William Weir Gilmour (1905–1998), was a Scottish politician who was associated with five different political parties; 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 ...

, the New Party, the Scottish Democratic Fascist Party, the

Labour and Co-operative party Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

and the

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 ...

Background

Weir Gilmour was born in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

.The Times House of Commons, 1950 He started out working as a miner.Fascist Scotland By Gavin Bowd He was at one time a mining surveyor, based at Annathill, and in 1920 was elected to the Institution of Mining Engineers. Around 1931 he worked as a salesman.

Political career

Independent Labour Party

Weir Gilmour started his political activity in his native Lanarkshire as a member of the Independent Labour Party. He was a delegate to the Glasgow Trades and Labour Council.

New Party

Gilmour's first public candidature came at the 1931 General Election. He had joined the New Party, recently founded by Labour Party rebel

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

. He fought the Lanarkshire seat of

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

without success.

Scottish Democratic Fascist Party

In 1933 Gilmour co-founded the Scottish Democratic Fascist Party (SDFP) with Major Hume Sleigh.Kushner, Tony, and Kenneth Lunn.
Traditions of Intolerance: Historical Perspectives on Fascism and Race Discourse in Britain
'. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989. p. 199 The party sought to prohibit Irish migration to Scotland, expel Catholic religious orders from Scotland, and repeal the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (which allowed Catholic schools into the state system funded through education rates). No Catholics were permitted to join the SDFP. The SDFP was at odds with

's larger British Union of Fascists, particularly over the issue of Catholicism. In contrast to the SDFP, the BUF was accepting of Catholics, with Catholics making up a high percentage of the BUF membership, particularly in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. This led to Weir Gilmour denouncing the BUF as "''run by Roman Catholics, organised by Roman Catholics, in the interests of Roman Catholics''." Gilmour later opined that the SDFP's virulent anti-Catholicism may have unintentionally undermined fascism in Scotland by putting off prospective Catholic recruits. In 1937 he was elected to

Peebles Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...

Town Council, for which he remained a member for more than 20 years.

Labour Party

In the 1945 General Election he was organizer for the Labour and Co-operative Party candidates in Dumfriesshire. He was a frequent speaker on Labour platforms during the election and acted as Election Agent for the Labour candidate at Dumfriesshire.

Liberal Party

Prior to the 1950 General Election, he gravitated to the Liberal Party. Following boundary changes a new constituency of Midlothian and Peebles was created. He somehow managed to get himself chosen as the Liberal candidate to contest the election. The local liberal associations were still organised on the old boundaries and the Peebles and Southern Midlothian association, which covered much of the new seat, publicly stated that they had never been consulted on the adoption of Gilmour as Liberal candidate. The Chairman of the association and at least one other committee member resigned in protest at his selection. The association secretary said "Councillor Gilmour was not adopted by the Association and we are making no recommendation to Liberals as to how they should vote." In a poor election for the Liberals generally, Gilmour finished third, losing his deposit. He did not stand for parliament again.

Later life

Gilmour spent time in a mental hospital during 1956."Ex-bailie sent to prison for indecency", ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 28 May 1970 In 1957, he attracted national publicity when he criticised 'obscene language' on the BBC.A CORRESPONDENT. "'Obscene Language' On B.B.C." Times ondon, England15 Jan. 1957: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 16 July 2016. In 1970, Gilmour was sentenced to two years in prison for

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. In 1979 he published a book on Famous Scots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmour, William Weir 1905 births Labour Party (UK) politicians Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 1998 deaths Scottish fascists Scottish politicians convicted of crimes Scottish people convicted of child sexual abuse People from Lanarkshire