Conservative political party in Scotland
The Scottish Family Party (SFP) is a socially conservative political party in Scotland.[4] It was formed in 2017[6] and is led by former UKIP member and school teacher Richard Lucas.[5][10]
The SFP contested their first seats in the 2019 UK general election, and also fielded candidates at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election and the 2022 Scottish local elections, but has never won any seats.[12][13]
Party ideology and policy
Social issues
When launched, the SFP said its "central goal" was to gain election to the Scottish Parliament and "to fill the void" left behind by the current parties and their abandoning of "Judeo-Christian-inspired values of traditional Western civilisation".[9] According to party leader Richard Lucas, they intend to be the party "to confront the cosy Holyrood consensus, interrupting the monochrome virtue-signalling that currently passes for debate in many areas".[14] It also aims to be a "pro-family, pro-marriage, pro-life, pro-freedom of speech, anti-identity politics, that values the complementary contributions of men and women and recommends schools refocus on education instead of social engineering, radical gender ideology and political moulding".[14] The SFP believes the “Gender Pay Gap” is by and large a reflection of personal choices and the natural differences between men and women, and no government action is required to address it.[15] The Scottish Family Party also opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia.[16]
Family
The SFP argues in favour of more autonomy for families and also demands an end to the ignoring of underage sex. The party would seek to police children aged 13 to 15 having sexual relations rather than permitting children to engage in sexual activity.[17] The SFP is against "vaguely defined" domestic abuse laws and believes people should be treated equally in this regardless of whether they are male or female. SFP recognises marriage as a "a solemn, lifelong commitment."[18][19] The party claims that "civil partnerships for heterosexual couples will further undermine the culture of marriage".[20] The SFP does not support the use of NHS resources for any fertility-related treatment apart from for a man and woman in a long-term stable relationship.[15]
Education
The SFP believes that education should increase its focus on "traditional focuses" of "discipline, knowledge, formal teaching, and objective testing."[21] They argue against the Curriculum for Excellence as it, "elevates subjective learner experience over teaching, undermining the intellectual authority of teachers, and uses student motivation and enjoyment as the measure of what is worth knowing."[21][19]
Lucas has spoken out against rainbow flags being displayed in schools.[5] The party is opposed to the inclusion of certain content in sex education such as LGBT and pornographic topics (both of which are currently taught in Scottish schools).[19] It supports education that includes the promotion of family planning and abstinence from alcohol use.[19]
Teachers in Scotland have raised concerns that party leader, Richard Lucas spreads misinformation about the sexual health curriculum. One teacher who spoke to The National newspaper linked SFP rhetoric to abuse of LGBT+ teachers. "They rejected the claim that young children are “being exposed to overtly sexualised material”, calling it "misinformation" and linking it to incidents which they claimed have seen teachers called perverts or groomers in the street, abused as "paedophiles" over the phone, or in the case of some LGBT+ teachers, forced out of the profession altogether".[22]
Controversies
In August 2017, Lucas defended comments that compared the arguments used to justify same-sex marriage to those used to justify incest.[9] Additionally, he denied allegations that he had posted a joke about the murder of Jo Cox shortly after her death and claimed to have instead criticised others who used the murder of Jo Cox as a reason to vote remain.[9]
The party submitted a complaint concerning a school celebration in East Lothian as part of LGBT History Month in February 2020.[23] HappyFest celebrated LGBT arts (including drag, theatre, poetry, dance, and music) at Dunbar Grammar School, but the SFP claimed that the acts promoted "a philosophy of gender fluidity that is confusing and dangerous to young people" and that "the drag scene is often associated with less than positive values."[23] A spokesperson for the East Lothian Council denied this, stating that they "strongly refute any suggestion that we 'promote a philosophy' that is 'confusing and dangerous to young people'."[23] The Council spokeswoman went on to comment, "HappyFest is organised to raise awareness and challenge prejudice. It's a community event that celebrates creative expression and the arts."[23]
According to The Ferret, Lucas was revealed on 27 July 2020 to have breached electoral law by failing to submit a record before the deadline of his personal campaign spending after running in the 2019 general election.[24]
In February 2021, the General Teaching Council for Scotland cleared Lucas, a registered teacher, of misconduct and allowed Lucas to keep his job after making comments about Ruth Davidson having a "Fatherless child" in a video posted online.[25][26]
On 29 August 2022, the SFP tweeted a picture of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon outside Auschwitz, with a cartoon-like thought bubble reading: "There should have been a buffer zone around this place." Green MSP Gillian Mackay, a leading campaigner for buffer zones around abortion clinics targeted by anti-abortion protesters, described the meme as "crass, insensitive and shameful". She said: "The Scottish Family Party are a disgraceful and extreme party that has been rejected time and again by the people of Scotland. Even by their standards, this is appalling."[3]
SFP were referenced in the 2022 Hope Not Hate 'State of Hate Report'. Hope Not Hate state that the party spread "an increasing amount of anti-trans and anti-LGBT+ campaign material and content on its social media, arguing that “Transgender Ideology” is damaging and “confusing children”. However, the party also opposes protections for children and argues that parents should be allowed to beat their children, and it opposes the “UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”, saying this undermines the rights of parents. The SFP also opposes hate crime legislation".[27]
In October and December 2022, the party held protests at the Scottish Parliament opposing reform to the Gender Recognition Act.[8][28]
The party was criticised when Richard Lucas publicised plans to protest at a sexual health clinic in Sandyford, Glasgow as of November 2022.[13] During the protest in March 2023, Lucas branded abortion providers at the clinic "Killers".[29] The BBC reported that the ‘small group’ of Scottish Family Party campaigners were outnumbered by a larger counter demonstration.[30]
In January 2023, Scottish Family Party Leader, Richard Lucas was interviewed by a prominent figure of the far-right hate group Patriotic Alternative Scotland (Simon Crane), a group targeted by government counter terrorism strategy. Crane also interviewed Scottish Family Party member and activist, Niall Fraser. Lucas said Crane used to be a member of the Scottish Family Party (SFP), but left “after discussions with myself led him to the conclusion that PA reflected his ethno-nationalist political stance while the SFP did not.” Lucas added that he takes “any opportunity to present the SFP to a new audience” and would “probably” speak to PA again.[31]
In March 2023 Pink News claimed the group was "Far Right" due to plans to "Brick up" Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow in a protest against gender affirming care[32]
Scottish Family Party activist Niall Fraser announced in late August 2023 that he would be contesting Margaret Ferrier’s MP seat in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. According to the Daily Record “Fraser appeared on a podcast by neo-Nazi group Homeland on which he described covid as “bogus” and said: “I didn’t follow any lockdowns.” Georgie Laming, campaign director at charity Hope Not Hate, said: “Niall Fraser and the Scottish Family Party say they’re standing up for traditional family values, however the truth is very sinister. We’ve found they’re cosying up to fascist group Homeland”.[33]
Electoral history
The SFP fielded two candidates in the 2019 United Kingdom general election: Liam McKechnie in Dunbartonshire East, and Richard Lucas in Ross, Skye & Lochaber. Neither won the contested seat.[34] The party contested the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[35] They then received 2,734 constituency votes and 16,085 list votes, but won no seats.[36] It also contested the 2022 Scottish local elections, fielding 84 candidates[37][6] and gaining 6,857 first-preference votes (0.4% of the total vote) but again winning no seats.[38]
Westminster
Scottish Parliament
| Election
|
Regional
|
Total seats
|
+/–
|
Rank
|
Government
|
| Votes
|
%
|
Seats
|
| 2021
|
16,085
|
0.59
|
|
|
|
 9th
|
Not in parliament
|
Local elections
| Election
|
Local
|
Seats
|
Rank
|
Notes
|
| Votes
|
%
|
| 2022
|
6,857
|
0.4
|
|
8th
|
|
