unionism

Question 1

there as increasing numbers of scots who voted for the unionist party

Answer 1

this was due to a sense that suffering was UK wide, particularly as a result of the war and it was not just unique to scotland. In 1918, the party achieved a 30% share of the scottish vote

Question 2

the scottish middle class were increasingly likely to vote for the unionist party

Answer 2

support for the scottish unionists (scottish conservatives) became much higher amongst the middle classes who saw scotlands future as being part of the union and the conservative message appealed to there traditional family values - in 1918 the conservatives won 30% of the scottish vote as a result

Question 3

fear of radicalism lead to some scots supporting the union after the great war

Answer 3

the scottish unionist party was considered to be a party of law and order
this further appealed to many scots - particularly as a result of the george square riots in 1919 - feared the rise of Communism

Question 4

the labour party dropped its commitment to the home rule wich lead to many scots supporting the union

Answer 4

the labour party’s 1918 election manifesto promised to fight for ‘self-determination of the scottish people’ - however when the labour government collapsed in 1924 trade unions and the labour party became more ‘british’ in there approach in improving workers rights

Question 5

scottish newspapers supported the union which led to many scots supporting it in the years after th first world war

Answer 5

durring the war the main national newspapers - the scotsman and the glasgow herald - had been unionist and many local papers dropped there support for the liberals which continued after the war. the sunday post was published for the first time in 1914 and were patriotic - they continued there unionist message after the war

Question 6

the leadership of the church of scotland supported the union

Answer 6

this had been as a way to block the growing strength of the irish catholics in scotland who were generally labour party voters

Question 7

many women who gained the vote 1918 supported the union

Answer 7

due to the vote only being given to women over 30 who tended to be reasonably well off this meant they were more likely to vote unionist .
the unionists were also considered female friendly in terms of candidates and elected MP’s. the very first scottish female MP was the Duchess of Atholl - a conservative unionist

Question 8

decline in the home rule movement as a result of scotlands economic problems in the 1920’s meant many scots believed being part of the union would offer solutions

Answer 8

the economy in scotland crashed in 1920 following the collapse of the short term restocking boom and unemployment rose within cities