Issue 4 - Unionism Higher History Paper 2

Before 1914 there had been discussion of a possible Home Rule Bill for Scotland giving a Scottish Parliament some limited powers. However, in the patriotic atmosphere of the war this demand was dropped:  Patriotism grew due to winning the war.  Sense of shared suffering with English e.g. war dead/wounded, rationing etc.  Wartime boom in Scottish industry continued up to 1919, was good reason to remain unified. Before WW1

After the War After the war, all of the 3 main parties paid lip service to home rule to a certain extent (mentioned it to gain support) The Liberals had been the most vocal before 1914 but were not as enthusiastic now as their numbers declined. Scottish Labour Party ILPThe biggest demand came from the Scottish Labour Party and ILP but there was little enthusiasm for limited Home Rule in its manifesto. Most Scots seemed bound tighter to the union than ever.

Why? There was a feeling of mutually shared suffering with the other home nations. The rise of the Conservative and Unionist Party in the 1920s as Scotland’s biggest party suggested a strongly pro-union attitude amongst a large section of the Scottish electorate. Biggest supporter of Home Rule pre-1914 were Liberals but they were now in decline as was their idea of Home Rule. Home rule seemed old fashioned in 1920s to new younger voters e.g. men 21+ and was not a priority with female voters e.g. married women 30+ The Labour and Liberal parties quietly dropped their proposals for home rule after attempts to introduce a home rule Bill in 1924 and 1927 died from lack of Support.

Why? continued National Party of Scotland in 1928The foundation of the National Party of Scotland in 1928 would point to a resurgence in nationalism but candidates like its chairman Roland Muirhead did very poorly in the elections of 1929 and Most Scottish newspapers – e.g. the Sunday Post or Weekly News were very pro-Unionist. Unionist forces very strong in Scotland e.g. respect for the royal family, Church of Scotland etc.

Forces Against the Union Those Scots who were dissatisfied with the union e.g. left wing ILP/Labour were more concerned with Scotland’s declining industries and the lack of assistance from Westminster rather than separation. Some growth in nationalism in 1920s due to the growing economic downturn that badly affected Scottish heavy industry. Pro-Scottish renaissance of art, music and literature e.g Hugh McDiarmid’s Scot’s poetry etc. Questions over nationalism when many thousands of Scots were heading for Canada and Australia as emigration grew like never before from Scotland.