Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party

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Political party in the United Kingdom

Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party

Official logo registered with the Electoral Commission

Leader| John Mortimer[1]
Nominating officer| John Ferguson[1]
Founded| 3 August 2020 (2020-08-03)[2]
Ideology|

* Scottish Parliament abolition
* Anti-devolution
* Scottish unionism

Scottish Parliament|

0 / 129

Scottish local government|

0 / 1,227

* Politics of the United Kingdom
* Political parties
* Elections

The Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party is a unionist single-issue political party in Scotland. It seeks to abolish the Scottish Parliament, and hand its powers to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Scottish local government, and the UK Parliament.[3]

## History

[edit]

Logo used by the party on social media

Although the party was first registered with the Electoral Commission on 31 January 2018,[4] it did not officially launch until 3 August 2020.[5] Its founder and current leader, John Mortimer, previously campaigned for Better Together and established the British Unionist Party.[2] He also stood in the Glasgow electoral region in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, receiving 2,453 votes.[6] Mortimer was critical of the Scottish Conservatives in comments made to the Daily Record, stating that they "have been weak opposition to the SNP on a number of levels."[7] Despite gaining the backing of former UK Independence Party candidates John Ferguson and Mitch William, Mortimer insisted that the party was not a vehicle for former UKIP voters, although UKIP has endorsed abolishing the Scottish Parliament.[7][8]

### 2021 Scottish Parliament election

[edit]

On 31 March 2021, the party announced that they would be contesting each of the eight electoral regions in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[9] They endorsed tactical voting similar to other nationalist and unionist parties like Alba and All for Unity. In order to deprive the SNP of a majority or a coalition with the Scottish Greens, they encouraged supporters to give their constituency vote to either the Conservatives, Labour, or the Liberal Democrats, and their list vote to Abolish.[10]

In their first contested election, the 2021 election, the party did not win any seats, achieving 7,262 votes (0.3%).[11]

### Subsequent activity

[edit]

John Ferguson is the party's candidate in the August 2025 Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor by-election on East Renfrewshire Council.[12][13]

## Policies

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Abolish the Scottish Parliament's single issue is the end of Scottish devolution. They claim that the current devolution system does not resemble what was promised in the 1997 referendum.[14]

They decry the £100 million cost of the parliament as "shocking", pledging instead to spend the funding on the NHS and education.[3] They propose returning executive powers to the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, returning legislative powers to the UK Parliament in London with a revival of pre-devolution role of the Scottish Grand Committee, and turning the Holyrood parliament building into a museum for the British Armed Forces.[3][15] The party supports increasing the number of Scottish MPs to the seventy-four which Scotland had until 1950, elected on a proportional system. The party also opposes what it sees as "damaging, unpopular policies" pursued by the SNP, such as their "Named Person" system and the minimum pricing of alcohol.

## Electoral performance

[edit]

### 2021 Scottish parliament election

[edit]

Region  | Candidates[1] | Votes  | %

|
|
|

Central Scotland | John Mortimer, Lee McLauchlan  | 841  | 0.3
Glasgow | James Dunsmore, Robert Pressley  | 702  | 0.2
Highlands and Islands | Jack Malcolm  | 686  | 0.3
Lothian | John Leckie, David Nichol  | 828  | 0.2
Mid Scotland and Fife | Ian Mann, John Duff  | 945  | 0.3
North East Scotland | Callum Buchanan  | 1,218  | 0.3
South Scotland | John Ferguson, Simon Bellord  | 1,126  | 0.3
West Scotland | Robert Watson  | 916  | 0.2

## See also

[edit]

* Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party

## References

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1. ^ a b c "PEOPLE & CANDIDATES". Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
2. ^ a b Cochrane, Angus (19 August 2020). "New Unionist party wants to abolish the Scottish Parliament". The National. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
3. ^ a b c "POLICIES". Abolish the Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
4. ^ "Registration summary - Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
5. ^ Mortimer, John. "Let's Take on the Holyrood Establishment in May 2021". Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
6. ^ "John Mortimer". Who Can I Vote For?. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
7. ^ a b McCall, Chris (20 August 2020). "New political party aims to abolish Scottish Parliament by winning seats at Holyrood". Daily Record. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
8. ^ "UKIP Scotland: Scrap Holyrood now to Save the Union". UKIP. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
9. ^ Mortimer, John. "Abolish to Contest All Scottish Regions!". Abolish the Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
10. ^ Mortimer, John. "Vote Smart to get the SNP and the Greens Out!". Abolish the Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
11. ^ Sim, Philip (10 May 2021). "Scottish election 2021: The numbers behind the result". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
12. ^ "Local Government By-election - East Renfrewshire". East Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
13. ^ "By-Election Preview: Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor (East Renfrewshire) 21st of August 2025". Ballot Box Scotland. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
14. ^ Mortimer, John. "Devolution: A Costly, Divisive, Failed Experiment". Abolish the Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
15. ^ "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS". Abolish the Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 7 April 2021.