No, the Scottish Labour Party is not headquartered in England

What is the claim?

In the run-up to the 2024 U.K. general elections, multiple social media users falsely claimed that the Scottish Labour Party is headquartered in Newcastle, England, and not in Scotland. Some users posted this claim and questioned why one living in Scotland would think of voting for the Labour Party. One user on Facebook wrote, "Have a guess where Scottish labour headquarters is? Thats right Newcastle…Scottish labour HQ is in Newcastle, England. Living in Scotland and thinking of voting Labour? Why would you do that?” An archived version of one such post can be seen here.

Screenshots of the posts on social media. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. The Scottish Labour Party is headquartered in Rutherglen, Scotland.

How did we find the truth? 

We reviewed the Labour Party’s 2024 rule book to find out the location of the Scottish Labour headquarters. The rule book clearly shows that while the party has multiple branches across the U.K., in different locations, the Scottish Labour headquarters is in Rutherglen, Scotland, at 7 East Kilbride Road, Rutherglen, G73 5EA. 

We also found the same address on the Scottish Labour website, which further confirms that it is indeed located in Scotland. 

The likely confusion

The Scottish Labour website also lists an office address in Newcastle upon Tyne for membership purposes. The address for membership inquiries, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6PA, is actually the location of one of the U.K. Labour Party offices. The confusion likely started from the Newcastle office address listed on the Scottish Labour Party website. However, the address of the Scottish Labour Party is clearly stated on the website as located in Scotland, and the Newcastle office is just for memberships. 

The Electoral Commission, however, doesn't consider Scottish Labour as a separate party but as a financially autonomous unit, known as an accounting unit of the U.K. Labour Party. 

"Scottish Labour has its own executive committee, the SEC, its own leader and its own general secretary - but it remains part of the wider party, just as Scotland has its own government but remains part of the UK," a BBC article explained. 

We have contacted the Scottish Labour Party for an official statement. The fact check will be updated if and when we receive a response. 

The verdict

The Scottish Labour Party is located in Rutherglen, Scotland. Some social media users are falsely claiming that it is located in Newcastle, England. The address given on the Scottish Labour website confirms the Scotland location. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.K. Election here.