| Scotland |
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Scotland in the UK
Scotland in the EU
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Other countries · Atlas |
This article lists political parties in Scotland.
Contents |
Parties represented in the Scottish Parliament (in order of number of representatives):
| Party | MSP's | MP's | MEP's | Ideology |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish National Party | 69 | 6 | 2 | Centre-left, pro-Scottish Independence, Social Democracy |
| Labour Party | 37 | 41 | 2 | Centre-left, Democratic socialism, Trade Unionism, pro-Unionist |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 15 | 1 | 1 | Centre-right, Conservatism, pro-Unionist |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | 11 | 1 | Centre to Centre-left, social liberalism, Federalism, pro-Unionist |
| Scottish Green Party | 2 | 0 | 0 | Left-wing, Environmentalism, pro-Scottish Independence |
Listed in order of vote share at last election
| Party | Ideology |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom Independence Party | Right-wing, Euroscepticism, Populism, Conservatism |
| British National Party | Far-right, British nationalism, Right-wing populism, Euroscepticism |
| Scottish Socialist Party | Left-wing, Socialism, Environmentalism, Feminism, pro-Scottish Independence |
| Socialist Labour Party | Left-Wing, Socialism, Trade Unionism, Euroscepticism |
| Scottish Christian Party | Right-wing, Christianity, Christian right |
| Liberal Party | Centre to Centre-left, Liberalism, Social Liberalism |
| Scottish Jacobite Party | Pro-Scottish Independence |
| Communist Party | Far-left, Communist, Marxism–Leninism |
| Pirate Party | Copyright and patent reform |
The Scottish National Party (SNP) is the main political party in Scotland which supports Scotland becoming an independent nation. They are overall centre-left, advocating social democracy, nuclear disarmament and closer ties to the European Union. They were founded in 1934 and formed a permanent grouping in parliament in 1967. Their best election result in the 20th century was at the general election of October 1974 in which they won 11 of Scotland's 72 Westminster seats as well as around 30% of the popular vote, however they lost all but 2 of these seats in 1979. Support for the party has been bolstered under the present leader Alex Salmond, who in 2011 led the SNP to their best electoral performance to date, in which they became the first party in the devolved Scottish Parliament to win a majority of seats. They currently form the Scottish government.
The Scottish Labour Party was the most successful party in Scottish elections from 1959 to 2007. Like the UK Labour Party, they are centre-left democratic socialists and Trade Unionists and they support Scotland remaining in the UK. They first overtook the Conservatives as Scotland's largest party at the 1959 general election. In 1997, the UK Labour Party under Tony Blair offered Scotland a referendum on devolution which was passed with around 74% of the electorate in favour. From 1999 to 2007, they were in power in the Scottish Parliament through a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Since 2008, the party has been led by Iain Gray in the Scottish Parliament. Gray announced his resignation after the party's defeat at the 2011 Scottish election, and will stand down in the Autumn.
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party was founded in 1965 out of the old Scottish Unionist Party, which had been a dominant political force in Scotland for much of the early 20th century, winning the majority of votes and seats in the 1955 general election. However the party went into decline, being reduced from 21 Scottish seats in 1983, to 10 in 1987. The 1997 general election was a catastrophe for the Scottish Conservatives, who were left with no Scottish seats whatsoever. However the party won 18 seats in the Scottish Parliament in the 1999 election due to proportional representation. Since 2001 the Conservatives have held 1 Scottish seat in the UK parliament. Just like the UK Conservative Party, the party is a centre-right party, which promotes conservatism and British unionism. They are led in the Scottish Parliament by Annabel Goldie.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are a centre to centre-left social liberal and federal party. The British Liberal Democrats were formed out of the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party in 1988. Currently, they are Scotland's second largest party in terms of seats in the UK Parliament, controlling 11 out of 59. Their leader is Willie Rennie. Since the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition at Westminster, support for the Liberal Democrats has fallen sharply, and the party won only 5 seats at the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election.
The Scottish Green Party is completely autonomous, but retains close ties with the Green Party of England and Wales. It is centre-left and promotes Scottish independence and environmentalism. They won a seat in the Scottish Parliament in 1999, which was increased to 7 in 2003, and then reduced to 2 in 2007. The Greens retained both these seats in 2011.
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) was founded in 1998 by Tommy Sheridan and achieved 6 seats in the Scottish Parliament in 2003. They are left-wing, and campaign for Scottish Independence, the abolition of council tax, Free school meals, free public transport and an end to the Afghan War. A party split in 2006 caused party leader Tommy Sheridan to establish Solidarity, whose policies were quite similar to the SSP. Both the SSP and Solidarity won no seats at either the 2007 or 2011 Scottish parliamentary elections.
The right-wing Eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the far-right British National Party (BNP) also contest Scottish seats on a regular basis, with little success.
The following parties were not registered with the Electoral Commission as of 2 September 2006, and may be defunct:
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