Scottish Labour does not have its headquarters in Newcastle – Full Fact

A number of Facebook posts published in the run-up to the 4 July general election claim that the Scottish Labour party has its headquarters in England, not Scotland. 

One says: “Scottish Labour headquarters is in England. Wake up Scotland, wake up!!!”

Some of the posts feature a screenshot of Scottish Labour’s website showing that membership enquiries should be directed to an office in Newcastle upon Tyne. Although this is what Labour’s website shows, it’s not correct to say this means the Scottish Labour party’s headquarters are in England. Scottish Labour has a main address listed in Scotland, and a Newcastle address for membership enquiries.  

False or misleading claims about political issues have the potential to affect people’s opinions of individuals, parties or how they choose to vote. We often see these types of claims spread widely online.

Despite its name, Scottish Labour is not a political party in its own right but rather a financially autonomous branch of the main Labour party, known as an “accounting unit”. 

The 2024 edition of the party rule book confirms it consists of “a central organisation with accounting units”. Other accounting units in the party include Welsh Labour, National Labour Students and the Association of Labour Councillors. 

The headquarters of Scottish Labour are listed as being in Rutherglen, a town just south of Glasgow, as shown on its website and listed in Labour’s rulebook. Scottish Labour also confirmed to us this is where it is based, and that some centralised functions of the party as a whole are dealt with by Labour Central, the name given to its head office in the north of England. Labour Central is based in Newcastle.