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The British Unionist Party (BUP) is a
Scottish unionist political party founded in December 2015 as A Better Britain – Unionist Party by activists from the
Better Together campaign against
Scottish independence. Unlike the mainstream unionist parties, it is critical of the devolution process, which it views as a "slow road to separation". The party has a statement of principles based on the four themes of Union, constitution, industry and sovereignty.
At the
2022 local elections, the BUP gained its first ever representation at the national level when John Jo Leckie was elected as a councillor in the
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...
ward of
Fortissat.
History
A Better Britain – Unionist Party was formed by activists from the
Better Together campaign who opposed the
devolution process, and who felt that the mainstream unionist parties had abandoned unionist values in calling for more powers for the Scottish Parliament.
It was launched on 31 December 2015, and one of its co-founders, Steven Gordon, conducted an interview with
Andrew Neil
Andrew Ferguson Neil (born 21 May 1949) is a Scottish former journalist and broadcaster who is chairman of ''The Spectator'' and presenter of '' The Andrew Neil Show'' on Channel 4. He was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1983 to 1994. He f ...
on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
Daily Politics
''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas ...
'' in early January. Candidates of the party have since stood in the
2016 Scottish parliamentary elections and the
2017 Scottish local elections
The 2017 Scottish local elections were held on Thursday 4 May, in all 32 local authorities. The SNP retained its position as the largest party in terms of votes and councillors, despite suffering minor losses. The Conservatives made gains and d ...
. They took one seat in
Fortissat in
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...
from the Scottish Conservatives in the
2022 Scottish local elections
The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%.
Compared to the previous ...
.
In January 2019, the party changed its name to the British Unionist Party, in order to further highlight their British Unionist credentials. The party was also registered as the British Union & Sovereignty Party until February 2020.
Policies
Unionism
The BUP opposes the devolution process, and believes that the new powers granted to the Scottish Parliament on the basis of the
Smith Commission
The Smith Commission was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron on 19 September 2014 in the wake of the 'No' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The establishment of the commission was part of the process of fulfilling The Vow ...
go too far. It also opposes any further referendums on
Scottish independence, and has called for both the British and Scottish parliaments to work together to pursue closer union. In addition to this, it proposes several pro-UK cultural policies such as flying the
Union Flag
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
from council buildings in Scotland, and reversing what it sees as the nationalist re-branding of the
Scottish Government by restoring its logo to the
Scottish version of the royal coat of arms as used by the
Labour–Lib Dem Scottish Executive. The party also calls for the protection of UK institutions in Scotland, and has opposed the absorption of the
British Transport Police
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, abbreviation = BTP
, patch =
, patchcaption =
, logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg
, logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police
, badge =
, badgecaption =
, f ...
into
Police Scotland
Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...
, and called for Trident & Faslane Naval Base to be retained at their current location on the Scottish west coast.
Social democracy
The BUP has stated its opposition to the extent of cuts to public services under the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
government,
and has specifically opposed any further cuts to the NHS, Royal Mail (before it was fully privatised), the Armed Forces and education.
It opposed a universal 1p tax rise in Scotland as proposed by
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
and the
Liberal Democrats, but supported calls for the reintroduction of a 50% rate for earnings in the highest income bracket. It has also called for better care for the elderly, including a rise in
Winter Fuel Payment
The Winter Fuel Payment is a state benefit paid once per year in the United Kingdom to people old enough to have been born before a specific date. It is intended to cover the additional costs of heating over the winter months. It was first introduc ...
rates and a reduction in
TV licence fees for those over 65.
More powers for local government
The party calls for greater powers for local government, and has criticised the centralising nature of the
Scottish Parliament under the
Scottish National Party (SNP). Notably, it has called for Police Scotland and
Fire & Rescue Scotland to be abolished, and for local police, fire and rescue services to be restored. It has also criticised the tax freeze imposed on local councils by the Scottish government, and stated that local councils should have more control over their own spending.
Civil liberties
The party has been particularly critical of several pieces of SNP legislation which it regards as an infringement on civil liberties. It has criticised the Named Person Scheme as a "totalitarian state invasion into family life", and the
Offensive Behaviour at Football Act
The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament which created new criminal offences concerning sectarianism, sectarian behaviour at association football, football games ...
for "criminalising ordinary football fans". It has called for both pieces of legislation to be scrapped.
Electoral performance
The party contested the
2016 Scottish parliamentary elections, standing on the regional ballot for
Glasgow region. It won 2,453 votes (1.0%), failing to win a seat. However it won a council seat in
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...
at the
2022 Scottish local elections
The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%.
Compared to the previous ...
, with John Jo Leckie being one of four successful candidates in the
Fortissat ward.
This was the party's first ever representation at any level in Scottish politics.
See also
*
Scottish Unionist Party
*
Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present)
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is a minor political party in the United Kingdom established in 1990. Ideologically, the SDP combines social conservatism with centre-left economic policy and support for a social market economy alongside Eurosc ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:British Unionist Party
2015 establishments in Scotland
Political parties established in 2015
Political parties in Scotland
Unionism in Scotland