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The Scottish Protestant League (SPL) was a political party in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
during the 1920s and 1930s. The League was led by Alexander Ratcliffe, who founded it in 1920.


Creation and initial years

The SPL was launched by Ratcliffe in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
on 28 September 1920, at a large meeting of representatives from various Protestant Evangelical denominations at the Edinburgh Free Gardeners Institute. The group proclaimed itself to be ‘evangelical, undenominational, and non-political,’ and would oppose ‘spiritualism, Christian Science, and various other systems of anti-Scriptural teaching.’ While the focus was broad, the group was essentially anti-Catholic, being formed days after a
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
rally in Edinburgh, amidst the backdrop of the early stages of the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and United Kingdom of Gre ...
. At the founding meeting the group specifically claimed that responding to the Sinn Féin 'campaign' in Scotland would form a core part of the groups remit. Ratcliffe served for a short time on the Edinburgh Education Authority. While he accomplished little, his membership brought him additional attention, and by the late 1920s his following had grown, including the Unionist Lord Scone. Frustrated by what he saw as a lack of strong Protestants in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...
, Ratcliffe contested the
1929 United Kingdom general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929 and resulted in a hung parliament. It stands as the fourth of six instances under the secret ballot, and the first of three under universal suffrage, in which a party h ...
in
Stirling and Falkirk Stirling and Falkirk is a lieutenancy area of Scotland. It consists of the local government areas of Stirling and Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically wit ...
. Ratcliffe chose the seat as the incumbent Labour MP, Hugh Murnin, was Catholic, and the constituency had seen a dispute in Bonnybridge over the creation of a Catholic school. Ratcliffe attacked both Murnin for his Catholicism, and the Unionist candidate
Douglas Jamieson Douglas Jamieson (14 April 1880 – 31 May 1952) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. Biography Jamieson was born on 14 April 1880 to Violet and William Jamieson, a merchant. Educated at Cargilfield School, Fettes College, the Unive ...
on the strength of his Protestantism. Despite this, Ratcliffe offered to Jamieson to withdraw if Jamieson pledged to support amending the
Education (Scotland) Act 1918 The Education Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c. 39), often known as the Fisher Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was drawn up by H. A. L. Fisher. Herbert Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education, also played a k ...
. Jamieson refused, losing the constituency by 5,244 votes to Murnin, with Ratcliffe receiving 6,902 votes. Following the election, Lord Scone broke with Ratcliffe and resigned from the SPL.


Growth and electoral success

In 1930, Ratcliffe moved to
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
, and began contesting local elections. Ratcliffe was elected as a councillor to
Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one of ...
in 1931 for
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(previously a safe
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
seat) and the League won another seat in
Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, gd, Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Par ...
(previously a safe Labour seat) by an ex-communist, Charles Forrester. The third seat it contested failed to unseat the Moderate but it did come second, pushing Labour into third place. In these three seats (which had the highest turn outs in the election) the League gained 12,579 votes (44%).Smyth, p. 195. In 1932 the League stood in eleven wards and gained one more seat (
Kinning Park Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book 1 ...
) and 12% of the total vote.Smyth, p. 196. In 1933 the League saw its greatest success when it stood in twenty-three wards and gained over 71,000 votes (23% of the total vote). Again the League did best in seats with the highest turn outs. In the same year Ratcliffe joined the
Scottish Fascist Democratic Party The Scottish Democratic Fascist Party (SDFP) or Scottish Fascist Democratic Party was a political party in Scotland. It was founded in 1933 out of the Scottish section of the New Party by William Weir Gilmour and Major Hume Sleigh.Kushner, Tony, a ...
for a brief period, but left when the party softened its line on anti-Catholicism. Following a visit to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1939, Ratcliffe became a fully fledged convert to
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...
.


Party platform

The main policy of the League was to campaign for the repeal of the
Education (Scotland) Act 1918 The Education Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c. 39), often known as the Fisher Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was drawn up by H. A. L. Fisher. Herbert Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education, also played a k ...
and specifically Section 18 of that Act which allowed
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
schools into the state system funded through education rates, which led to the slogan: "No Rome on the Rates!" The League wished to stop
Irish immigration to Britain Irish migration to Great Britain has occurred from the earliest recorded history to the present. There has been a continuous movement of people between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain due to their proximity. This tide has ebbed and ...
, repatriate Irish immigrants already settled and deport Irish immigrants on welfare. The League also opposed cuts in teacher's pay, campaigned for lower wages for top council workers, and was in favour of building more council housing and for reduced rents and rates. Ratcliffe also voiced support for Scottish Home Rule, writing in the party organ ''Vanguard'' that "''if Home Rule works in Ulster, why cannot it work in Scotland?''" Ratcliffe argued that Home Rule would not undermine protestant interests in Scotland, and declared himself willing to support it in principle.


Relationship with Ulster Unionists

The Scottish Protestant League inspired the formation of the Ulster Protestant League in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
, after Radcliffe embarked on a speaking tour of Northern Ireland in March and April 1931. Relations between the SPL and UPL were therefore extremely close to begin with, however they soured after an incident on the afternoon of 2 May 1933, when SPL members Mary Radcliffe (wife of SPL leader Alexander Radcliffe) and Charles Forrester attacked and damaged a painting when being given a tour of the Northern Irish Parliament by John William Nixon. The painting depicted
Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...
celebrating King William's victory at the
Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...
, which although accurate, was deemed blasphemous by the SPL members (particularly given its location within the Northern Irish parliament). Forrester threw red paint over Innocent XI, whilst Radcliffe slashed it with a knife. Both were arrested, before being fined £65. The painting had caused discord in the Northern Irish Parliament when first unveiled, due to the realisation that it featured the Pope, with Nixon raising the issue in the Northern Irish Parliament.


Decline

However from 1934 the League declined.
Protestant churches Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
opposed it and internal splits hampered it. The majority, including Ratcliffe, voted with Labour on the council, with two voting with the Moderates. After disagreements with Ratcliffe's control of the League, four councillors left and designated themselves independent Protestants.Smyth, p. 199. Lord Scone, the League's honorary President, resigned from the group in 1934.Protestant Extremism in Urban Scotland 1930-1939: Its Growth and Contraction pg.154 In the 1934 election for Glasgow Corporation, the League only put up seven candidates and none were elected (Ratcliffe lost his seat even though there was no Moderate candidate and the independent Protestants lost their seats also), although they did gain a considerable number of votes. In 1937, Ratcliffe failed to be elected for Camphill. Although there are reports that the League was virtually defunct by the late 1930s, its ''Vanguard'' newspaper was still running as late as 1939 and reporting that "Hitler and the Pope are a pair...much in common...plotting together with Mussolini, also in the plot, to smash Protestantism throughout Europe", and as late as March 1945 a leaflet advertising ''Vanguard'' was being sent to politicians. Ratcliffe himself remained active during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
; complaints were raised in Parliament in 1943 about an antisemitic pamphlet he had published, though no action was taken against him. Ratcliffe has been described as 'one of the very first Holocaust deniers in the country and perhaps even the world.' He died in Glasgow in 1947.''The Scotsman'', Tuesday 14 January 1947
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See also

* Ulster Protestant League *
Protestant Action Society The Protestant Action Society was a political party in Edinburgh active in the 1930s. It was founded by John Cormack in 1933 and had elected nine members to the Edinburgh Council in 1936 with 31 percent of the vote. In June 1935 the party org ...
* Scottish Democratic Fascist Party


Notes


Further reading

*Steve Bruce, ''No Pope of Rome!: Militant Protestantism in Modern Scotland'' (Mainstream, 1989), pp. 42–82. * {{Defunct political parties in Scotland 1920 establishments in Scotland Anti-Catholicism in Scotland Defunct political parties in Scotland History of Glasgow Political parties established in 1920 Protestant political parties