Scottish Liberal Party

Former political party in Scotland

Scottish Liberal Party

Founded| 1859
Dissolved| 3 March 1988
Merged into| Scottish Liberal Democrats
Headquarters| 2 Atholl Place, Edinburgh
Ideology| Liberalism
Classical liberalism
Social liberalism
National affiliation| Liberal Party

* Politics of Scotland
* Political parties
* Elections

The Scottish Liberal Party, the section of the Liberal Party in Scotland, was the dominant political party of Victorian Scotland,[1] and although its importance declined with the rise of the Labour and Unionist parties during the 20th century,[2] it was still a significant, albeit much reduced force when it finally merged with the Social Democratic Party in Scotland, to form the Scottish Liberal Democrats in 1988.

The party lost its last remaining seats in the UK Parliament in 1945, and continued to decline in popular support in the post war years, with Jo Grimond (who won back Orkney and Shetland in 1950) being the sole Scottish Liberal MP in the House of Commons from 1951 to 1964. The party gained a partial revival in the 1964 general election returning three further MPs; George Mackie, Russell Johnston and Alasdair Mackenzie. A further gain came the following year with David Steel's victory at the Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election. Steel went on to become a pivotal figure in the development of Scottish devolution, in partnership with John Smith, Donald Dewar and other key Labour and Liberal figures.

## Victorian Party

[edit]

The Victorian Liberal party in Scotland was not always ideologically unified, and was faced with many internal divisions, particularly amongst the more conservative Whiggish elements of the party who were largely based in Edinburgh and the East, and the more western and Glasgow-based radical Liberals.[3]

The East and North of Scotland Liberal Association and the West and South West of Scotland Liberal Association were founded in 1877. Early in 1881, they merged, forming the Scottish Liberal Association, led by Gladstone and Adam. A National Liberal Federation of Scotland was founded in April 1886, but merged into the Liberal Association in December.[4]

The Scottish Women's Liberal Federation was formed in 1891 from regional groups and was led by Anne Lindsay.[5]

## Leadership

[edit]

### Chairmen

[edit]

1886: Victor Bruce
1894: Thomas Gibson-Carmichael
1902: Edward Marjoribanks
1906: John William Crombie
1908: Eugene Wason
1909: George Green
1910: Eugene Wason
1912: William Robertson
1921: Donald Maclean
1925: John Anthony
1933: William Baird
1936: Archibald Sinclair
1936: Philip Kerr
1946: Louise Glen-Coats
1948: Leonard T. M. Gray

1952: Louise Glen-Coats
1953: John Gray Wilson
1954: Charles Hampton Johnston
1956: John Bannerman
1965: George Mackie
1970: Russell Johnston
1973: Robert L. Smith
1975: Menzies Campbell
1977: Terry Grieve
1980: Fred McDermid
1982: Ross Finnie
1986: John Lawrie
1987: Christopher Mason

### Presidents

[edit]

1880s: John Dalrymple
1884: Alexander Duff
1886: Archibald Primrose
1901: Henry Campbell-Bannerman
1909: H. H. Asquith
1928: John Hamilton-Gordon
1934: Ramsay Muir
1935: Archibald Sinclair
1960: Archibald Sinclair and Andrew Murray
1961: Archibald Sinclair
1963: Archibald Sinclair and John Bannerman
1965: John Bannerman
1969: Ray Bannerman (later Ray Michie)
1976: Robert L. Smith
1982: Fred McDermid
1983: George Mackie

### Leader

[edit]

* Until 1973, the party was led by the president.
* Russell Johnston, 1973–1988

## Electoral performance

[edit]

The Liberals reached their zenith in Scotland at the 1906 general election, where they won over 80% of Scottish seats.

This chart shows the electoral results of the Scottish Liberal Party, from its first election in 1859, to its last in 1983. Total number of seats, and vote percentage, is for Scotland only.

Election  | National leader in Scotland  | Vote %  | Seats  | Government

|
|
|
|

1859 | —  | 66.4  |

40 / 53

| Liberal
1865 | —  | 85.4  |

42 / 53

| Liberal
1868 | —  | 82.5  |

51 / 58

| Liberal
1874 | —  | 68.4  |

40 / 58

| Conservative
1880 | —  | 70.1  |

52 / 58

| Liberal
1885 | William Ewart Gladstone for Midlothian | 53.3  |

51 / 70

| Liberal minority
1886 | William Ewart Gladstone for Midlothian | 53.6  |

43 / 70

| Conservative–Liberal Unionist
1892 | William Ewart Gladstone for Midlothian | 53.9  |

51 / 70

| Liberal minority
1895 | —  | 51.7  |

39 / 70

| Conservative–Liberal Unionist
1900 | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman for Stirling Burghs | 50.2  |

34 / 70

| Conservative–Liberal Unionist
1906 | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman for Stirling Burghs | 56.4  |

58 / 70

| Liberal
Jan 1910 | H. H. Asquith for East Fife | 54.2  |

58 / 70

| Liberal minority
Dec 1910 | H. H. Asquith for East Fife | 53.6  |

57 / 70

| Liberal minority
1918 | H. H. Asquith for East Fife (defeated) | Official Liberal
15.0

Coalition Liberal
19.1  | Official Liberal

8 / 71

Coalition Liberal

25 / 71

| Coalition Liberal–Conservative
1922 | H. H. Asquith for Paisley | Official Liberal
21.5

National Liberal
17.7  | Official Liberal

15 / 71

National Liberal

12 / 71

| Conservative
1923 | H. H. Asquith for Paisley | 28.4  |

22 / 71

| Labour minority
1924 | H. H. Asquith for Paisley | 16.6  |

8 / 71

| Conservative
1929 | —  | 18.1  |

13 / 71

| Labour minority
1931 | —  | 8.6  |

7 / 71

| National Labour–Conservative–Liberal
1935 | —  | 6.7  |

3 / 71

| Conservative–National Labour–Liberal National
1945 | Sir Archibald Sinclair for Caithness and Sutherland | 5.6  |

0 / 71

| Labour
1950 | —  | 6.6  |

2 / 71

| Labour
1951 | —  | 2.7  |

1 / 71

| Conservative
1955 | —  | 1.9  |

1 / 71

| Conservative
1959 | Jo Grimond for Orkney and Shetland | 4.1  |

1 / 71

| Conservative
1964 | Jo Grimond for Orkney and Shetland | 7.6  |

4 / 71

| Labour
1966 | Jo Grimond for Orkney and Shetland | 6.8  |

5 / 71

| Labour
1970 | —  | 5.5  |

3 / 71

| Conservative
February 1974 | —  | 7.9  |

3 / 71

| Labour minority
October 1974 | —  | 8.3  |

3 / 71

| Labour
1979 | David Steel for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles | 9.0  |

3 / 71

| Conservative

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Brown, Stewart J. (October 1992). "'Echoes of Midlothian': Scottish Liberalism and the South African War, 1899–1902". The Scottish Historical Review. LXXI (191/192): 156–183\. JSTOR 25530538.156-183&rft.date=1992-10&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25530538#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Brown&rft.aufirst=Stewart+J.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Scottish+Liberal+Party" class="Z3988">
2. ^ Devine, Thomas Martin; Finlay, Richard J. (1996). Scotland in the twentieth century. Edinburgh University Press. p. 73\. ISBN 978-0-7486-0839-3.
3. ^ Checkland, Olive; Checkland, S. G. (January 1989). Industry and Ethos: Scotland, 1832–1914. p. 77\. ISBN 9780748601028.
4. '^ Liberal Year Book, 1887
5. ^ K. D. Reynolds, ‘Lindsay, Anna (1845–1903)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 15 Oct 2017

## Further reading

[edit]

* Constitution and rules of the Scottish Liberal Association. Scottish Liberal Association. c. 1800s. p. 8.
* Scottish Liberal Party (1970). Scottish self-government: the views of the Scottish Liberal party. Scottish Liberal Party. ISBN 978-0-902381-04-9.
* Torrance, David (2022). A History of the Scottish Liberals and Liberal Democrats. Edinburgh University Press. p. 240\. ISBN 9781399506397.

## External links

[edit]

* Scottish Liberal Club and Scottish Liberal Party archives, held at the National Library of Scotland

* v
* t
* e

Liberal Party

Leadership

| Leaders|

| Leaders in the House of Commons (1859–1916)|

* Palmerston (1859–65)
* Gladstone (1865–75)
* Hartington (1875–80)
* Gladstone (1880–94)
* Rosebery (1894–96)
* Harcourt (1896–98)
* Campbell-Bannerman (1899–1908)
* Asquith (1908–16)

|

Leaders in the House of Lords (1859–1916)|

* Granville (1859–65)
* Russell (1865–68)
* Granville (1868–91)
* Kimberley (1891–94)
* Rosebery (1894–96)
* Kimberley (1896–1902)
* Spencer (1902–05)
* Ripon (1905–08)
* Crewe (1908–23)

Overall Leaders (1916–88)|

* Asquith (1916–26)
* Maclean (interim) (1918–20)
* Lloyd George (1926–31)
* Samuel (1931–35)
* Sinclair (1935–45)
* Davies (1945–56)
* Grimond (1956–67)
* Thorpe (1967–76)
* Grimond (1976)
* Steel (1976–88)

Deputy Leaders|

* Samuel (1929–31)
* Sinclair (1931–35)
* Harris (1940–45)
* vacant (1945–49)
* M Lloyd George (1949–51)
* vacant (1951–62)
* Wade (1962–64)
* vacant (1964–76)
* Pardoe (1976-79)
* vacant (1979-85)
* Beith (1985–88)

Leaders in the Lords (1916–88)|

* Crewe (1908–23)
* Grey (1923–24)
* Beauchamp (1924–31)
* Reading (1931–36)
* Crewe (1936–44)
* Samuel (1944–55)
* Rea (1955–67)
* Byers (1967–84)
* Seear (1984–88)

Presidents|

* Chamberlain (1877–80)
* Collings (1880–81)
* Fell Pease (1881–82)
* Kitson (1883–90)
* Foster (1886–90)
* Spence Watson (1890–1902)
* Birrell (1902–06)
* Dyke Acland (1906–07)
* Angus (1908–11)
* J Brunner (1911–18)
* Lunn (1918–20)
* Robertson (1920–23)
* Maclean (1923–26)
* Spender (1926–27)
* Hobhouse (1927–30)
* Brampton (1930–33)
* Meston (1936–43)
* Bonham Carter (1945–47)
* Foot (1947–48)
* Dodds (1948–49)
* McFadyean (1949–50)
* Fothergill (1950–52)
* Walker (1952–53)
* L Robson (1953–54)
* White (1954–55)
* Rea (1955–56)
* Behrens (1956–57)
* Micklem (1957–58)
* Comyns Carr (1958–59)
* Glanville (1959–60)
* Murray (1960–61)
* Malindine (1961–62)
* F Brunner (1962–63)
* Rees-Williams (1963–64)
* Fulford (1964–65)
* Seear (1965–66)
* Henley and Northington (1966–67)
* Wade (1967–68)
* Beaumont (1968–69)
* S Robson (1969–70)
* Terrell (1971–72)
* Jones (1972–73)
* Lloyd (1973–74)
* Holt (1974–75)
* Wingfield (1975–76)
* Goldstone (1976–77)
* Evans (1977–78)
* Steed (1978–79)
* Rose (1979-80)
* Holme (1980–81)
* Bingham (1981–82)
* Griffiths (1982–83)
* Tordoff (1983–84)
* Watson (1984–85)
* Penhaligon (1985–86)
* Wilson (1986–87)
* Slade (1987–88)

Leadership elections

* 1967 (Thorpe)
* 1976 (Steel)

Governments

| Single party Liberal governments|

* First Gladstone ministry (1868–74)
* Second Gladstone ministry (1880–85)
* Third Gladstone ministry (1886)
* Fourth Gladstone ministry (1892–94)
* Rosebery ministry (1894–95)
* Campbell-Bannerman ministry (1905–08)
* First Asquith ministry (1908–15)

|

Liberal-led coalitions|

* Asquith coalition ministry (1915–16)
* Lloyd George ministry (1916–22)

Coalitions with Liberal ministers|

* First National Government (1931)
* Second National Government (1931-1932)
* Churchill war ministry (1940–45)

Structure

| Parliamentarians|

* Members of Parliament
* Members of the House of Lords
* Chief Whip

|

Frontbench|

* Liberal Party Frontbench Team, 1945–1956
* Liberal Party Frontbench Team, 1956–1967
* Liberal Party Frontbench Team, 1967–1976
* Liberal Party Frontbench Team, 1976–1988

State parties|

* National Liberal Federation
* Liberal Party Organisation
* Scottish Liberal Party
* Welsh Liberal Party

Conference|

* Liberal Assembly

SAOs|

* National League of Young Liberals
* Union of Liberal Students
* Women's Liberal Federation

Related organisations

* Brooks's
* National Liberal Club
* Reform Club

* Social Democratic Party (1981-1988)
* SDP–Liberal Alliance (1981–1988)
* Ulster Liberal Party (1956–1987)

* Liberal Democrats (1988-present)

History and related topics

* Liberal Imperialists
* Coalition Government:
* Coalition Coupon in Government
* Independent Liberal Party (UK, 1918) in Opposition
* National Government:
* Independent Liberals (UK, 1931) in Opposition
* General election manifestos
* Britain's Industrial Future ("The Yellow Book")
* Glee Club
* The Land
* Lib–Lab pact
* Liberator
* One more heave
* Peelites
* Radical Action
* Radical Reform Group
* Whig Party
* Rockingham Whigs

Breakaway parties

* Liberal Unionist Party (Spencer Cavendish)
* National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) (David Lloyd George)
* National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) ("Simonites")
* Liberal Party (UK, 1989) (Michael Meadowcroft)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

* v
* t
* e

Defunct political parties in Scotland

Historic|

* Kirk Party
* Squadrone Volante

19th Century|

* Crofters Party
* Highland Land League
* Scottish Labour Party (1888)
* Scottish Land Restoration League
* Scottish Liberal Party
* Scottish Socialist Federation
* Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party
* Scottish Workers' Representation Committee

20th Century|

* Communist Bulletin Group
* Communist Party of Scotland
* Fife Socialist League
* Highland Land League (1909)
* Labour Party of Scotland
* Moderates
* National Party of Scotland
* Orkney and Shetland Movement
* Progressives
* Protestant Action Society
* Scottish Democratic Fascist Party
* Scottish Labour Party (1976)
* Scottish Militant Labour
* Scottish Party
* Scottish Prohibition Party
* Scottish Protestant League
* Scottish Socialist Party (1932)
* Shetland Movement
* Unionist Party
* United Socialist Movement
* Workers Party of Scotland

21st Century|

* Borders Party
* Britannica Party
* East Dunbartonshire Independent Alliance
* East Kilbride Alliance
* Fishing Party
* Highlands and Islands Alliance
* RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance
* Scottish Jacobite Party
* Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party
* Scottish Voice
* Solidarity

* Politics of Scotland
* Current political parties in Scotland
* Elections in Scotland
* List of political parties by country

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