The Scottish mafia, Scottish Labour mafia, tartan mafia, Scottish Raj, or Caledonian mafia
was a term used in the
politics of England
Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and G ...
from the mid 1960s, until the collapse in the number of
Scottish Labour MPs at the
2015 general election.
Political use
The term was used in politics to pejoratively refer to a group of Scottish Labour Party politicians and broadcasters who are believed to have had undue influence over the
governance of England, such as the
constitutional arrangement allowing Scottish MPs to vote on English matters, but, by convention, not the other way around.
[Under the ]Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...
, Westminster retains its sovereignty over the Scottish Parliament, but do not typically vote on devolved matters. The term is occasionally used in the UK press and in parliamentary debates.
Since the
mid-1960s, the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
have suffered from declining popularity amongst Scottish voters. In the
1999 Scottish Parliament election
The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliam ...
, the Conservatives won only 18 of 129 seats. That number has stayed relatively steady, with the party winning only 15 seats in the most recent election, making it the No. 3 party in Scottish politics after the
Scottish National Party and Labour. In UK general elections, the Conservatives have gone from a high point of being the only party to carry both a majority of votes and seats in Scotland in 1955 to a complete wipeout, winning 0 seats in 1997, since 2001 there had been a single Conservative MP in Scotland, until 12 were elected in 2017.
With Labour being the sole unionist party with broad support in Scotland, the ranks of Scots among Labour politicians have over a period of four or five decades become significant. Thus, the ranks of the so-called Scottish mafia supplied the last two Labour prime ministers,
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
and
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
, as well as their predecessor as head of the Labour party,
John Smith.
The influential position of Scots in the Labour Party is part of the plot of the television comedy ''
The Thick of It
''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...
'', in which the character of the prime minister's director of communications (or, as he is referred to by other characters, the "enforcer"),
Malcolm Tucker
Malcolm Tucker is the fictional antihero of the BBC political satire ''The Thick of It'', portrayed by Peter Capaldi. He is the Director of Communications for his party in both Government and Opposition, acting as the Prime Minister's chief e ...
, is portrayed as an aggressive, foul-mouthed Scotsman. Many of the members of Tucker's staff, such as his No. 2, Jamie MacDonald, are also belligerent Scotsmen.
Other uses
The term has also been applied to the group of Scottish
footballers
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who won several domestic and European honours in the 1960s and 70s while playing for the English first division club
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
; namely goalkeeper
David Harvey
David W. Harvey (born 31 October 1935) is a British-born Marxist economic geographer, podcaster and Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He received his P ...
(1965–1980, 1982–1984), defender
Gordon McQueen
Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland.
Playing career Club
McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...
(1972–1978), midfielder
Billy Bremner (1959–1976)), left winger
Eddie Gray (1965–1983), right winger
Peter Lorimer
Peter Patrick Lorimer (14 December 1946 – 20 March 2021) was a Scottish professional footballer, best known for his time with Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever ...
(1963–1979, 1983–1986) and striker
Joe Jordan
Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth.
A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club ...
(1970–1978).
In the city of
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
New Zealand the "Tartan Mafia" is used to describe the group of aging businessmen who are purported to run the city from behind the scenes. The business community do not disown this usage.
See also
*
West Lothian question
The West Lothian question, also known as the English question, is a political issue in the United Kingdom. It concerns the question of whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who sit in the House of Commons should be able to vote ...
*
Devolved English parliament
A devolved English parliament is a proposed institution that would give separate decision-making powers to representatives for voters in England, similar to the representation given by the (Welsh Parliament), the Scottish Parliament and the Nort ...
Notes
References
{{reflist
Governance of England
Politics of Scotland
Scottish Labour
Political Internet memes
England–Scotland relations