List of political parties in Scotland
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Politics of Scotland |
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This article lists political parties in Scotland.
Overview
The
The
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The Scottish Greens sit between the centre-left and the left-wing. The party promotes green politics, Scottish independence, equality and radical democracy. It retains close ties with the Green Party of England and Wales and the Green Party Northern Ireland, having all originated in the breakup of the UK Green Party. However, all three parties are now fully independent. The Scottish Greens won their first seat in the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and currently have 7 MSPs, but have never returned any MPs.
Reform UK Scotland is the Scottish wing of the UK-wide Reform UK. It is a Eurosceptic and right-wing populist party. The party gained its first elected representative in January 2021, when sitting independent MSP Michelle Ballantyne joined the party and became leader of the party in Scotland. Ballantyne was previously a Conservative MSP. She resigned from the party in November 2020, citing differences with the new leader Douglas Ross before joining.[1][2] Ballantyne lost this seat in the 2021 Scottish Scottish Parliament election, leaving the party with no elected representatives in Scotland.
The Alba Party is a Scottish independence supporting party formed in February 2021 and led by former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond. Shortly after it announced its plans to run in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, two SNP MPs defected to the new party, making the Alba Party the fourth largest Scottish party at the Westminster Parliament after the SNP, Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives. In the run up to the 2021 Scottish Parliament election there was a succession of SNP representatives defecting to the party. The party failed to win any seats in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election,[3] after attracting only 1.7% of the vote.[4]
Parties with elected representation
Scottish Parliament and/or House of Commons
There are six parties in Scotland that have elected representation in either the Scottish Parliament or the House of Commons. All except the Scottish Greens and the Alba Party have representation in both. In addition, all parties except the Alba Party have elected representation at the local government level.
Local government
There are three parties in Scotland that have elected representation only at the local government level.
Party | Founded | Ideology | Leader | Council area | Councillors | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Unionist Party | 2015 | British unionism, Scottish unionism, Social conservatism, Social democracy | John Mortimer | North Lanarkshire | 1 | |
Rubbish Party | 2017 | Localism, Environmentalism | Sally Cogley | East Ayrshire | 1 | |
West Dunbartonshire Community Party | 2016 | Socialism | Louise Robertson | West Dunbartonshire | 1 |
Parties with no elected representation
Notable registered parties
There are a number of notable registered parties in Scotland with no elected representation. Some operate exclusively within Scotland, while others may also be active in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Historical and deregistered parties
Notable historical parties
- Communist Bulletin Group
- Communist Labour Party
- Communist Party of Great Britain
- Communist Party of Scotland
- Crofters Party
- Fife Socialist League
- Highland Land League (1882)
- Highland Land League (1909)
- Independent Labour Party
- Kirk Party
- Labour Party of Scotland
- Left Alliance
- Liberal Unionist Party
- Moderates
- National Labour Organisation
- National Liberal Party (1922)
- National Liberal Party (1931)
- National Party of Scotland
- New Party
- Orkney and Shetland Movement
- Progressives
- Protestant Action Society
- Referendum Party
- Scottish Democratic Fascist Party
- Scottish Labour Party (1888)
- Scottish Labour Party (1976)
- Scottish Land Restoration League
- Scottish Liberal Party
- Scottish Militant Labour
- Scottish Party
- Scottish Prohibition Party
- Scottish Protestant League
- Scottish Republican Socialist Party
- Scottish Socialist Federation
- Scottish Socialist Party (1932)
- Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party
- Scottish Voice
- Scottish Workers' Representation Committee
- Scottish Workers Republican Party
- Shetland Movement
- Social Democratic Party (1979)
- Social Democratic Party (1981)
- Social Democratic Party (1988)
- Socialist Labour Party (1903)
- Squadrone Volante
- Unionist Party
- United Socialist Movement
- Whigs
- Workers Party of Scotland
Notable deregistered parties
- Action for Independence
- All for Unity
- Borders Party
- Britain First
- Britannica Party
- Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol
- Change UK
- Countryside Party
- East Dunbartonshire Independent Alliance
- East Kilbride Alliance
- Fishing Party
- Glasgow First
- Highlands and Islands Alliance
- Legalise Cannabis Alliance
- Natural Law Party
- No2EU
- Orkney Manifesto Group
- Pirate Party UK
- ProLife Alliance
- Renew Party
- RISE
- Rock 'n' Roll Loony Party
- Scottish Democratic Alliance
- Scottish Jacobite Party
- Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party
- Scottish Voice
- Solidarity
- Trust
See also
Notes
- ^ Political parties are under no legal obligation to publish membership statistics and there is no uniformly recognised definition of membership.
- Labour and Co-operative joint candidates due to an electoral alliance with the Co-operative Party.
- ^ Ash Regan was first elected for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2016 before leaving to join Alba in 2023 over independence strategy and the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) bill.
- ^ Both of the Alba Party's MPs were elected for the Scottish National Party (SNP) before leaving to join Alba in 2021.
- ^ Styled by the party as co-spokespersons.
References
- ^ "Former Tory MSP to lead Scots wing of rebranded Brexit Party". BBC News. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "MSP Michelle Ballantyne quits Scottish Tories". BBC News. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Soussi, Alasdair (8 May 2021). "SNP to seek Scottish independence vote after election victory". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Sim, Philip (8 May 2021). "Scottish election 2021: Results in maps and charts". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ a b Morrison, Hamish (25 April 2023). "SNP slam 'hypocrite' opponents after they hide membership numbers". The National. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Hutcheon, Paul (3 February 2021). "Scottish Labour 'crisis' after leaked figures show fall in membership". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Scottish Liberal Democrats Annual Report and Financial Statements". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Robertson, Adam (13 May 2023). "Alba Party says they have more members than Scottish Tories or LibDems". The National. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
External links
- Electoral Commission official site of the Electoral Commission