Unionist Party (Scotland)

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The Unionist Party, referred to as the Scottish Unionist Party outwith Scotland itself, was the main Tory organisation in Scotland between 1912 and 1965. Describing them as 'Tories' overall as opposed to 'Conservatives' is a consequence of the Scottish Unionists eschewing the use of the name 'Conservative' [1] until 1965. Even today the official website of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party sometimes calls them 'Scottish Tories' [2]. Another name often used was "Unionist".

Independent of, although associated with, the Conservative and Unionist Party in England and Wales, it stood for election, at different periods of its history, in alliance with a small number of Liberal Unionist and National Liberal candidates. Those who successfully became Members of Parliament (MPs) would then take the Conservative Whip at Westminster just like the Ulster Unionists did until 1973, or as current Conservative Member of the European Parliament (MEPs) do with the European People's Party in the European Parliament. At Westminster the division from the English & Welsh party could appear blurred or non-existent to the external casual observer, especially as many Scottish MPs were highly prominent at the forefront of the parliamentary party, including two leaders, Andrew Bonar Law (1911-1921 & 1922-1923) and Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963-1965).

The party did not stand at local government level but instead supported and assisted the Progressives in winning elections against the Labour Party. This relationship broke down when the Conservatives started fielding candidates as Conservatives in competition to the Progressives.

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[edit] Origins

The origins of the Scottish Unionist Party lay in the split of the Liberal Party in 1886 and the emergence of the Liberal Unionists. The Union in question was that of the 1801 Irish Union, and not the 1707 Union.

Prior to this, the only Tory or conservative party in Scotland was the Conservative Party who had never beaten the dominant Whig and Scottish Liberal Party ascendancy since the 1832 Reform Acts were passed. With the emergence of the Liberal Unionists, the Conservatives quickly agreed an electoral pact which produced results that threatened and even overcame the dominance of the Scottish Liberals.

As links between the two became closer, it was eventually agreed to merge the two organisations in 1912 as Scottish Unionist Party or Association. This organisation was effectively the Conservative Party in Scotland, although some candidates still stood on a Liberal Unionist ticket because of the latent appeal of Liberalism in Scotland.

[edit] Ethos and appeal

Popular imperialism and imperial unity were the central thread to the Scottish Unionist Party's belief system. Whilst it was the prospect of Irish Home Rule that set the circumstances for the party's creation, it was not the principle of autonomy they opposed, but the belief that it would lead to the break-up of the British Empire.

This was demonstrated by their acceptance, and even support, of Dominion status for colonies like Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Newfoundland. This seam in the Scottish Unionist Party's belief system was demonstrated when members of the party left to establish the Scottish Party, which eventually merged with the National Party of Scotland to form the Scottish National Party. It also explains what may at first seem a paradoxical statement by John Buchan, who was a Scottish Unionist MP, when he said "I believe every Scotsman should be a Scottish nationalist." [3]

Industrialists, bankers, landlords, Peers of the Realm, Kirk ministers, lawyers and media barons formed a solid establishment in the make-up of the party. Policy was often formed with their interests in mind. Whilst the party may have been linked on a Parliamentary level with the Conservative and Unionist Party in England and Wales, it was conscious that it had to appeal to the middle class liberal tradition in Scotland and studiously avoided using the term "Conservative". [4]

The party also built up a significant working-class support by emphasising the connection between Union, Empire and the fate of local industry. Unity across the classes was often cited as one of the party's planks of Unionism. Along with this protectionism, Protestantism played an important part in the party's working class appeal. Although not explicitly articulated by the party, lest it alienate what small but wealthy middle and upper class Catholic support it had, this appeal was projected through the endorsement and promotion of well known Kirk members like John Buchan or prominent Orangemen in areas of west and central Scotland where the Orange Lodge was strong. For example figures like Sir John Gilmour, the intermittent Secretary for Scotland in the 1920s and Home Secretary in the 1930s, was an Orangeman. Whilst some may see this as an anti-Catholic appointment it should be pointed out that it was Gilmour who, as the Secretary for Scotland, repudiated the Church of Scotland's highly controversial report entitled "The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality".

Being an independent Scottish party also drew electoral appeal when set against the threat of a UK Labour party. A crucial aspect to this appeal, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s, was the ability to place an 'alien' identity upon Labour by successfully using the term of 'Socialist' to describe the Labour Party [5]. Combined with the Labour party's nationalisation programme which centralised control of former Scottish-owned businesses and council-run services in London, this distinctively Scottish appeal was further strengthened. This strong Scottish character of the party was even evident in relations with Conservative Government Ministers when Lord Glendevon admitted he would be at variance with the Unionist Party for refusing the post of Secretary of State for Scotland because he preferred being at Westminster (Lord Glendevon's Obituary, Scotsman, 22/01/1996).

Furthermore the party used rhetoric which purported to reconcile the two themes of individualism and collectivism to appeal to any voters attracted to Labour. This also projected an image of flexibility and pragmatism when they expressed it as a synthesis of the "two fundamental ideas of human individuality and of service to others and to the community." [6]

[edit] Electoral record and the 1955 election

Compared to the pre-1886 Conservative Party and the post-1965 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, the Scottish Unionist Party's electoral record stands out as successful.

With the Liberal Party divided and declining, the Scottish Unionist Party managed to attract previous Liberal voters - sometimes with candidates standing on a Liberal Unionist ticket. The creation of the National Liberals also assisted in widening their electoral base.

Within this context they grew growing support, and the emergence of the Labour party as a threat to middle class interests, resulted in the party achieving a majority of Scottish seats in the 1924 election - 37 seats out of Scotland's 73 constituencies. Suffering a setback in the 1929 election, they managed to reassert this ascendancy in the 1931 election because of a backlash against the Labour Party and the creation of the National Government. The Scottish Unionist Party won 79% of the Scottish seats - 58 out of 73 seats. The following election of 1935 returned fewer MPs but still a majority - 45 MPs.

This remained the situation until the 1945 election, when the Labour landslide returned a majority of Labour MPs; the Unionists won 30 of the now 71 constituencies. In the 1950 election, a majority of Labour MPs was returned again but with the Scottish Unionist Party closing the gap by returning 32 MPs. The Conservatives had suffered devastating losses in England & Wales and the addition of the Scottish Unionist MPs proved vital in maintain their numbers in the Commons above two hundred, strengthening their base of support for a revival. In the subsequent election of 1951, an equal number of Labour and Unionist MPs were returned: 35 each, with one solitary Liberal taking the remaining of the 71 seats.

With Church of Scotland membership reaching record levels the 1955 election brought unparalleled success as the party gained 50.1% of the vote and 36 of the 71 seat at Westminster. Often cited as the only party to achieve a majority of the Scottish vote it should be pointed out that 6 MPs were returned under the label of Liberal Unionist or National Liberal. Nevertheless this success was the prelude to a number of events that weakened the appeal of the Scottish Unionist Party and the subsequent Conservative Scottish branch that followed it.

[edit] Merger with Conservatives

Only one year after the 1955 triumph an event occurred that would signal the unravelling of the singular thread which united the Scottish Unionist Party's support. The humiliation of the 1956 Suez Crisis was seen as a symbolic end of the power and influence of the British Empire. Not only was British power seen to be eclipsed by the United States but the unity of the Empire was in question. Canada's Lester Pearson led the United Nations' calls for a negotiated settlement and even offered Canadian troops as neutral peacekeepers to replace British soldiers.

Further to this in 1960, the then-Conservative Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, made his "Winds of Change" speech to the South African Parliament signalling an end to the colonial administration of British Empire possessions and their emergence as independent states. This change in Conservative attitudes to the cohesion of the British Empire was illustrated earlier in 1958 with the expulsion of the League of Empire Loyalists from the Conservative Party Conference.

Psychologically these events marked the end of Empire and with it the central thread of popular imperialism and imperial unity which had united the Scottish Unionist Party. The party's vote declined in the 1959 election and four MPs were lost. In 1964, after 13 years of Conservative Government, eight more MPs were lost.

With electoral defeat, reforms in 1965 brought an end to the Scottish Unionist Party as an independent force. It was a renamed Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and constitutionally came under the control of the UK party. These, and further reforms in 1977, saw the Scottish Conservatives being viewed as a regional unit, with its personnel, finance, and political offices under the control of a leadership in London.

These changes had serious implications for the Conservatives' Scottish identity. Set alongside the end of Empire and the emergence of several independent states it witnessed the rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP) as sections of the old Unionist vote swung to the SNP along with former Labour nationalist voters. This may seem paradoxical but can be explained for three reasons: the Scottish Unionist Party's projection as an independent Scottish party opposing a UK Labour party; the use of the name "Conservative" which was viewed as an English party; and the Unionist-Nationalist tradition of John Buchan and those who had founded the Scottish Party.

[edit] Consequences of merger

As the British Empire came to an end so to did the primacy of Protestant associations as secularism and ecumenicalism rose. The erosion of the Unionist vote accompanied this along with the loss of its working class base. Though many Conservatives would still identify with the Kirk, most Church of Scotland identifiers were not conservatives. As the established and largest Church it had adapted to a secular post-imperial world by advocating ecumenicalism.

Support from working class Protestants was also eroded. With the Daily Record newspaper switching from the Unionists to Labour, the Conservatives in the 1960s the party were mercilessly portrayed as a party of the Anglicised aristocracy. Combined with the new name, this helped switch previous Unionist voters to the Labour party and the SNP which advanced considerably in the elections of February and October 1974.

The associations with the largely working class Orange Order also became problematic because of this aristocratic connection, but it was the Troubles in Northern Ireland that created further problems. On one level, there was the residual perception of a connection that many mainstream Protestant voters associated with the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland - a perception that is unfair to a large extent since the Scottish Orange Order has dealt more stringently with members associating with Northern Irish paramilitaries than its Irish equivalent. However, the ramifications of this perception also led to the Scottish Conservative Party downplaying and ignoring past associations, which further widened the gap with the Orange Order. Any links that lingered were ultimately broken when Margaret Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Notably this witnessed the Orange Lodge (amongst other supporters) set up their own Scottish Unionist Party.

[edit] External links

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