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NATIONAL SURVEY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT CANDIDATES, 2003

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The National Survey of Local Government Candidates 2003 represents the first systematic examination in Scotland of the profile of candidates who came forward for election but who were unsuccessful. It was conducted in conjunction with a survey of councillors, undertaken jointly by CoSLA and the Scottish Executive. The aim of the research was to inform a number of policy proposals aimed at improving local democracy.

The main findings from this research included:

• Only 27.6% of candidates standing at the 2003 Scottish Local Government elections were female, while 21.8% of Scotland's councillors are women. These figures are considerably lower than the 38.0% of MSPs who are female. No party comes close to equal gender representation in their proportion of female candidates or councillors.
• Candidates tended to be older than the general population: only 13% of candidates were aged under 35 compared to a quarter of Scotland's people. The vast majority of candidates came from the 35 to 64 age bracket. On average candidates were around four years younger than councillors (51 years compared to 55). Candidates representing the Scottish Socialist Party had the lowest average age; independents the highest.
• Candidates and councillors are significantly more likely to hold a professional qualification or a degree than the general population.
• Of the 2013 candidates who responded to the survey, 39 (2%) came from ethnic minorities. This is roughly proportional to the ethnic origin of Scotland's population.
• More than eight out of ten candidates (and almost nine out of ten councillors) own or are buying their own home; compared to just over 60% of the population.
• Around 15% of candidates have a long-term illness, disability or health problem which affects their daily activities or the work they can do. This is higher than the 9% of councillors with a similar illness or disability but considerably lower than the quarter of the population who are affected by ill health.
• Almost two-thirds of candidates, and three-quarters of councillors, have no caring responsibilities (for either young children or elderly friends or family). Almost 6% of candidates and 3% of councillors have children aged under five.
• Candidates and councillors are more likely to have access to their own transport than the general population: while two-thirds of households have access to a car, the equivalent figures for candidates and councillors is 80% and 88% respectively. There is some variation in car ownership by political affiliation, but this can generally be explained by age profile and geography.
• Nearly 64% of candidates are in employment - either full or part-time, or self-employed - while a further 23% are retired. There are large differences by political affiliation, the most notable of these is the high percentage of independents who are self-employed.
• Around seven in ten candidates and councillors in employment work in professional or managerial occupations; the remainder hold manual or administrative posts. The majority of candidates (57%) work in the private sector, the remainder are spread across public sector occupations (for example in education, the voluntary sector and local or central government). There are significant differences by political affiliation: for example, while three-quarters of independents work in the private sector, only 28% of SSP candidates do so.
• Male and female candidates tend to work similar hours to the rest of the adult population. Female candidates are by far the more likely to work part-time hours, while almost a quarter of male candidates work 49 or more hours in the average week.
• Although direct comparisons are difficult, it is clear that candidates and councillors tend to earn higher incomes than the general population. This is confirmed by examining social grade; whereas three-quarters of candidates are in the higher A, B and C1 grades, less than half the population are.
• Motivations for standing for election varied across parties but generally revolved round a desire to represent the community, to improve local services, out of party loyalty or to provide voters with a choice.
• Only a very small minority of candidates (less than 3%) were very confident of winning the seats, while a further 21% were quite confident. Independents were generally the most confident; SSP the least. This lack of confidence is easy to explain: candidates believed the incumbent party was simply too far ahead.
• Almost exactly half of the candidates standing in 2003 had sought election previously. Independent and Labour candidates were the most likely to have previous council experience.
• Despite being unsuccessful, the vast majority of candidates from all parties will definitely or probably seek election in the future. Female candidates are slightly less likely to stand again than their male counterparts.

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