David Murray (born 1900, date of death unknown), was a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into ...

and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician.

Background

Murray was educated at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

, where he took a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in engineering.

Professional career

Murray studied

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. Steel has been made for millennia, and was commercialized on a massive scale in the 1850s and 1860s, using the Bessemer process, Bessemer and open hearth furnace, Siemens-M ...

in Germany. He was an engineer in Australia. He was a steel salesman in the United States and South America. He became an industrial journalist and author. In 1960 he published ''The first nation in Europe: a portrait of Scotland and the Scots''. In 1962, he published ''

Ecurie Ecosse Ecurie may refer to: * Écurie, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in France * Several car racing teams (compare '' scuderias'') : ** Ecurie Belge ** Ecurie Bleue ** Ecurie Bonnier ** Ecurie Ecosse, a former motor racing team from ...

: the story of Scotland's international racing team''.

Political career

Murray was an early advocate of Scottish

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

. He was a member of the committee of the

Scottish Covenant Association The Scottish Covenant Association was a non-partisan political organisation in Scotland in the 1940s and 1950s seeking to establish a devolved Scottish Assembly. It was formed by John MacCormick who had left the Scottish National Party in 1942 ...

, and took part in the launching of the

Scottish Covenant The Scottish Covenant was a petition to the United Kingdom government to create a home rule Scottish parliament. First proposed in 1930, and promoted by the '' Scots Independent'' in 1939, the National Covenant movement reached its peak during th ...

. He was an independent Scottish Home Rule candidate for the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

division at the 1950 general election, having unsuccessfully sought endorsement from the

Scottish Liberal Party The Scottish Liberal Party, the section of the Liberal Party in Scotland, was the dominant political party of Victorian Scotland, and although its importance declined with the rise of the Labour and Unionist parties during the 20th century, it ...

. He finished a poor third. At the 1951 general election, he stood in the Western Isles after being endorsed as the Liberal candidate, but then had to compete for the nationalist vote when a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

candidate intervened. Murray finished third. He remained active for the Liberal Party on the Western Isles, but the local association decided not to run a candidate at the 1955 general election. He decided to contest the

1958 Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election The 1958 Glasgow Kelvingrove by-election of 13 March 1958 was held after the death of Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP Walter Elliot (Scottish politician), Walter Elliot. The seat was marginal, havi ...

and stood as an Independent Liberal candidate. He finished third, but in the wake of this defeat, an alliance was formed to co-operate in promoting Scottish self-government. Murray was an Independent candidate for the

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

division at the 1959 general election, finishing a poor third. He did not stand for parliament again. Collections of his papers are held in the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

References

External links

*Murray article from the Journal of Liberal Democrat History: http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/22_egan_from_liberalism_to_nationalism.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, David 1900 births Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of the University of Glasgow Year of death missing