PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTINE 1 FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF LETTERS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE N° ordre: 68/D3C/2019 N° serie : 09/Ang/2019 THE REVIVAL OF SCOTTISH NATIONALISM AND THE CHALLENGE POSED TO THE BRITISH NATIONAL IDENTITY 1960S-1980S. Thesis submitted in Partial Fulfilment for the Requirement of the Degree of Doctorat LMD in British Civilisation. Submitted by Supervised by Djamila Hocini Prof. Brahim Harouni Board of Examiners Chairman: Prof. Saadi Hacéne University of Constantine 1 Supervisor: Prof. Brahim Harouni University of Constantine 1 Member: Prof. Nacif Labed University of Constantine 1 Member: Prof. Tolgui Laddi University of Guelma Member: Prof. Laggoune Abdelhak University of Guelma Member: Dr. Azoui Samih ENS Constantine 29/06/2019 I DEDICATION With the help of Allah and the support of my mother, I dedicate this to YOU … Father II Acknowledgments Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Pros. Brahim Harouni for his continuous support through the process of academic research and writing of this thesis. I thank him for his patience, motivation, and immense knowledge. I could not have imagined having a better advisor for the fulfilment of my thesis. He further asked hard questions which helped me to widen my research from various perspectives. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the members of the jury who have given their time for reading, commenting and criticizing the work. My sincere thanks and gratitude also go to the members of my family: my mother, my brother and sisters for supporting me spiritually throughout writting this thesis and my life in general. Thanks must be also extended to my little family which often inspired me. III List of Abbreviations and Acronyms EEC European Economic Community GUSNA Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association MLR Minimum Lending Rate NHS National Health Services NPS The National Party of Scotland SDA Scottish Development Agency SNP The Scottish National Party IV Tables Table 1 SNP Election Results 1944-8 p. 30 Table 2 The Nationalist Vote at General Elections 1945- p. 40 1959 Table 3 The Growth of Organisation and Membership p. 48 of the SNP, 1962-1968 Table 4 Result of the Glasgow Bridgton by-election 10th p. 50 November 1961 Table 5 Number of SNP Branches 1960-1969 p. 55 Table 6 Conservatives and Labour Post-War General p. 59 Elections Performance in Scotland and England Table 7 SNP’s Performance in General Election in p. 86 Scotland since 1959 Table 8 Result of the February 1974 General Election in p. 94 Scotland Table 9 Opinion Polls for Westminster October 1974 p. 114-5 May 1979 Table 10 General Election Results in Scotland 1979-1997 p. 144 Table 11 Scottish Constitutional Preferences, 1979 p. 159 Table 12 Mori Opinion Polls on Constitutional Change p. 160 1979-1987 V Table 13 Votes and Seats in Scotland at British Elections, p. 166 1935-1992 VI Abstract The present work examines the revival of the Scottish nationalist movement and the challenge it posed to the British national identity from 1960s to 1980s. It investigates Scots demands for independence and the emergence of the Scottish National Party as the voice of the movement. This study attempts to show the great efforts made by the SNP to end the 1707 union with England. With the decline of the British Empire and the British economy in the post Second World War era, the Scots looked for an alternative and both Labour and Conservative parties started to lose ground among the Scottish voters. The SNP gained great support within Scots and started to make a real threat to the unity of the United Kingdom. The success of the SNP in the 1960s and 1970s, therefore, pushed the main Westminster political parties to react to the rise of the SNP and the Scottish nationalist movement as a whole. The Conservative party changed its attitudes towards devolution after showing great opposition to it. Labour also was present and established the Royal Commission on the Constitution. But the most controversial aspect was the creation of the Scottish Constitutional Convention during Thatcher’s Conservative governments. VII Résumé Le présent travail examine la relance du mouvement nationaliste écossais et le défi qu'il posait à l'identité nationale britannique durant les années 1960 à 1980. Il étudie les revendications écossaises pour l'indépendance et l'émergence du Parti National Ecossais (SNP) comme une voix qui porte le mouvement. Cette étude tente de montrer les grands efforts déployés par le SNP pour mettre fin à l'union de 1707 avec l'Angleterre. Avec le déclin de l'empire britannique et de l'économie britannique durant la période d'après-guerre, les écossais cherchaient une alternative et les deux partis politiques britanniques commencèrent à perdre du terrain parmi les électeurs écossais. C’est ainsi que le SNP a gagné un grand soutien au sein des écossais et a commencé à constituer une menace réelle pour l'unité du Royaume-Uni. Le succès du SNP dans les années 1960 et 1980 a donc poussé les principaux partis politiques de Westminster à réagir à la montée du SNP et du mouvement nationaliste écossais dans son ensemble. Le parti conservateur a changé d'attitude à l'égard de la dévolution après s'être montré très opposé. Le parti travailliste s’était également manifesté en établissant une Commission Royale sur la Constitution. Mais l'aspect le plus controversé a été la création de la Convention Constitutionnelle Ecossaise pendant le règne du gouvernement de Thatcher. VIII ملخص يدرس هذا البحث إلى إحياء الحركة القومية اﻻسكتلندية والتحدي الذي تفرضه على الهوية الوطنية البريطانية خﻻل الستينات و الثمانينات. و يحقق أيضا في مطالب اﻻسكتلنديين باﻻستقﻻل مع ظهور الحزب الوطني اﻻسكتلندي كممثل لهذه الحركة. كما تحاول هذه الدراسة إظهار الجهود الكبيرة المبذولة من طرف الحزب الوطني اﻻسكتلندي ﻹنهاء اﻻتحاد الذي جمعها مع انجلترا منذ 1707. مع سقوط اﻹمبراطورية البريطانية وتدهور اقتصادها في ما بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية، بدأ اﻻسكتلنديون البحث عن بديل عن اﻷحزاب السياسية البريطانية التي خسرت بين الناخبين اﻻسكتلنديين. وقد حصل الحزب ا الوطني اﻻسكتلندي على تأييد كبير داخل اﻻسكتلنديين وبدأوا يشكلون تهديدا حقيقيا لوحدة المملكة المتحدة. وبالتالي، فإن نجاح الحزب الوطني اﻻسكتلندي في الستينيات والثمانينات دفع اﻷحزاب السياسية البريطانية للرد على نجاح الحزب والحركة القومية اﻻسكتلندية ككل. هذا ما أدى بحزب المحافظين إلى تغيير مواقفه تجاه نقل السلطة بعد أن أبدى معارضة كبيرة له. وكان حزب العمال أيضا حاضرا في المشهد حيث أنشأ اللجنة الملكية المعنية بالدستور. ولكن الجانب الذي أثار الكثير من الجدل كان إنشاء اﻻتفاقية الدستورية اﻻسكتلندية خﻻل حكم حكومة تاتثر. IX TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL INTRODUCTION………………………………………………...……….01 CHAPTER ONE Scottish Nationalist Movement 1707-1950……………………………………………..12 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...12 1.1 Political Nationalism and Unionist Scotland since the Treaty of Union……..13 1.2 The Rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP)…………………….…………..18 a) Origins of the SNP……………………………………………………….18 b) The SNP’s Struggle for Existence 1934-1950…………………………..21 1.3 The Development of Scottish Nationalism by 1934……………………………24 1.4 The Decline of the British Empire and the British National Identity….……..27 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..34 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………...36 CHAPTER TWO The Development of the SNP 1950- 1970……………………………………..………..38 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..….38 2.1 The SNP’s Long Road to Electoral Competitiveness……………………..…...39 2.2 The Role of the SNP in the Development of Scottish Nationalism in the 1960s……………………………………………………………………....….46 2.3 The Conservative and Labour Governments’ Responses to the Rise of the SNP……………………………………………………………...…..…………....57 X 2.4 The 1960s Economic Crisis Impact in the Development of the Scottish Nationalist Movement………………………………………………………..…70 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..…76 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………....78 CHAPTER THREE The Rise of Nationalism as the Greatest Challenge to the British National Identity 1970s………………………………………………………………………..…….80 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….70 3.1 The Importance of the Discovery of North Sea Oil in the Development of the SNP and the Scottish Nationalism……………………………………………………….81 3.2 Devolution Debates in the 1970s……………………………………….....…..….91 3.3 Conservatives’ Attitudes to Devolution and the Rise of the SNP …………….107 3.4 Scotland’s First Chance for Devolution: Scotland Act 1978 and the 1979 Devolution Referendums…………………………………………………...112 3.5 Scottish Economic Problems and Scottish Nationalism……………………….121 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..126 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………….......129 CHAPTER FOUR The Scottish National Party Continuous Struggle for Devolution 1980s……..……..131 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………....131 4.1 The Effects of ‘Thatcherism’ on Scotland and the SNP’s Strategy…………...132 XI 4.2 Conservatives’ Attitudes Towards the Rise of the Scottish Nationalist Movement………………………………………………………………………………150 4.3 The SNP back into the Political Scene and the Challenge Posed to the British National Identity………………………………………………………………………..164 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………179 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………..181 CONCLOSION………………………………. ………………………………………..183 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………191 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION Overview In Britain, the 1970s were marked by the rise of minority nationalists which tended to challenge the British national identity. In Scotland there were strong motives