Scottish elections must be respected by the new coalition Government.

SNP Constitutional Affairs spokesperson Pete Wishart MP has called for the new coalition Government scrap plans for the first fixed term general election to be held on the same day as elections for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly in 2015.

Recommendations following the Scottish elections in 2007 said that elections with different voting systems should be held on separate days.  Westminster and Scottish Parliament constituency boundaries are also different, risking further confusion.

Mr Wishart has now tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in Westminster urging the government to opt for a four year fixed term – a period endorsed by the Liberal Democrats in a 2007 policy paper. The party will also seek to amend legislation taken forward which provides for a five year fixed term.

Mr Wishart said:

"The introduction of fixed term elections for Westminster are a great reform, but it would be totally wrong to fix a date which clashes with the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections.

"Clearly, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats pieced their coalition agreement together in a hurry and failed to notice that the first Thursday in May 2015 is already earmarked for the Scottish and Welsh elections. It would be totally wrong to go ahead with both a Westminster and a Holyrood election in the same day. Voters would be confronted with three different voting papers, each using different voting systems.

"Scottish Parliament and local government elections have already been de-coupled and the arguments and studies which supported that still stand. A four year fixed term would be one solution, and was indeed Liberal Democrat policy. David Cameron and Nick Clegg need to check their filofaxes and pencil in a new date for parliament to agree.

"Five year terms are the exception rather than the rule in most parliaments and the the SNP will propose an amendment for a four year term and expect all Scottish MPs to support it out of ‘respect’ for the Scottish Parliament."