Major Party Candidates in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly Elections, 1999

The general aim of the research was to create a database of candidates for the Scottish Parliament/Welsh Assembly comprising details of their social and political characteristics, experience and attitudes. The specific objectives were, firstly, to analyse the parties' procedures for recruiting and selecting candidates under the new electoral system. Secondly, to describe the actual operation of candidate selection and the internal strains it caused in the parties. Thirdly, to describe the characteristics and attitudes of candidates, making comparisons across parties and between the two different types of candidate. Finally, to compare candidates for these new institutions with UK Parliament and local government candidates and with electors.