We need your support to help us win the award.  Please follow this link bit.ly/rqsT15 and in the Digital Campaign section vote for ScotlandVotes.  Feel free to vote for entries in the other categories, but you don’t have to.

This nomination is a great accolade for ScotlandVotes and Weber Shandwick and follows hot on the heels of our win at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Scottish PRide Awards, where we picked up Gold for the Best Website.

Here is what the judges said about our nomination for the PRide Awards:

“Weber Shandwick Scotland started with a bold objective- to become the authority on the Scottish elections. With this highly usable website and supportive media campaign which saw their team grab hold of the issue, they’ve succeeded admirably. The interactivity of the website gave it the feel of an online version of Peter Snow’s infamous ‘swingometer’. The involvement of politicians and respected bloggers gave the site much-needed gravitas.”

Thanks to you the users of ScotlandVotes, whether on the website, Facebook, Twitter or those who attended our hustings online or in person.  We had a great time covering the 2011 Scottish Parliament election and we are already working on setting up the new boundaries for the next Westminster election!

The poll results broken down for Scotland showed Labour on 44%, SNP on 35%, Conservatives on 13% and Lib Dems on just 3%.

The results see both Labour (+2) and SNP (+15)  gaining votes while the Conservatives and Lib Dems fall.   For the SNP the results are broadly in line with the recent Scottish Parliament elections and sees them gain primarily from the Lib Dems but with one seat (Ochil and South Perthshire) coming across from Labour.

The ScotlandVotes.com seat predictor for Westminster would see a dramatic change in the make up of MPs in Scotland, however Labour would still have a majority of MPs in Scotland.  The results would see Labour with 42 MPs (+1), SNP 13 (+7), Conservative 2 (+1) and Lib Dems 2 (-9).

Senior Scottish Lib Dem MPs would be lost including Danny Alexander, Menzies Campbell, John Thurso, and Jo Swinson.

You can view the Westminster seat calculator here.

Quick update:  The next election will be fought on new boundaries.   We will update ScotlandVotes with the new boundaries when they are published by the Boundary Commission, however until that point we will continue to use the existing ones.

The SNP’s unprecedented success at the recent Scottish Parliament election will have a significant impact on Scotland’s public policy agenda.  Moray Macdonald, Managing Director of Weber Shandwick, led the briefing cover issues of concern to the business community, such as the economy, the Scotland Bill, transport links and public sector reform.

A copy of the presentation is attached below:

For further information contact:

Moray Macdonald

Managing Director, Scotland

Click here to email Moray

Twitter:     @moraymacdonald

LinkedIn:     www.linkedin.com/in/moraymacdonald

Most Americans believe that political discourse is becoming increasingly uncivil, and will consider the civility of presidential candidates an important factor in voting in the 2012 election, according to the second annual poll on Civility in Americareleased today by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate in partnership with KRC Research.

While more than 70 percent say pop culture, media, government and the music industry are notable hubs of incivility, 80 percent of Americans – the largest majority found in the survey – consider political campaigns uncivil, and many think the problem will worsen.

The poll found that 85 percent of respondents said that politics is becoming increasingly uncivil; in particular, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) said they expected a decline in the general tone and civility of the upcoming presidential election. The survey found that 66 percent of Americans described the 2010 mid-term election as uncivil, and 59 percent rated the 2008 presidential election that way.

Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick, says: “While everyone has the right to engage in vigorous debate, this kind of rampant incivility undermines our political process. It turns people off, creating at best apathy and at worst antipathy toward elected leaders. Sooner or later, I hope we’ll reach a tipping point when people will demand more civil discourse.”

More than twice as many Americans find President Obama civil as they do uncivil (67 percent compared to 28 percent). But Congressional Democrats and Republicans and Tea Party supporters are all viewed as more uncivil than civil, the poll found.

The respondents said their perception of incivility will have an impact on how they cast their votes in next year’s election. The survey found that roughly 9 in 10 said “the way the candidate treats and deals with people he or she disagrees with” (90 percent) and “the candidate’s tone or level of civility” (88 percent) will play an important role in determining their vote for president in 2012. These figures reflect a sharp change in attitude. About two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) reported that in the past they had decided against voting for a certain candidate because he or she acted uncivilly.

The online survey conducted by KRC Research in late May asked more than 1,000 Americans how civility affects their views and participation in politics and media, including social media, as well as how incivility impacts their buying behaviors and outlook on the nation’s future. When asked to define “civility,” respondents gravitated to the word “respect,” and offered commentary such as: “treating others as you would want to be treated” and “interacting with others with politeness and patience even under difficult circumstances.” The survey’s executive summary is available at: http://bit.ly/Civility2011

Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate released a similar survey last year, which found that many Americans considered a general lack of civility to be a major problem. In this year’s poll, the biggest increases in uncivil behavior are: professional sports (+14 percentage points), Congressional Democrats (+12 percentage points), Tea Party supporters (+11 percentage points) and the American public (+9 percentage points).

The perceived lack of civility in the United States has far-reaching implications, the survey suggests, with 91 percent saying that incivility has negative consequences for the nation. Those polled said that incivility in government is harming America’s future; that incivility in American life is harming our standing in the world; and that incivility prevents the country from moving forward.

About half of the respondents (49 percent) said that the U.S. was among the most civil countries in the world.

“Our survey found that Americans believe that political campaigns are becoming more uncivil,” said Pam Jenkins, President of Powell Tate. “The media and political party leaders are seen as most to blame for fanning the flames of incivility. Americans clearly don’t want a reality show food fight when it comes to politics. They want civil discourse of the issues.”

For more information on Civility in America — 2011, please visit Weber Shandwick atwww.webershandwick.com or Powell Tate at www.powelltate.com or download the executive summary here: http://bit.ly/Civility2011.

About The Survey
The 2011 online survey was conducted in May among 1,000 American adults to assess attitudes towards civility online, in the workforce, in the classroom and in politics. The margin of error is +/- 2.6 percentage points.

About Powell Tate
Powell Tate is a leading strategic communications and bipartisan public affairs firm. Located in Washington, D.C., the firm specializes in public affairs; public education; reputation and crisis management; media relations; creative and interactive services; and research and advertising. The firm is a division of Weber Shandwick.

About KRC Research
KRC Research is a full-service market and opinion research firm that specializes in research to support public relations and marketing communications. We conduct surveys, focus groups, and interviews around the globe to generate insights, test ideas, develop messages, track awareness, and measure success. We also conduct research to attract attention—generating headlines and establishing our clients as thought leaders. Fully integrated with Weber Shandwick, KRC Research offers the quality and custom service of a small firm along with the reach of a global organization. For over 30 years, we have worked on behalf of corporations, governments, not-for-profits and the communications firms that represent them.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 74 countries around the world. The firm’s success is built on its deep commitment to client service, our people, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates – engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. In 2010, Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report for the second year in a row; an ‘Agency of the Decade’ by Advertising Age, Large PR Agency of the Year by Bulldog Reporter, a Digital Firm of the Year by PR News, and Top Corporate Responsibility Advisory Firm by CR Magazine. The firm has also won numerous ‘best place to work’ awards around the world. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com.

Weber Shandwick is the leading agency in Scotland when it comes to political communications. You may have seen some of our work through our popular website www.scotlandvotes.com.

Based in Edinburgh we have a team of consultants bringing experience for our clients from the heart of government, political parties, the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government and the private sector.

If you want to be part of our team you will ideally be currently working in the public affairs sector and it is essential that you have a strong working understanding of how politics and public policy development works in Scotland.

Digital communication is at the heart of everything we do, it should be for you too – Weber Shandwick was named a Top 4 Employer for Social Media Professionals by Mashable and a leading Digital Firm of the Year by PR News.  We also won gold for the Best Use of Digital at the CIPR Scottish Pride Awards.

Size isn’t everything, but it helps.  One of the reasons many clients choose us is the global access we provide with 120 offices in 74 countries worldwide.  Through our  work with international clients we offer the chance for you to broaden your horizons whether you want to be an expert at home or abroad.

Weber Shandwick is a great place to work, just last month we were ranked as one of the top 25 Best Places to Work in Scotland.  Among other things we have a flexible benefit scheme, great pension and a work/life balance programme.

If you think you are up to the challenge and want to work with an exciting and diverse range of clients for one of the world’s leading communications consultancies, email your CV to Moray Macdonald mmacdonald (at) webershandwick (dot) com.

Closing date: Friday 8 July 2011

www.webershandwick.co.uk

Unsurprisingly all of last session’s Cabinet Secretaries were returned with very little re-shuffle of portfolios, however, the First Minister did surprise us all by appointing an extra 3 Cabinet Secretaries in Alex Neil, Bruce Crawford and Fiona Hyslop.

He also unveiled 10 ministers today which included a great deal of re-shuffling and 4 new faces to the front bench – Aileen Campbell, Michael Matheson, Alisdair Allan and Brian Adam – as well as the re-appointment of Stewart Stevenson and the return of Adam Ingram to the backbenches.

Of his new team Mr Salmond said: “This is an excellent team to take Scotland forward while the overall number of Ministers is unchanged, it blends the tried and trusted team which received such strong public endorsement at the election with significant new talent.”

Full appointments are as follows:

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy Nicola Sturgeon
Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison
Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth John Swinney
Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Fergus Ewing
Minister for Local Government and Planning Aileen Campbell

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Michael Russell
Minister for Children and Young People Angela Constance
Minister for Learning and Skills (with responsibility for Gaelic & Scots) Alasdair Allan

Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy Bruce Crawford
Minister for Parliamentary Business and Chief Whip Brian Adam

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill
Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs (with responsibility for tackling sectarianism) Roseanna Cunningham

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop

Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment Alex Neil
Minister for Housing and Transport Keith Brown

Constituency Vote

On the constituency vote the poll by Ipsos Mori, carried out nearly 2 weeks before election day, was the closest to the actual result.  However, Weber Shandwick’s Poll of Polls issued on the eve of the election provided the closest result getting each party’s share of the vote within 1% of the actual result.

Regional Vote

Ipsos Mori were again the most accurate pollster on the regional result, particularly with the strength of the SNP vote, however they still overestimated the Lib Dem and Labour votes.

Prediction of seats

The final Weber Shandwick Poll of Polls predicted 59 seats for the SNP, 42 for Labour, 7 for the Lib Dems, 12 Conservatives, 8 Greens and 1 Independent.    This was some 10 seats short for the SNP.

The Poll of Poll prediction of seats didn’t predict the SNP majority, simply no opinion poll predicted the strength of the SNP vote on the regional list.

So where did the polls go wrong?  It looks like the pollsters generally predicted the constituency vote fairly accurately, however very few opinion polls put the SNP above 40% for the regional vote.  As we know now a strong constituency plus a strong regional result means that a party can literally sweep the board.

There is some comfort for the ScotlandVotes.com seat predictor though.  In the early morning of 6 May as the national share of the vote was beginning to become clear the election predictor tool was one of the first outlets to predict a majority for the SNP – suggesting 67 seats versus 42 for Labour, 12 Conservative, 4 Lib Dem, 3 Green and 1 Independent.  So, when the figures are correct the election predictor is correct!  We just need some accurate opinion polls now!

The new election predictor

The ScotlandVotes.com election predictor is currently being updated.  We will have the new predictor working within the next day and be sure to tell you when it is active.

Plugging the currently declared national figures in to ScotlandVotes.com suggests that the SNP could emerge with a majority in the new Scottish Parliament.   The potential results could be:

SNP 67

Labour 42

Con 12

LD 4

Green 3

Ind 1

The ScotlandVotes website provides a list of the 15 battleground seats, including statistics, candidate profiles and target seats for each party on the website.

In addition to the seats that are statistically classed as battleground – ie most vulnerable to change – given the current polling results you should also watch out for a number of highly-contested constituency seats in what promises to be an action-packed election night across the country.  Here is our run down of the seats worth staying up for.

Aberdeen South and Kincardine North

Former Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen’s decision to step down – as well as sizeable boundary changes – means this seat will be one to watch tonight.

The Lib Dems are desperate to retain Nicol Stephen’s seat, with his would-be successor, John Sleigh, defending a notional majority of 2000.

Mr Sleigh’s main contender is the SNP’s former Minister for Schools and Skills, Maureen Watt, who has served as North East list MSP since April 2006. The Tories’ Stewart Whyte – a history teacher – and Labour’s Greg Williams – an Oxford graduate working in the oil industry – are expected to battle it out for third place.

Argyll and Bute

With the ever popular incumbent Jim Mather stepping down, Argyll and Bute was always going to be a key seat in the fight for Holyrood. However, the SNP’s decision to field one of its heavyweights has further spiced up this particular contest.

With a majority of only 800, the SNP’s Education Secretary Michael Russell will be contesting the seat against the Lib Dems’ Alison Hay – former leader of Argyll and Bute Council – and Jamie McGrigor – Highland and Islands list MSP since 1999.

Labour candidate Mick Rice will be eager to build on the increased vote Labour secured in Argyll and Bute during last year’s UK Parliament election.

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross

Yet another key seat where the incumbent – Lib Dem Jamie Stone on this occasion – is retiring.

Lib Dems’ candidate, Robbie Rowantree, a local Highland Councillor and former Tory candidate, will be hoping to secure the party’s previous 2000+ majority in Scotland’s most northerly mainland seat.

Challenging the Lib Dems’ majority is Rob Gibson, who has served as Highlands and Islands list MSP since 2003 and who came second in 2007. A strong local campaigner and previous Ross and Cromarty councillor, Mr Gibson will be hoping to spring one of the election upsets.

Dumfriesshire

Boundary changes have blown this seat wide open as Labour’s Elaine Murray fights for her political future against the Conservatives, who now hold a notional majority of around 600.

Ms Murray has served the area ever since the Scottish Parliament was established, having previously gained a PhD in Chemistry and worked as a lecturer at the Open University.

The Tories’ candidate, Gillian Dykes, is currently a councillor for Mid and Upper Nithsdale and worked as a senior caseworker / researcher for the former presiding officer Alex Fergusson.

Edinburgh Central

Currently a Labour-held constituency, Edinburgh Central is described as being situated at “the heart of devolved Scotland”. The seat contains the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister’s official residence and the Scottish Government’s headquarters.

The incumbent, former Transport Minister Sarah Boyack, has held the constituency for the last 12 years and is defending a notional majority of 700.

However, Ms Boyack is fighting for this crucial seat against the Lib Dems’ energetic candidate Alex Cole-Hamilton. In a video blog for ScotlandVotes in February of this year, Lib Dem blogger Caron Lindsay claimed that Mr Cole-Hamilton has “built a lively, grassroots campaign where he has knocked on 10,000 doors since last summer”.

The SNP’s Marco Biagi and the Conservatives’ Iain McGill are also fighting for votes in this constituency.

Glasgow Kelvin

It could be fourth time lucky for Sandra White as she aims to wrestle Glasgow Kelvin from Labour’s Pauline McNeill.

A constituency which covers Glasgow’s three universities and the city centre is being touted as a potential shock gain for the SNP. In 2007, Pauline McNeill won the seat with a majority of 1207 ahead of Ms White, with the Greens’ Martin Bartos coming third with nearly 3,000 votes.

This year, with no Green candidate and significant boundary changes, the fight for Glasgow Kelvin will be another nail biting contest on election night.

Glasgow Southside

The battle for Glasgow Southside started twelve months ago, and the campaign has been in full swing ever since.

With significant boundary changes giving Labour a notional majority of 27, Glasgow Southside is on a knife-edge between Labour and the SNP.

Rumours suggest that canvass returns are indicating a victory for SNP’s Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon. Her opponent, Cllr Stephen Curran, a high-profile Glasgow City Councillor, will be confident for staging an upset. However, neither candidate will be complacent – especially with so much still to play for on polling day.

Elsewhere, Lib Dems’ candidate, Cllr Ken Elder, and Tories’ Cllr David Meikle, are left vying for third place.

Midlothian South, Tweedale, and Lauderdale

Another sizeable boundary change has turned a previously Lib Dem seat into a constituency where the SNP has a notional majority of a whopping 1200.

The SNP will be optimistic – especially as the Nationalists are fielding a strong candidate in Christine Grahame, who has served as a high-profile South of Scotland list MSP since 1999.

Jeremy Purvis, the Lib Dems’ Finance and Economy spokesperson, is challenging Ms Grahame in what may well be a photo-finish as the two horse race hits the home straight.

The Labour and the Conservative candidates are expected to be fighting for third place.

Stirling

The SNP incumbent, Bruce Crawford, and Labour’s John Henry are gearing up for another historic battle in Stirling.

With boundary changes handing the advantage to Labour, Mr Crawford is facing a tough fight to regain the seat that he dramatically won in 2007.

His main contender, John Hendry, has served as a local Labour councillor for over 30 years, and was Stirling’s provost between 1988 and 1992.

Meanwhile, the Tories are fielding Neil Benny, the youngest councillor in Stirling Council, while local activist Graham Reed will be battling it out for the Lib Dems.