I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

After its 1906 General Election victories the Labour Representation Committee was renamed the Labour Party and J. Ramsay Macdonald (1866 -1937) became its first secretary. To add to the confusion a nominally independent Scottish Labour Party was also formed in 1906 from the Scottish Workers' Parliamentary Election Committee (1900). This ultimately merged with the British Labour Party in 1909.

From the outset, Scottish Labour's relationship with the British Labour Party, the ILP and other factions was complex. Nevertheless it made a significant contribution to the character of the Labour Party through leadership, language and ideology, most notably in the work Hardie, Macdonald, John Wheatley (1869 1930), James Maxton (1885-1946), an Patrick Dollan (1881-1963). The return of large number of Scottish Labour MPs in the General Election of 1922 could be seen partly a reward for class struggles during World War 1, and partly as a result of successful propaganda in a deteriorating post-war economy.

During the 1920s Scottish Labour made some gains and had considerable impact locally and nationally. Men like Wheatley and Dollan proved to be very successful politicians - the former at Westminster, the latter in Glasgow local government. For many - especially the 'Red Clydesiders' - disillusionment with Macdonald's gradualism and lack of imaginative policies to deal with unemployment and social distress soon set in, leading to the increased alienation of the ILP. Prominent among the disaffected were Wheatley and Maxton, and certainly the death of the former in 1930 robbed the left of a skilled politician.

The party experienced mixed fortunes in the 1930s as the country struggled with the depression. The General Election of 1931, following Macdonald's defection from the Labour Party to form a 'National' government, was an unmitigated disaster, with serious defeats even in traditional strongholds. However, Labour did well in local government capturing Glasgow in 1933 and also proving successful in other towns during the decade. Many Labour activists worked closely with the Communist Party and other left-wing groups in the battle against unemployment at home and the rise of fascism abroad.

Despite Tom Johnston's (1881-1965) enthusiasm for administrative devolution during World War II, the Labour Party in Scotland became increasingly integrated into the British party after 1945. Home Rule remained a hardy annual at Scottish conferences for years, but it was finally abandoned in 1958. Though occupying a dominant, but not unchallenged position in the municipal politics of urban-industrial Scotland, the Labour Party's performance was hardly sparkling. The same might be said of its record during the years of Labour government in the 1960s and 70s. Labour's regional policies at first favoured Scotland, especially in terms of new industrial development, but subsequent events nationally and internationally undid most that had been achieved. Continuing economic and social problems served to revive the Scottish National Party and Labour was forced to do an about-turn on devolution in the late 1970s. In the inevitable shambles of the referendum campaign the Labour Party in Scotland emerged with little credit.

In summary, there is much to criticize about the activities of the Labour Party in Scotland, though its record in national politics and local government since the 1900s is nevertheless formidable. Much of its initial success was due to the collapse of Radical Liberalism, though it had gained its own momentum in Scotland by 1914. Historically, its socialist ideology has had to give way to pragmatism in the real world often at the cost of party unity. In the 1980s the Labour Party remained the most powerful force in Scottish politics - in contrast to the situation in England, where its vote had been drastically eroded.
BROWN, K. D., ed., The First Labour Party
1906-1914, Groom Helm, 1985.
DONNACHIE, I., HARVIE, C. and WOOD, I., eds.
Forward! Labour Politics in Scotland
1888-1988, Polygon Books, 1989.

Now lets look at some specific dates:

1471 - May 6
Preparations for war and need to re-equip and build more fishing-boats occupied the attention of Scots Parliament meeting in Edinburgh.

1885 - May 11
Annual meeting of the Scottish Football Association told that the balance in hand was £474.

1780 - May 17
Glasgow, previously regarded only as a backwater up-river from Port Glasgow, became a a port of entry in its own right.

1537 - May 27
James V landed on Scottish soil with his new bride Magdalen, daughter of Francis of France. The sickly queen died within days.

Source - Scotching the Myths by Jim Hewiston can be found in the History Book Section of Scottish Radiance.

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from Quotable Scots another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find.

We all know that prime ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other wedded couples they sometimes live apart.
Saki (H.H. Munor)

All I say is, if you cannot ride two horses you have no right to be in the circus.
James Maxton (1885 - 1946), on being told that he could not be in two political parties, Daily Herald 1932.

Is fheàrr fheuchainn na bhith san dùil. - It is better to try than to hope

You can find more articles in the archive under Scottish Flotsam.