AUTHOR APPROVED A fresh study of the Scottish Conservative Party's heritage, personalities, ideologies and electoral performance The Scottish Conservative Party has played a significant role in the politics of Scotland during the last century. This collection brings together academics, writers, commentators and analysts of Scottish politics to address the nature of the Scottish Conservative Party; its standing in Scotland, influence on the Union and role in the Scottish Parliament. Readers will gain an understanding of a party which governed Scotland and the UK for much of the twentieth century, and also read new insights into why that party's support declined so dramatically from a majority of votes and seats at the 1955 general election to just a single constituency and 17 per cent of the vote in May 2010. Key Features This is the first single-volume work looking at the history and ideas of the Scottish Conservative Party David Torrance is a journalist and author who has reported on, and written widely about, the Scottish and UK Conservative parties and who has a unique insight into their organisation, history and thinking Includes contributions from leading academics and political commentators including John Curtice, Richard Finlay, Alvin Jackson, Colin Kidd, James Mitchell and Alex Massie David Torrance is a writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written widely on Scottish politics, including books on various aspects of Scottish Conservatism and an unauthorised biography of the SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.