Back স্কটিশ রক্ষণশীল Bengali/Bangla Partit Conservador Escocès Catalan Skotští konzervativci Czech Scottish Conservative Party German Skota Konservisma 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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Russell Findlay |
| Deputy Leader | Rachael Hamilton |
| Chair | Craig Hoy |
| Deputy Chair | Pam Gosal |
| Founded | April 1965[1] |
| Preceded by | Unionist Party |
| Headquarters | 67 Northumberland Street, Edinburgh |
| 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] | 209 / 1,226 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories[7] is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, 31 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and comprises 209 of Scotland's 1,227 local councillors.
The party's policies in Scotland usually promote conservatism and the continuation of Scotland's role as part of the United Kingdom.
Russell Findlay is the Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, having replaced Douglas Ross who led the party between 2020 and September 2024. The party was previously led by Jackson Carlaw (2020) and Ruth Davidson (2011–2019). Prior to this, Annabel Goldie (2005–2011) and David McLetchie (1999–2005) led the party in the Scottish Parliament.
In the 1999 elections to the Scottish Parliament, 18 Scottish Conservative MSPs were elected. The party maintained this number in 2003, before slipping to 17 MSPs in 2007 and 15 MSPs in 2011. In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the party saw a notable increase in its vote leading to the election of 31 MSPs and replaced Scottish Labour as the main opposition party in the Scottish Parliament. In 2021, they again returned 31 MSPs.
In Westminster elections, the party saw its popularity decline throughout the latter half of the twentieth century and eventually returned no MPs in the 1997 election. And in 2001, 2005, 2010, and 2015 only one Scottish Conservative MP was elected. This changed following the 2017 general election where they won 13 seats and saw a substantial increase in vote share. However, in 2019 they lost more than half of these seats, seeing 6 MPs elected. Most recently, in the 2024 election 5 Scottish Conservative MPs were elected.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Although officially named the Scottish Conservative & Unionist party, It is not a political party. It is registered with the UK Electoral Commission as a description and Accounting Unit (AU) of the UK Conservative Party and is therefore not a registered political party under the terms of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.