It was founded in 1933 out of the Scottish section of the New Party by William Weir Gilmour and Major Hume Sleigh.
[3][4][5] The party charter emphasised:[5] No Catholics were permitted to join the SDFP.
[7] The monthly Commonwealth was launched as the SDFP organ on Monday 12 June 1933.
[5] Only two issues were published though, and the party failed to attract wide support.
Gilmour later opined that the SDFP's virulent anti-Catholicism may have unintentionally undermined fascism in Scotland by putting off prospective Catholic recruits.