Unionism in Scotland

"Scottish unionist" redirects here; for the political parties, see Scottish Unionist Party.

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Unionism in Scotland is the belief in that Scotland should remain in the United Kingdom in its present structure as one of the countries of the United Kingdom. There are many strands of political Unionism in Scotland, as well as sympathisers with Unionism in Northern Ireland. Unionism is a movement often categorised primarily as being in opposition to Scottish independence.

In anticipation of a proposed referendum on Scottish independence, the three main pro-union political parties in Scotland joined to form Better Together in support of Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom.

The Union

The Union Flag, in addition to being the flag of the United Kingdom, also serves as a significant symbol of British Unionism.

The political union between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England (also including Wales as an English possession) was created by the Acts of Union, passed in the parliaments of both kingdoms in 1707 and 1706 respectively, which united the governments of what had previously been independent states (though they had shared the same monarch in a personal union since 1603) under the Parliament of Great Britain. The Union was brought into existence under the Acts of Union on the 1 May 1707.

With the Act of Union 1800, Ireland united with Great Britain into what then formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The history of the Unions is reflected in various stages of the Union Flag, which forms the flag of the United Kingdom. The larger part of Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, however the separation of Ireland which originally occurred under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 was upheld by the British Government and the Unionist-controlled devolved Parliament of Northern Ireland, and chose to remain within the state today, which is now officially termed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The 300th anniversary of the union of Scotland and England was marked in 2007.

Status of the term

The term unionist is typically not one of self-identification in Scotland, although it is liberally used by Scottish nationalists and some political commentators.^{[citation needed]} Unionism is the status quo in Scotland; it is not a single movement, and is not revolutionary. There are other uses of the term unionism in Scotland which, at least historically, took precedence. Amongst these is the name of the Unionist Party, which was the full title of the Tory party in Scotland before the organisation formally merged with the Conservative and Unionist Party in England and Wales in 1965, adopting the latter name. This party was often known simply as the Unionists. 'Unionist' in the names of these parties is rooted in the merger of the Conservative and Liberal Unionist Parties in 1912. The union referred to therein is the 1800 Act of Union, not the Acts of Union 1707.^[1]

The term may also be used to suggest an affinity with Northern Irish unionism, rather than unionism in Scotland.

The former Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP has written that he does not call himself a Unionist, despite being a supporter of the union. This he ascribes to the Liberal Democrat position in regard to Home Rule and decentralisation within the United Kingdom, noting that: 'for me the concept of “Unionism” does not capture the devolution journey on which we have travelled in recent years.' He suggests the connotations behind Unionism are of adherence to a constitutional status quo.^[2]

Unionism and political parties

Scotland's location (in dark blue) within the United Kingdom (in light blue)

The three largest and most significant political parties that support unionism in Scotland are the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative and Unionist Party, all of which organise and stand in elections across Great Britain. However, these three parties have differing beliefs about what Scotland's status should be, particularly in their support of devolution (historically Home Rule) or federalism.

The Conservatives, as a UK wide party, fielded candidates in Scotland until the creation of a separate Unionist Party, which merged into the UK-wide Conservative Party in 1965. In 1968 the Declaration of Perth policy document committed the Conservatives to Scottish devolution in some form, and in 1970 the Conservative government published Scotland's Government, a document recommending the creation of a Scottish Assembly. Support for devolution within the party declined and was opposed by the Conservative government in the 1980s and 1990s, and remained opposed in the run up to the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum.^[3] There is a small Scottish Unionist Party, which broke from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement It has no representation in either the UK or Scottish parliaments. Jacobitism, which took place across Britain, was supported from the outset by Tories in both England and Scotland, but became associated with Scottish nationalism, and was popularised as a key part of the Scottish national identity by the writings of Walter Scott, who was a unionist and a Tory.

The Labour Party has also had a mixed relationship with devolution. In 1950, it abandoned its previous support for Home Rule. Following the Kilbrandon Report in 1973 recommending a devolved Scottish Assembly, the Labour government of 1974-1979 introduced the Scotland Act 1978 to Parliament, which initiated a referendum on devolution. Failing to pass, the referendum was shelved. When the party returned to power in 1997, they introduced a devolution referendum which resulted in the enactment of the Scotland Act 1998 and the creation of the Scottish Parliament.^[3]

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have previously been supportive of Home Rule as part of a wider belief in subsidiarity and localism.^[4] The party is generally supportive of a federal relationship between the countries of the United Kingdom.^[5]

Political opposition to unionism

Notable opponents of unionism in the Scottish Parliament are the Scottish National Party (SNP) who have formed the Scottish Government since 2007 and the Scottish Green Party.^[6] The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and Solidarity seek a return to Scotland being a sovereign state and a republic, independent of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Of these parties, only the SNP currently has representation in the UK Parliament, which it has had continuously since winning the Hamilton by-election, 1967. The SNP and the Scottish Greens both have representation within Scottish Parliament.

The support of Solidarity and the SSP of an independent socialist Scotland has been criticised by the Communist Party of Great Britain as being unsocialist.^[7]

Other support of unionism

In 2007, official celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the union of Scotland with England were muted, due to the proximity of the Scottish Parliamentary elections, which was two days after the date of the first meeting of the parliament of Great Britain on May 1. The union has become a subject of great historical interest recently, with a number of books and television series being released. Surrounding January, the anniversary of the signing of the union treaty but not the actual incorporation, the issue was heavily covered by the media. A £2 coin marking the anniversary was distributed by the Royal Mint.

On 24 March 2007 the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, one body which has been vehement in its defence of the union, organised a march of 12,000 of its members through Edinburgh's Royal Mile to celebrate the 300th anniversary.^[8] The high turnout was believed to be in part due to opposition to Scottish independence.^[9] The Orange Order used the opportunity to speak out against the possibility of nationalists increasing their share of the vote in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. However, the SNP secured a plurality and a minority government under Alex Salmond following the election.

Ties to Unionism in Northern Ireland

Rangers F.C. have traditionally drawn support from Scotland's unionist community.

There is some degree of social and political co-operation between some Scottish unionists and Northern Irish unionists, due to their similar aims of maintaining the unity of their constituent country with the United Kingdom. For example, the Orange Order parades in Orange walks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, many unionists in Scotland shy away from connections to unionism in Ireland in order not to endorse any side of a largely sectarian conflict. This brand of unionism is largely concentrated in the Central Belt and west of Scotland. Loyalists in Scotland are seen as a militant or extreme branch of unionism. Orangism in west and central Scotland, and opposition to it by Catholics in Scotland, can be explained as a result of the large amount of immigration from Northern Ireland.^[10]

References

See also

• Scottish Unionist Party
• Unionist Party (Scotland)
• Sectarianism in Glasgow