A History of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties

Explores how the Scottish Conservative and Unionist parties have influenced the political landscape in Scotland between 1868 and 2021 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 central force in Scottish politics 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and political scientists, it remains relatively neglected, with most publications on the subject either out-of-print or out-of-date. Furthermore, some of the literature is often coloured by mythology. Strikingly, there exists no up-to-date, accessible single-volume history of the party from its origins in the late 19th century until the present. Organised chronologically, this history is revealed as David Torrance focuses on party structure, relations between the Scottish and UK parties, the deployment of 'nationalist' arguments, and strategic approaches used after the 1960s to recover electorally and pursue constitutional aims such as devolution for Scotland. Drawing on archival sources, as well as pamphlets, media coverage and interviews, Torrance charts Scottish Conservative organisation, ideology, personnel and electoral performance over the past century and a half. Key features and benefits  The first academic history of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist parties and the only single-volume account  Addresses a significant gap in the historical and political science literature on the party  Examines the party's rising popularity between the 1920s and 1950s as well as its decline  Draws on extensive research from newspaper archives and interviews with key participants in Scottish Conservative politics David Torrance is a constitutional specialist 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. As the author or editor of more than 20 books, he has published unauthorised biographies of the former SNP leaders and First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. He also has a PhD in history and political science.