The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland is an autonomous body that organises the Orange Institution in Scotland. A staunchly protestant organisation, based along Christian lines, the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland is one of the entities advocating unionism in Scotland and the continuance of the United Kingdom. Out of a Scottish population of over 5 million people, it claims 50,000 members, all of whom are Protestants predominantly drawn from the Scottish Lowlands, and its headquarters are in Bridgeton, Glasgow.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland is made up of four County Grand Lodges: Ayrshire-Renfrewshire and Argyll, Central Scotland, East of Scotland and Glasgow. From these County Grand Lodges Orangemen and Orangewomen are elected to the organisation's governing body.
On 24 March 2007 around 12,000 Orangemen from Scotland and other countries of the United Kingdom took part in a procession to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Acts of Union 1707 and marched through Edinburgh's Royal Mile. This culminated in a rally where its leaders warned members of the danger of the Scottish National Party breaking up the UK. The Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, Ian Wilson, said that "the Union has been good for Scotland and will continue to be good for Scotland".
The Orange Order, after decades of decline in Scotland, made a recovery in its membership between 2006 and 2009. In October 2009 the Orange Order declared its strong opposition to the Scottish National Party and Scottish nationalism. Traditionally supportative of the Scottish Conservative Party, the Orange Order in Scotland vowed to support unionism even if that meant aiding their political opponents the Scottish Labour Party in Scottish and UK elections.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland is the traditional point of contact in Scotland for Ulster loyalists from Northern Ireland.
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