The Labour Party in Scotland

By: Graham Walker

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Synopsis: This book makes a timely contribution to our understanding of thedramatic political changes that have recently affected Scotland and thrown intodoubt the country's future position within the United Kingdom. Its focusis on the Labour Party and the loss of its traditional electoral support base. This theme is related to religion and its relevance to Scotland's identitypolitics. The author examines how Labour was able to appeal across theethno-religious divide in Scotland for many decades, before considering theimpact of the new political context of devolution in the 21stcentury and the greater scrutiny given to the question of sectarianism inScottish life. Walker demonstrates the role played by the sectarianismcontroversy in Labour's loss of political control and its eclipse by theScottish National Party (SNP). This book is also the first to assess thesignificance of the Irish dimension in Scotland's political development, inparticular the impact of the conflict in nearby Northern Ireland. It will appeal to students and scholars of Scottish and Irish politics,political science and political/electoral history, as well as the interested wider reader.