Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party

Although the party was first registered with the Electoral Commission on 31 January 2018,^[4] it did not officially launch until 3 August 2020.^[5] Its founder and current leader, John Mortimer, previously campaigned for Better Together and established the British Unionist Party.^[2] He also stood in the Glasgow electoral region in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, receiving 2,453 votes.^[6] Mortimer was critical of the Scottish Conservatives in comments made to the Daily Record, stating that they "have been weak opposition to the SNP on a number of levels."^[7] Despite gaining the backing of former UK Independence Party candidates John Ferguson and Mitch William, Mortimer insisted that the party was not a vehicle for former UKIP voters, although UKIP has endorsed abolishing the Scottish Parliament.^[7][8]

On 31 March 2021, the party announced that they would be contesting each of the eight electoral regions in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.^[9] They endorsed tactical voting similar to other nationalist and unionist parties like Alba and All for Unity. In order to deprive the SNP of a majority or a coalition with the Scottish Greens, they encouraged supporters to give their constituency vote to either the Conservatives, Labour, or the Liberal Democrats, and their list vote to Abolish.^[10]

In their first contested election, the 2021 election, the party did not win any seats, achieving 7,262 votes (0.3%).^[11]

Abolish the Scottish Parliament's single issue is the end of Scottish devolution. They claim that the current devolution system does not resemble what was promised in the 1997 referendum.^[12]

They decry the £100 million cost of the parliament as "shocking", pledging instead to spend the funding on the NHS and education.^[3] They propose returning executive powers to the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, returning legislative powers to the UK Parliament in London with a revival of pre-devolution role of the Scottish Grand Committee, and turning the Holyrood parliament building into a museum for the British Armed Forces.^[3][13] The party supports increasing the number of Scottish MPs to the seventy-four which Scotland had until 1950, elected on a proportional system. The party also opposes what it sees as "damaging, unpopular policies" pursued by the SNP, such as their "Named Person" system and the minimum pricing of alcohol.

• Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party