Baldwin and Scotland: More than Englishness

Abstract

This article explores the role of the Conservative and Unionist party leader of Great Britain - Stanley Baldwin - in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Unionist party and the Scottish electorate. During the inter-war period, Unionism was aggressively challenged by both socialism and Scottish nationalism. Baldwin was aware that his party needed to present itself as both the natural party of England and as the natural party of Scotland if it was to survive. Although generally considered to be the archetypal Englishman, Baldwin cleverly re-created himself for the Scottish political constituency, a self-portrayal which allowed him to be accepted by Scottish audiences as one of their own. He successfully followed a line of appeal that contended that Unionist values were inherently part of the historical and cultural inheritance of Scotland; if Scots wanted to retain and develop their distinct national identity, Baldwin argued that Unionism was their only possible form of political expression.