The Scottish Unionist Party (SUP) is a minor

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in Scotland. As a unionist party, it advocates keeping Scotland (along with England,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

) in the United Kingdom. It is also anti-

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

, advocating the abolition of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

History

The SUP was formed in 1986 by a number of members of the Conservative Party disillusioned with

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

signing the

Anglo-Irish Agreement The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irelan ...

. In the early years of its existence, the party found a great deal of support amongst members of the Scottish Orange Order. Many traditional supporters of the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...

and others felt that the signing of the treaty giving the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

a role in the government of

was a betrayal of the Unionists in that part of the United Kingdom and the associated

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

community.

Electoral performance

The SUP contested elections including the

elections in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. In 2003, the SUP contested only the

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Central Scotland and West of Scotland

Additional Members System The additional-member system (AMS) is a two-vote seat-linkage-based mixed electoral system used in the United Kingdom in which most representatives are elected in single-member districts (SMDs), and a fixed number of other "additional members" ...

electoral regions, yet failed to poll enough votes to elect any MSPs. It also contested only six local council wards in 2003, all located in the West

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demographics of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...

where the traditional "Orange vote" resides. In one

city centre seat (Kingston), they achieved third place. The SUP also stood for two seats at the 2001 general election, in Glasgow Springburn and Airdrie and Shotts. The party managed to retain its deposit in the former and almost did so in the latter. This was not so surprising in Springburn, for there was no Conservative candidate since it was the constituency in which the Speaker, Michael Martin, was seeking re-election, but in Airdrie and Shotts, despite the presence of a Conservative and Unionist candidate, the SUP still managed to poll 4.5% of the vote. At the 2005 general election the party fielded its leader, Daniel Houston, in

Glasgow North East Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Palace of Westminster, Westminster). It was first contested at the 2005 United Kingdom general ...

against Speaker Martin again; Houston won 4.5% of the vote, almost enough to retain his deposit. The party failed to win any seats at the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections or the Scottish local elections held at the same time. According to the 2007 statement of accounts with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

the party has 128 members, which was up by 10 on the previous year though income from memberships fell from GBP 572 to GBP 365. It was deregistered by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2009. However, the party appeared to have revived in 2012, when it ran a slate of candidates in the Glasgow Council elections, receiving 586 votes. It also fielded two candidates in the South Lanarkshire Council elections where their candidates received an average of 3.2% of the vote in the two wards it stood in. The SUP did not field any candidates for the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

. Party leader Jon Stanley was the SUP candidate in the 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election, coming sixth out of eight candidates, with 59 votes (0.3%). It was deregistered in November 2021 and re-registered in February 2022.

Campaigns

The SUP campaigns against what it sees as

anti-Protestant Anti-Protestantism is bias, hatred or distrust against some or all branches of Protestantism and/or its List of Christian denominations#Protestant, followers, especially when amplified in legal, political, ethic or military measures. Protesta ...

and anti-Unionist government policies. The party is often strongly critical of mainstream parties that they view as failing to safeguard the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

, including the major pro-Union parties in Scotland. A number of its major policies are to: * Oppose any moves to amend the

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

, which disallows the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British con ...

from marrying or being a practising

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. * Abolish the

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

. * End the present system of state funded

schools and work towards the creation of "multi-denominational" schools to cater to those of all faiths and none, in the belief that it will lead to greater social cohesion and an end to

sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...

. * Increase pensions and support for

senior citizens Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

. * Institute "

zero tolerance A zero-tolerance policy is one which imposes a punishment for every infraction of a stated rule.zero tolerance, n.' (under ''zero, n.''). The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1989. Retrieved 10 November 2009. Italy, Japan, Singapore China, I ...

" approaches to street crime, youth offences and drugs offences. * Significantly reduce immigration and have tighter border controls.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1986 establishments in Scotland 2021 disestablishments in Scotland 2022 establishments in Scotland Conservative Party (UK) breakaway groups Political parties established in 1986 Political parties established in 2022 Political parties disestablished in 2021 Defunct political parties in Scotland Political party factions in Scotland Unionism in Scotland

History

Electoral performance

Campaigns

See also

References

External links