Young Liberals R. Ian Elder tells the story of the influence of Scottish young Liberals before and after the Great War. TheThe YoungYoung ScotsScots SocietySociety A lost Liberal legion
pathy among youth towards politics is a functions of municipal government. Conference matter of concern to modern political par resolutions show the wide remit undertaken by the A ties. This was evident in the general YSS, with a strong stress on its Scottish identity. In election, notable for a low turnout, when under , the Leith Branch urged ‘action for Home per cent of the – age group voted. It was not al- Rule All Round, the taxation of Land Values, the re- ways so. Post-, youth organisations such as the form of our Licensing Law and the effective solution Young Conservatives, Young Liberals and Young So- of the housing problem’. The YSS conference cialists were valuable to their parent parties, to whom, condemned indentured Chinese labour in South Af- in recent decades, they have at times proved a source rica, protested against the use of the title Edward VII of embarrassment. Even more remarkable was the ‘out of regard for the honour, historic past and rights part played in Scottish political life by the Young Scots of Scotland’ and urged the General Council to or- Society in the years before , when about per ganise a National Celebration of the fourth cente- cent of adult males could not vote in elections. nary of the birth of John Knox. The electoral consequences which can derive The impact of the YSS was soon felt as ‘New Lib- from party disunity were illustrated in the gen- eralism’ with a radical thrust, and had an impact on eral election, which shattered the long-established parliamentary candidates. In , Hector Liberal dominance in Scotland and saw a resurgence Macpherson, Editor of the Edinburgh Evening News, of Unionism, not least, for example, in Glasgow, warned that ‘Liberalism had become a bunch of where Liberal representation was eliminated in all cheap expedients and candidates from being mis- seven constituencies. Radical Liberals opposed to sionaries of great principles had degenerated into the Boer War clashed with those of imperialistic ten- bands of strolling players’. In the next few years, the dencies who converged around Lord Rosebery. YSS proposed remedies in a series of publications Among the former was James M. Hogge, later to be- and, in the Young Scot, a monthly one. The members come MP for East Edinburgh, who played a leading envisaged national regeneration based on self-gov- role in the formation of the Young Scots Society. ernment leading to legislation on land reclamation, The Society was conceived at a meeting in Edin- temperance, the Poor Law, cheaper transport and a burgh on October , when it was resolved to reorganisation of the educational system ‘so that all form a society ‘for the purpose of educating young may have equal opportunity to develop their facul- men in the fundamental principles of Liberalism and ties and no talent be allowed to run to waste’. of encouraging and stimulating them in the study of While the YSS was never fully integrated into social sciences and economics’. Rapid expansion party organisation, it assumed the much-needed task followed. In , there were , members in of improving organisation. ‘Constituency caucuses thirty branches while, by , , members were harangued into activity’ and YSS criticisms of were recorded among fifty branches. These branches the quality of many Liberal candidates were effec- were formed throughout the country, with the ma- tive. The Young Scots’ vigorous radical policies found jority in urban areas. a welcoming response from some leading and several From the outset emphasis was placed on the po- future parliamentarians. By , the YSS claimed litical education of members, soon to be comple- the support of sixteen MPs, among them Henry mented by campaigning. The branch syllabi indicate Campbell Bannerman, James Bryce, George regular meetings to discuss topics such as temper- MacRae and James Dalziel and of fifteen candidates, ance, women’s suffrage, old age pensions and the including James Hogge, Arthur Dewar, Robert
Journal of Liberal Democrat History 36 Autumn 2002 13 Munro and John Gulland, some of While in there was a Con- hired to tour parts of the country, lit- whom ‘rose to prominence through the servative recovery in England, the Lib- erature was freely distributed en route activities of the Young Scots who had erals consolidated their position in (such as a comprehensive leaflet pro- done so much to revitalise the Scottish Scotland, helped by skilful YSS cam- duced in , Points for Scottish Liberals both organisationally and in- paigning concentrated largely on Un- Home Rule) and evening public meet- tellectually’. ionist-held seats and Liberal marginals. ings were held. When accommodation Campaigning zeal was fully dis- Special efforts were made in the indus- could not be found for a night, mem- played between and on be- trial burghs and counties in the west bers slept in the open air, so great was half of the defence of free trade against where Conservative strength had been their enthusiasm for the cause. Their tariff reform. The mass distribution of augmented by Liberal Unionist support activities aroused admiration and alarm propaganda leaflets aimed at retaining after . Candidates who were vo- among opponents. After a by-election or wooing working men’s support, cally in favour of YSS policies were the Unionist chairman of North Ayr- based partly on the fear that protection- given a great deal of assistance. shire urged on his party the need ‘of ism would increase the price of food, Home rule was a feature of the Scot- bringing in more of the younger gen- was combined with open-air demon- tish radical tradition; a Scottish Home eration to oppose the Young Scots and strations addressed by leading Liberals. Rule Association was created with Lib- others on the Radical side’. The Con- However, the general election was eral support in . Although Liberal servative-sponsored Junior Imperial won not just on the trade question, and MPs proposed bills to that effect from League never matched the effectiveness YSS literature reveals the emphasis put the s on, there was no great mo- of the YSS before . on social issues. A edition of the mentum behind the movement. To Prospective candidates were Young Scot had stated: ‘If the social prob- provide the necessary impetus, the YSS screened and, at times, efforts made to lem is ignored, one may predict the im- intensified its clamour for home rule to block English ones. Just as in the past minent revolt from Liberalism of the be placed high on the Liberal agenda. two decades Scottish Tories have sought working classes. The Young Scots must In , the Society’s constitution was ‘cities of refuge’ in England, many Eng- guide the party in the more excellent changed, to include the specific aim ‘to lish Liberals were tempted to secure way of the New Liberalism’. Thus the further the national interests of Scot- nomination for what were then threat from the emerging Labour Party land and secure the right of self-gov- deemed safe seats in Scotland. In the was clearly foreseen and the need for ernment’. Stress was always placed on summer of , Charles Masterman radical policies to counteract it. It is sig- the prospect of an Edinburgh-based considered it diplomatic to withdraw nificant that, apart from in one of the parliament being a means to the end of from his quest for Glasgow Tradeston seats in Dundee, there was no equiva- securing reforms. while, surprisingly, in view of the lent in Scotland to the arrangement in To promote this aspiration, the YSS GOM’s Scottish connections, there was England which allowed Labour to con- did three things concurrently – en- resentment at the nomination of his test some constituencies in with- gaged in unrelenting propaganda and grandson W. G. C. Gladstone for a by- out Liberal opposition. campaigning, displayed rather insensi- election in Kilmarnock in the autumn. After ‘the radical edge of Scottish tive nationalist prejudices in candidate The National Council of the YSS only Liberalism was reinforced by electoral selection and maintained pressure on endorsed him after he pledged to work success and the intake of the new YS Liberal MPs. Warmly supportive of for the speedy enactment of Scottish MPs’. This was reflected in a flow of de- Irish home rule, members were confi- home rule. mands for far-reaching reforms and, in dent that it would be followed by a The voting record of MPs was particular, against the Conservative- Scottish Home Rule Bill within the monitored and those absent from a dominated House of Lords, always a sub- lifetime of the parliament elected in Scottish Home Rule Bill division ject of vehement denunciation in YSS December . Two arguments were made to account for themselves. leaflets. The YSS conference of , shrewdly used for such haste were that Included in that number was one of the clearly ahead of government policy at the Irish home rule would be more accept- MPs for Dundee – Winston Churchill. time, sought women’s franchise, PR by able to some of its opponents if pre- Such was the influence of the Young STV, the taxation of Land Values, local op- sented as the first instalment towards a Scots that MPs were careful not to an- tion, and proposed that ‘the public have federal structure for the UK, soon to be tagonise them, as many depended on the right of access to and free fishing in all extended to Scotland, and that reduced their support at election times, espe- Scottish streams and natural lochs’. In Irish representation at Westminster cially as there were indications that the keeping with the tendency whereby reli- would make Scottish home rule more national leadership could not take their gious issues, not least those relevant to de- difficult to achieve in the face of reso- support for granted. Some members at nominations, could become matters of lute Conservative opposition. the National Council expressed political controversy, it protested against At the Young Scots’ lively and well- concern that help was always given to the action of the Bishop of Lahore in pre- reported meetings, heckling was not Liberal candidates even when Labour venting the use of Presbyterian rites in a only an art but delighted the crowds ones were ‘more sound on progressive garrison church in India and demanded and was encouraged by the speakers. principles’. Some threatened to aid La- ‘redress without further delay’. Periodically, a horse-drawn van was bour candidates if there was any weak-
14 Journal of Liberal Democrat History 36 Autumn 2002 ening by the Asquith Government in of Labour, after the Irish settlement of dent Democrats, The Scottish Electoral System, promoting home rule. , Liberal failure to make larger gains 1884–1929 (1996) p. 93. 7 Result of 1906 general election in Scotland: Lib- The considerable pressure exerted in the general election, and re- eral 58; Unionist 10; Labour 2. on the government was effective. newed divisions among Liberals at na- 8 Richard J. Finlay, p. 56. Asquith’s Government between tional level after the formation of the 9 Some of the several seats involved were as fol- lows: Dumfries Burghs where John Gulland had and was confronted with major National Government in all con- small majorities in 1906 (633) and in a 1909 by- problems – the struggle with the House tributed towards the collapse of branch election (292) was retained in Jan. 1910 (573). of Lords, the antics of the Suffragettes, and national organisation in the years Wick Burghs which had been Unionist in 1900 and 1906 was gained and held by Robert labour unrest, the deep rift over Irish before . Munro in Jan. 1910 (275) and Dec. 1910 (211). home rule. Although Asquith’s attitude In a world of a government influ- In South Edinburgh, Arthur Dewar, who had re- was supportive it was a lukewarm sup- enced by opinion polls, focus groups, gained the seat in 1906 from a Liberal Unionist port, as he wished to proceed by stages, spin-doctoring, control-freakery, the and retained it in a 1909 by-election on becom- ing Solicitor-General for Scotland, was returned giving precedence to Ireland. However, decline of public meetings and political in Jan. 1910 as was C. H. Lyell in Dec. 1910 ‘without enthusiasm, the government indifference verging at times on cyni- when Dewar became a Senator of the College allowed itself to be persuaded by the cism, the YSS has long since been for- of Justice. 10 Results of 1910 general elections in Scotland: Scots MPs that home rule for Scotland gotten. Yet its legacy merits more at- Jan: Liberal 59; Unionist 9; Labour 2. and Ireland sh[ould] proceed more or tention than has been accorded to it. Dec: Liberal 58; Unionist 9; Labour 3. less in step’ as an earnest of a compre- The Young Scots Society was an invalu- 11 ‘We submit to the government that they make Home Rule for Scotland as a means of land re- hensive devolution policy. Accordingly, able campaigning force in the successful form and social reform the supreme issue of a Bill proposing an Executive and Par- defence of free trade and election vic- Scottish policy. We urge all Scottish progressive liament for Scotland and the retention tories in and . Thereafter, as a members to cease to cherish vain hopes of Scot- of seventy-two MPs at Westminster formidable pressure group, its members tish reform from London.’ YSS Annual Confer- ence (1911), National Library of Scotland, ACC from Scotland passed its second reading were ‘the spearhead of the attack which 3 72 1. in and despite strong opposition forced the Liberal government to sup- 12 Information from the late John G. Gray, solicitor from the Unionists, who asserted that port Home Rule for Scotland’. Capa- and former Liberal councillor in Edinburgh, whose father was a prominent member of the there was no popular demand for such ble of accelerating the advance of Lib- YSS before and after the 1914–18 War. The au- a measure, seemed set to reach the stat- eral fortunes before , they were as thor has in his possession a copy of a lecture ute book. It proved to be a false dawn, powerless as the party’s organisation to which J. G. Gray gave in 1991 to the Scottish Liberal Club re Liberal politics in Edinburgh in however, because the outbreak of war reverse decline after . They were the 20th Century. in led to the suspension of home men of independent mind who prac- 13 Ayr Advertiser 28/12/1911. rule for Ireland and Scotland. tised the Gladstonian belief in the need 14 Richard J. Finlay, p. 60. The – War had adverse effects for political passion. Their example can 15 Y. S. Handbook (1911) p. 13. 16 Michael Fry, Patronage and Principle, A Political on the YSS. The Young Scots con- still inspire. We do well to honour their History of Modern Scotland (1987) p. 128. demned German militarism and sup- memory. 17 After 1910 there were negotiations for a merger ported the government. Most branches between the Conservatives and the Liberal Un- ionists. These made more rapid progress in Eng- were placed in a state of suspended ani- R. Ian Elder graduated in history from Ed- land than in Scotland for conclusion in 1912 and mation, although some activity was inburgh University, and is a former Rector of were aided by hostility towards Home Rule. A maintained at national level. Despite val- Webster’s High School, Kirriemuir. modern Conservative historian wrote ‘The Scot- tish Right continued to draw its main strength iant efforts, the YSS was not destined to from those groups which had deserted the Lib- recover its former momentum. Its de- 1 Glasgow results erals in 1886. Thus it was appropriate for the cline cannot be dissociated from that of Unionist Liberal Liberal Labour combined party to assume the name of Union- (Cons) Unionist the Liberal Party. The rejuvenation of the ist.’ Fry, p. 130. 1900 4 3 – – 18 Michael Fry, p. 142. Unionists after and the gravitation 1906 – 2 4 1 19 The author recalls visiting Alexander Begbie, an of many political activists towards the 2 Richard J. Finlay, A Partnership for Good? Scot- Edinburgh lapidary, who died in 1957 at the age tish Politics and the Union since 1880 (1997) p. Labour Party were ominous signs for of 81. One of the last of the pre 1914 Young 53. Scots, he was the epitome of the well-informed those who had hoped for home rule 3 Muirhead Papers, National Library of Scotland Radical working man who never wavered in his from a now divided Liberal Party. In ACC 640 1. This large collection of letters, political loyalty and deplored the lack of fervour speeches, publications, press cuttings, confer- , Viscount Haldane warned the Ed- and activity by Scottish Liberals after the 1950 ence agendas and resolutions constitutes a general election. inburgh Branch of the YSS of the men- valuable source of information re the YSS. 20 Jack Brand, The National Movement in Scotland ace that Labour aspirations posed to Lib- Roland E. Muirhead, who died in 1964 at the (1978) p. 172. eralism. Efforts were made to face up to age of 92, was for long an active Liberal and 21 Liberal decline in the face of Unionist success in President of Bridge of Weir YS. He transferred this and regain impetus after Liberal re- becoming the main opposition to Labour can be his allegiance to the ILP, then, losing faith in ex- seen in the 1922–24 general election results. It union in . A modest revival fol- isting parties, moved towards nationalism of an did not become a reality until 1924. lowed but political polarisation along independent nature, becoming a founder mem- Unionist National Liberal Labour ber of the National Party of Scotland in 1928, Liberal class lines with Labour ‘able to reap ben- which was later integrated into the Scottish Na- 1922 13 12 15 29 efit from the enfranchisement of ’, tional Party. 1923 14 – 22 34 the loosening of links between Liberals 4 Muirhead Papers ACC 6401. 1924 36 – 8 26 5 Richard J. Finlay, p. 53. and Roman Catholics, to the advantage 6 Michael Dyer, Capable Citizens and Improvi-
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