by Dr. Sarah Moxey (Open University) Over the last decade or so contemporary Scottish politics has been a dominant topic on the news agenda, however, Scottish political history has not received the same spotlight. The Histories of Scottish Politics in the Age of Union c.1700-1945 conference, held at Durham University in July with the support of the Past and Present Society, put Scottish political history firmly into the limelight. Spread over two days, this conference featured the very best in research and innovation in the field of Scottish political history. The timeframe of the conference showed how much politics has been democratised over the centuries, from Laura Stewart’s paper on the Scottish Constitution, showing the declining influence of the church in politics; to the role of the aristocracy through political networks and clan politics, as explored by Brendan Tam, Edwin Sheffield and Tom Pye; and the breakthrough of the working classes into Scottish politics, including through the Chartists and cooperative communities, as discussed by Dominic Barron-Carter, Sonny Angus and Dave Steele. All these papers highlighted the vast changes in political engagement within Scottish society and Scottish politics over three centuries. This was also seen in the opening panel on courtroom […]