11th April 2007 | | Election focus: The Trident nuclear deterrent is the one issue that divides even the ruling Labour Party in Scotland, polarising the camps of those implacably opposed to atomic weapons and those willing to support the government line. | | Reader comments (7) |
| Cuts in the community: the battle for our hospitals | | 9:48pm Tuesday 10th April 2007 | | Nell McFadden campaigned to save emergency services at her nearest hospital without ever imagining she would need them herself. Then, on January 7, the Gourock pensioner woke up with pains in her stomach. |
 | End of the road for the high street | | Fri 6 Apr 07 | | Vacant shops line both sides of Victoria Road on the south side of Glasgow. Like similar streets across Scotland, the former bustling thoroughfare has been hit hard by the proliferation of supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks. |
| UN to hear new fears over jailing of children | | Tuesday 3rd April 2007 | |
The Children’s Commissioner for Scotland will raise concerns with the United Nations later this year about the way young people are being criminalised and detained in adult prisons. |
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