John Swinburne (4 July 1930 – 1 October 2017)[1] was an American-born Scottish politician who was the founder and leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party (SSCUP).
In 2003 Swinburne stood for election as the SSCUP candidate and gained a list seat in Central Scotland.
[3] Swinburne called for reintroduction of the 'Belt' or 'Tawse' into Scottish schools, expressing the opinion that corporal punishment would solve what he believed were endemic discipline problems.
[4] Swinburne stood for re-election in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election but lost his list seat, polling only 2% of the vote.
[5][6] In May 2009, at age 78, Swinburne announced he was planning to stand for the UK Parliament in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election.