Scottish Democratic Fascist Party

Scottish Democratic Fascist Party
Leader	William Weir Gilmour
Founded	1933
Ideology	Fascism Anti-Catholicism Anti-Irish immigration
Politics of Scotland Political parties Elections

The Scottish Democratic Fascist Party (SDFP) was a political party in Scotland. It was founded in 1933 by William Weir Gilmour and Major Hume Sleigh.^[1][2] 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).^[1] No Catholics were permitted to join the SDFP.^[3]

The monthly Commonwealth was launched as the SDFP organ. Only two issues were published though, and the party failed to attract wide support.^[1]

The SDFP was at odds with Oswald Mosley'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. This led to William 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.^[4]

References

1. Kushner, Tony, and Kenneth Lunn. Traditions of Intolerance: Historical Perspectives on Fascism and Race Discourse in Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989. p. 199
2. Gallagher, Tom. Edinburgh Divided: John Cormack and No Popery in the 1930s. Edinburgh: Polygon, 1987. p. 204
3. Villis, Tom (2013). British Catholics and Fascism: Religious Identity and Political Extremism Between the Wars. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 66.
4. Villis, Tom (2013). British Catholics and Fascism: Religious Identity and Political Extremism Between the Wars. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 10.