The Scottish Labour Party (SLP), also known as the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party, was formed by

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first ever socialist member of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

, the first

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

MP in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

, who later went on to become the first president of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

, and

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

, who later became the first leader of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

and the Labour Party. The initial spur for the party's foundation was Hardie's unsuccessful independent Labour candidature in the 1888 Mid Lanarkshire by-election. He had tried and failed to gain

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

support for his candidature, and the experience convinced many of his fellow miners of the need for an independent party representing the interests of labour. The cause also appealed to some radicals, and his movement gained the support of the

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Radical Association. Like many of the party's initial members, Hardie had previously been involved in the

Scottish Land Restoration League The Scottish Land Restoration League was a Georgist political party. History In the 1880s, enclosure was still in process in the Scottish Highlands, and resistance to it often received support from radicals around Britain and Ireland. Branches ...

. A preliminary meeting was held in Glasgow in May, and a foundation conference was held on 25 August. This was chaired by Cunninghame Graham, while other attendees included Irish nationalist politician John Ferguson, crofter John Murdoch, land reformer

Shaw Maxwell James Shaw Maxwell (1855–1928), known as Shaw Maxwell, was a Scottish socialist activist. Born in Glasgow, as the son of Janet Maxwell, née Shaw, and the fruiterer and merchant James Taylor Maxwell, James Shaw Maxwell served his apprentices ...

and miners' leader

Robert Smillie Robert Smillie (17 March 1857 – 16 February 1940) was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a leader of the coal miners, and played a central role in moving support from the miners away from the Liberal Party to the L ...

. However, the organised socialist movement was not initially involved; both the Social Democratic Federation and the Socialist League boycotted the event. The diverse factions had very different perspectives on the party's future, but were able to agree a programme, largely based on a draft by Hardie.David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour Party'', p.148 Hardie became the party's Secretary, while George Mitchell was the first Treasurer and Cunninghame Graham was the President. R B Cunninghame Graham, a strong supporter of Scottish independence, was the party's main MP, for the North West Lanarkshire constituency, between his defection from the

in 1888 and his defeat in the

United Kingdom general election This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland ...

1892, in the Glasgow Camlachie constituency. Two other MPs,

Gavin Clark Gavin Clark (25 January 1969 – 16 February 2015) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was a member of groups including Sunhouse, Clayhill and UNKLE. Clark was a long term friend of director Shane Meadows, they met in 1989 at a M ...

and Charles Conybeare, held honorary offices in the party until January 1893.

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

, ''Minor Parties at British Parliamentary Elections'' Following their departure, with many of the other radicals, the party declared itself in favour of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, and prohibited officials (but not other members) from dual membership with other political parties. The party ran two other candidates in 1892: J. Bennett Burleigh in Glasgow Tradeston and James MacDonald in

. Attempts by Cunninghame Graham and Shaw Maxwell to arrange a non-contest pact with the Liberals failed, and the SLP candidates did not poll well. The party initially supported

Henry Hyde Champion Henry Hyde Champion (22 January 1859 – 30 April 1928) was a socialist journalist and activist, regarded as one of the leading spirits behind the formation of the Independent Labour Party. Up to 1893, he lived and worked in Great Britain, moving ...

trades council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

movement, but became concerned when it formed the Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party under the secretaryship of

Chisholm Robertson Robert Chisholm Robertson (1861 - March 1930) was a Scottish political activist. Born in Limerigg, then in Stirlingshire, Robertson started working in a coal mine at the age of eight, but after the Mines Regulation Act 1872 prohibited children w ...

, presenting itself as a potential rival to the Scottish Labour Party. However, Champion's movement soon faded, while it did serve to move some trades councils to a position supporting independent labour candidates, and closer co-operation with the Scottish Labour Party. In 1894, Hardie became President of the new

(ILP), and the vast majority of Scottish Labour Party members supported him.David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour Party'', pp.154 In early 1895 the SLP dissolved itself into the ILP.

Election results

1892 UK general election

References

{{Defunct political parties in Scotland Defunct socialist parties in the United Kingdom Labour parties in Scotland Defunct political parties in Scotland Political parties established in 1888 Political parties disestablished in 1895 1888 establishments in Scotland 1895 disestablishments in Scotland