A History of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties

The Scottish Unionist Party was the dominant party of inter-war Scotland, and while its electoral fortunes declined with the rise of the Labour and Scottish National parties during the 1960s, it remained a significant force in Scotland after its 1965 rebranding as the Scottish Conservative Party. More recently, it experienced a modest electoral revival under the leadership of Ruth Davidson (2011-19). Yet while aspects of the party’s history have received attention from historians and political scientists, it remains relatively neglected, with most publications either out of print or out of date. Strikingly, there exists no up-to-date, accessible single-volume history of the party from its origins in the late nineteenth century until present. Furthermore, a lot of Scottish Conservative history is coloured by mythology and political prejudice. This volume, the second in a series of Scottish party histories, plugs this significant gap in the literature.

Dr David Torrance is a constitutional expert at the House of Commons Library. Prior to that, he was a freelance journalist, broadcaster and writer for almost 20 years. As a columnist with the Herald newspaper, he was one of the leading commentators on Scottish and UK politics during the 2014 independence and 2016 Brexit referendums, while as the author or editor of almost 20 books, he has published unauthorised biographies of the SNP leaders and First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. He has a PhD in history and political science.