Arbuthnott Commission Arbuthnott Commission The Arbuthnott Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems was set up in July 2004 by Alistair Darling, then Secretary of State for Scotland, under the chairmanship of Sir John Arbuthnott, to examine various consequences of having four different electoral systems in Scotland, and different boundaries for constituencies of the House of Commons (Parliament of the United Kingdom, at Westminster) and the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). In 2004, Scotland had three different electoral systems: plurality (first past the post) for Westminster and local government elections, and two different systems of proportional representation (PR) for European Parliament and Scottish Parliament
Clan Arbuthnott at Epsom races when Prince George of Denmark, husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, was taken ill. Dr Arbuthnot was rushed to his side; the Prince recovered, and Arbuthnot was appointed a royal physician. Over time he became a confidant to the queen and friends to a great many of the leading figures of his time. Dr Samuel Johnson once remarked that he was 'a man of great comprehension, skilful in his profession, versed in the sciences, acquainted with ancient literature and able to animate his mass of knowledge by a bright and active imagination'. Dr John Arbuthnott died