William Weir Gilmour

William Weir Gilmour (1905–1998), was a Scottish politician who was associated with five different political parties; the Independent Labour Party, the New Party, the Scottish Democratic Fascist Party, the Labour and Co-operative party and the Liberal Party.

Background Weir Gilmour was born in Lanarkshire. He started out working as a miner. He was at one time a mining surveyor, Around 1931 he worked as a salesman.

Political career

Independent Labour Party Weir Gilmour started his political activity in his native Lanarkshire as a member of the Independent Labour Party. He was a delegate to the Glasgow Trades and Labour Council.

Scottish Democratic Fascist Party In 1933 Gilmour co-founded the Scottish Democratic Fascist Party (SDFP) with Major Hume Sleigh. The party sought to prohibit Irish migration to Scotland, expel Catholic religious orders from Scotland, and repeal the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (which allowed Catholic schools into the state system funded through education rates).

The SDFP was at odds with Oswald Mosley's larger British Union of Fascists, particularly over the issue of Catholicism. In contrast to the SDFP, the BUF was accepting of Catholics, with Catholics making up a high percentage of the BUF membership, particularly in Northern England. This led to Weir Gilmour denouncing the BUF as "run by Roman Catholics, organised by Roman Catholics, in the interests of Roman Catholics." Gilmour later opined that the SDFP's virulent anti-Catholicism may have unintentionally undermined fascism in Scotland by putting off prospective Catholic recruits.

In 1937 he was elected to Peebles Town Council, for which he remained a member for more than 20 years. In a poor election for the Liberals generally, Gilmour finished third, losing his deposit.

He did not stand for parliament again.

Later life Gilmour spent time in a mental hospital during 1956. In 1957, he attracted national publicity when he criticised 'obscene language' on the BBC.

In 1970, Gilmour was sentenced to two years in prison for child sexual abuse.

In 1979 he published a book on Famous Scots.