Scottish Liberal Party

The Scottish Liberal Party was the dominant political party of Victorian Scotland,^[1] and although its importance declined with the rise of the Labour and Unionist parties during the 20th century,^[2] it was still a significant force when it finally merged with the Social Democratic Party in Scotland, to form the Scottish Liberal Democrats in 1988.

The party reached its low point during the 1950s, when Jo Grimond was the sole Scottish Liberal MP in the House of Commons, but it gained a partial revival after David Steel's victory at the Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election in 1965. Steel went on to become a pivotal figure in the development of Scottish devolution, in partnership with John Smith, Donald Dewar and other key Labour and Liberal figures.

References

1. ^ Brown, Stewart J. (October 1992). "'Echoes of Midlothian': Scottish Liberalism and the South African War, 1899-1902". The Scottish Historical Review LXXI. JSTOR 25530538. 
2. ^ Devine, Thomas Martin; Finlay, Richard J. (1996). Scotland in the twentieth century. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 73. ISBN 9780748608393. http://books.google.com/books?id=eEL69iDskI4C&pg=PA73&dq=%22Scottish+Liberal+Party%22&hl=en&ei=BiEYTsKZA43Oswb8lPS0Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFgQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22Scottish%20Liberal%20Party%22&f=false. 

Further reading

• Constitution and rules of the Scottish Liberal Association. Scottish Liberal Association. 18??. pp. 8. 
• Scottish Liberal Party (1970). Scottish self-government: the views of the Scottish Liberal party. Scottish Liberal Party. ISBN 9780902381049. 

External links

• Scottish Liberal Club and Scottish Liberal Party archives, held at the National Library of Scotland