Back স্কটিশ রক্ষণশীল Bengali/Bangla Partit Conservador Escocès Catalan Skotští konzervativci Czech Scottish Conservative Party German Skota Konservativa Partio Esperanto Konservatiivipuolue (Skotlanti) Finnish Parti conservateur écossais French Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba Scots/Gaelic Conservatori Scozzesi Italian 스코틀랜드 보수당 Korean
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Albaa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Russell Findlay |
| Deputy Leader | Rachael Hamilton |
| Chair | Alasdair Locke |
| Founded | April 1965[1] |
| Preceded by | Unionist Party |
| Headquarters | 67 Northumberland Street, Edinburgh |
| Youth wing | Scottish Young Conservatives |
| Membership (2024) | 7,000[2] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing |
| National affiliation | Conservatives |
| Colours | Blue |
| House of Commons (Scottish seats) | 5 / 57 |
| Scottish Parliament | 31 / 129 |
| Local government in Scotland[6] | 201 / 1,226 |
| Councils led in Scotland | 4 / 32 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party,a often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a political party and part of the Conservative Party across the United Kingdom that organises in Scotland.
The party's policies promote conservatism and a pro-union position supporting Scotland continuing to be part of the United Kingdom. The Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party is Russell Findlay who was elected to the role in September 2024.
The party campaigns in elections to the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local government. It currently holds five of the 57 constituencies in Scotland in the House of Commons and 31 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, forming the largest opposition party. 206 local councillors in Scotland, out of a total of 1,226, are part of the party.
The party evolved in its present structure from the Unionist Party which existed from 1912 to 1965, combining elements from the pre-1912 Conservative Party in Scotland and the Liberal Unionists. Gradually entering local government from the 1960s, the party replaced previous local groupings of Progressives and Moderates.
The party faced a decline in the latter half of the 20th century, reaching an electoral low-point in the 1997 UK election and returning no Members of Parliament. This was followed by a period of partial recovery in the 2017 election to hold 13 seats - and declining in subsequent elections.
From the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as part of a process of devolution, the party fielded candidates resulting in 18 Scottish Conservative Members of the Scottish Parliament elected in the parliament's first election. In the 2016 election, the Scottish Conservatives replaced Scottish Labour as the second-largest party and largest opposition grouping, growing from 16 to 31 seats - a position they maintained in the 2021 election.
- ^ "Scottish election 2021: A simple guide to the Scottish Conservatives". BBC. 19 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021.
- ^
- "Russell Findlay pledges 'common sense' as Scottish Conservative leader". BBC. 27 September 2024. Archived from the original on 28 September 2024.
- Lockhart, David Wallace (28 September 2024). "Why new Scottish Tory leader has his work cut out". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024.
- ^
- Convery, Alan (2020). "The Scottish Conservative Party". University of Edinburgh Research Explorer. Edinburgh School of Social and Political Science: 5–14. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.013.12. hdl:20.500.11820/d0517348-deeb-4d51-be2a-0e18285bba5d.
- Torrance, David (2023). A History of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 203–232. ISBN 9781399506434.
- ^
- Convery, Alan (2020). "The Scottish Conservative Party". University of Edinburgh Research Explorer. Edinburgh School of Social and Political Science: 5–14. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.013.12. hdl:20.500.11820/d0517348-deeb-4d51-be2a-0e18285bba5d.
- Ascherson, Neal (16 January 2022). "Scotland's a conservative country. But Scottish Tories are held back by London HQ". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022.
- Simpkins, Fiona (2021). "The Conservative Party and the Brexit Crisis". Observatoire de la société britannique. 27: 247–265. doi:10.4000/osb.5275.
- Torrance, David (2023). A History of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 203–232. ISBN 9781399506434.
- ^
- Convery, Alan (2020). "The Scottish Conservative Party". University of Edinburgh Research Explorer. Edinburgh School of Social and Political Science: 5–14. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.013.12. hdl:20.500.11820/d0517348-deeb-4d51-be2a-0e18285bba5d.
- ^ "Local Council Political Compositions". Open Council Date UK. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.