A guide to the parliamentary elections – from the Catholic Parliamentary Officer

Press release

26TH April 2021

Information prepared by the CPO (catholic Parliamentary Office) for the Bishops Conference of Scotland about the stance of the various political parties in Scotland preparing for the May 6thScottish Elections on some of the crucial questions of importance to the Catholic Church in this election.

This table contains a sample of issues of significance for the forthcoming Scottish election and the positions of political parties in relation to those issues. Where party manifestos and policies are available online, we have used those resources to populate the table to show each party’s position. This information may be of assistance, especially in relation to regional votes, where voters express preference for a party. 

Please note that there are other policy areas you may want to explore. The issues highlighted are not an exhaustive list of issues of importance for Catholics. To explore further, please click the relevant party name in the ‘manifestos/policies’ section of the CPO election resource to access manifestos and/or other policy information. 

Where ‘no information’ is stated, this means that we were unable to find a policy position either in the party’s 2021 manifesto or on the party website. 

Please note:

*Parties are listed in order of manifesto release date.

*Some issues, like child poverty, are complex and there are a variety of policies which could impact a party’s approach to tackling that particular issue. The table details the most direct policies which aim to tackle child poverty.