Scottish National Party

The **Scottish National Party** (**SNP**; Scots: *Scots National Pairty*, Scottish Gaelic: *Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba* [ˈpʰaːrˠʃtʲi ˈn̪ˠaːʃən̪ˠt̪ə nə ˈhal̪ˠapə]) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence or secession from the United Kingdom and for Scotland's membership of the European Union, with a platform based on civic nationalism. The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland, where it has the most seats in the Scottish Parliament and 46 out of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons at Westminster, and it is the third-largest political party by membership in the United Kingdom, behind the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The current Scottish National Party leader is Nicola Sturgeon.

Founded in 1934 with the amalgamation of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, the party has had continuous parliamentary representation in Westminster since Winnie Ewing won the 1967 Hamilton by-election. With the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, the SNP became the second-largest party, serving two terms as the opposition. The SNP gained power under Alex Salmond at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, forming a minority government, before going on to win the 2011 Parliament election, after which it formed Holyrood's first majority government. After Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum, Salmond resigned and was succeeded by Sturgeon. Within a year, Sturgeon led her party to a landslide victory in the 2015 United Kingdom general election, winning 46 of Scotland's 59 seats, helping to prevent Labour gaining a majority.

The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland in terms of both seats in the Westminster and Holyrood parliaments, and membership. As of 8 May 2015 2015, the party had 114,000 members. It currently has 46 Members of Parliament (MPs), 69 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and over 400 local councillors. The SNP is a member of the European Free Alliance (EFA). The party does not have any members of the House of Lords, on the principle that it opposes the upper house of Parliament and calls for it to be scrapped.

## History

### Foundation and early breakthroughs (1934–1970)

The SNP was formed in 1934 through the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, with the Duke of Montrose and Cunninghame Graham as its first joint presidents. Sir Alexander MacEwen was its first chairman.

The party was divided on its approach to the Second World War. Professor Douglas Young, who was SNP leader from 1942 to 1945, campaigned for the Scottish people to refuse conscription and his activities were popularly vilified as undermining the British war effort against the Axis powers. Young was imprisoned for refusing to be conscripted. However, others in the party were explicitly pro-Nazi. Hugh MacDiarmid, who stood as an SNP candidate in 1945, believed that the Nazis were "less dangerous than our own government" and wrote a poem about the London Blitz that included the line "I hardly care". Arthur Donaldson, who went on to lead the party between 1961 and 1969, believed a Nazi invasion would benefit Scotland:

> "The government would leave the country and England's position would be absolutely hopeless, as poverty and famine would be their only reward for declaring war on Germany. Scotland, on the other hand, had great possibilities."
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The party suffered its first split during this period with John MacCormick leaving the party in 1942, owing to his failure to change the party's policy from supporting all-out independence to Home Rule at that year's conference in Glasgow. McCormick went on to form the Scottish Covenant Association, a non-partisan political organisation campaigning for the establishment of a devolved Scottish Assembly.

However, wartime conditions also enabled the SNP's first parliamentary success at the Motherwell by-election in 1945, but Robert McIntyre MP lost the seat at the general election three months later. The 1950s were characterised by similarly low levels of support, and this made it difficult for the party to advance. Indeed, in most general elections they were unable to put up more than a handful of candidates.

The 1960s, however, offered more electoral successes, with candidates polling credibly at Glasgow Bridgeton in 1961, West Lothian in 1962 and Glasgow Pollok in 1967. Indeed, this foreshadowed Winnie Ewing's surprise victory in a by-election at the previously safe Labour seat of Hamilton. This brought the SNP to national prominence, leading to the establishment of the Kilbrandon Commission.

### Becoming a notable force (1970s)

Despite this breakthrough, the 1970 general election was to prove a disappointment for the party as, despite an increase in vote share, Ewing failed to retain her seat in Hamilton. The party did receive some consolation with the capture of the Western Isles, making Donald Stewart the party's only MP. This was to be the case until the 1973 by-election at Glasgow Govan where a hitherto safe Labour seat was claimed by Margo MacDonald.

1974 was to prove something of an *annus mirabilis* for the party as it deployed its highly effective *It's Scotland's oil]* campaign. The SNP gained 6 seats at the February general election before hitting a high point in the October re-run, polling almost a third of all votes in Scotland and returning 11 MPs to Westminster. Furthermore, during that year's local elections the party claimed overall control of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

This success was to continue for much of the decade, and at the 1977 district elections the SNP saw victories at councils including East Kilbride and Falkirk and held the balance of power in Glasgow. However, this level of support was not to last and by 1978 Labour revival was evident at three by-elections (Glasgow Garscadden, Hamilton and Berwick and East Lothian) as well as the regional elections.

This was to culminate when the party experienced a large drop in its support at the 1979 general election, precipitated by the party bringing down the incumbent Labour minority government following the controversial failure of that year's devolution referendum. Reduced to just 2 MPs, the successes of October 1974 were not to be surpassed until the 2015 general election.

In 1979 the party's MPs supported Margaret Thatcher's Motion of No Confidence in James Callaghan's Labour Government, with the motion carried by 311 votes to 310. Callaghan taunted the party that they were like "the turkeys who voted for Christmas" and the party went on to lose all but two of its seats in the subsequent election that ushered in 18 years of Tory rule.

### Factional divisions and infighting (1980s)

Following this defeat, a period of internal strife occurred within the party, culminating with the formation of two internal groups: the ultranationalist Siol nan Gaidheal and left-wing 79 Group. Traditionalists within the party, centred around Winnie Ewing, by this time an MEP, responded by establishing the Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland which sought to ensure that the primary objective of the SNP was campaigning for independence without a traditional left-right orientation, even though this would have undone the work of figures such as William Wolfe, who developed a clearly social democratic policy platform throughout the 1970s.

These events ensured the success of a leadership motion at the party's annual conference of 1982, in Ayr, despite the 79 Group being bolstered by the merger of Jim Sillars' Scottish Labour Party (SLP) although this influx of ex-SLP members further shifted the characteristics of the party leftwards. Despite this, traditionalist figure Gordon Wilson remained party leader through the electoral disappointments of 1983 and 1987, where he lost his own Dundee East seat won 13 years prior.

Through this period, Sillars' influence in the party grew, developing a clear socio-economic platform including *Independence in Europe,* reversing the SNP's previous opposition to membership of the then-EEC which had been unsuccessful in a 1975 referendum. This position was enhanced further by Sillars reclaiming Glasgow Govan in a by-election in 1988.

Despite this moderation, the party did not join Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens as well as civil society in the Scottish Constitutional Convention which developed a blueprint for a devolved Scottish Parliament due to the unwillingness of the convention to discuss independence as a constitutional option.

### First Salmond era (1990s)

Alex Salmond had been elected MP for Banff and Buchan in 1987, after the re-admittance of 79 Group members, and was able to seize the party leadership after Wilson's resignation in 1990 after a contest with Margaret Ewing. This was a surprise victory as Ewing had the backing of much of the party establishment, including Sillars and then-Party Secretary John Swinney. The defection of Labour MP Dick Douglas further evidenced the party's clear left-wing positioning, particularly regarding opposition to the poll tax. Despite this, Salmond's leadership was unable to avert a fourth successive general election disappointment in 1992 with the party reduced back from 5 to 3 MPs.

The mid-90s offered some successes for the party, with North East Scotland being gained at the 1994 European elections and the party securing a by-election at Perth and Kinross in 1995 after a near-miss at Monklands East the previous year.

1997 offered the party's most successful general election for 23 years, although in the face of the Labour landslide the party was unable to match either of the two 1974 elections. That September, the party joined with the members of the Scottish Constitutional Convention in the successful Yes-Yes campaign in the devolution referendum which lead to the establishment of a Scottish Parliament with tax-varying powers.

By 1999, the first elections to the parliament were being held, although the party suffered a disappointing result, gaining just 35 MSPs in the face of Salmond's unpopular 'Kosovo Broadcast' which opposed NATO intervention in the country.

### Opposing Labour-Liberal Democrat coalitions (1999–2007)

This meant that the party began as the official opposition in the parliament to a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government. Salmond found the move to a more consensual politics difficult and sought a return to Westminster, resigning the leadership in 2000 with John Swinney, like Salmond a gradualist, victorious in the ensuring leadership election. Swinney's leadership proved ineffectual, with a loss of one MP in 2001 and a further reduction to 27 MSPs in 2003] despite the Officegate scandal unseating previous [[First Minister of Scotland|First Minister] Henry McLeish. However, the only parties to gain seats in that election were the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) which like the SNP support independence.

Following an unsuccessful leadership challenge in 2003, Swinney stepped down following disappointing results in the European elections of 2004 with Salmond victorious in the subsequent leadership contest despite initially refusing to be candidate. Nicola Sturgeon was elected Depute Leader and became the party's leader in the Scottish Parliament until Salmond was able to return at the next parliamentary election.

### Salmond governments (2007–2014)

In 2007, the SNP emerged as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament with 47 of 129 seats, narrowly ousting Scottish Labour with 46 seats and Alex Salmond becoming First Minister after ousting the Liberal Democrats in Gordon. The Scottish Greens supported Salmond's election as First Minister, and his subsequent appointments of ministers, in return for early tabling of the climate change bill and the SNP nominating a Green MSP to chair a parliamentary committee. Despite this, Salmond's minority government tended to strike budget deals with the Conservatives to stay in office.

In the final few years of the New Labour government, there were four parliamentary by-elections in Scotland. The SNP saw marginal swings towards the in three of them; 2006 in Dunfermline and West Fife, 2008 in Glenrothes and 2009 in Glasgow North East. None were as notable than the 2008 Glasgow East by-election, in which the SNP's John Mason took the third safest Labour seat in Scotland on a 22.5% swing.

In May 2011, the SNP won an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament with 69 seats. This was a significant feat as the Additional member system used for Scottish Parliament elections was specifically designed to prevent one party from winning an outright majority. This was followed by a reverse in the party's previous opposition to NATO membership at the party's annual conference in 2012 despite Salmond's refusal to apologise for the Kosovo broadcast on the occasion of the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

This majority enabled the SNP government to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014. The "No" vote prevailed in a close-fought campaign, prompting the resignation of First Minister Alex Salmond. Forty-five percent of Scottish voters cast their ballots for independence, with the "Yes" side receiving less support than late polling predicted. Exit polling by Lord Ashcroft suggested that many No voters thought independence too risky, while others voted for the Union because of their emotional attachment to Britain. Older voters, women and middle class voters voted no in margins above the national average.

Following the Yes campaign's defeat, Salmond resigned and Nicola Sturgeon won that year's leadership election unopposed.

### Sturgeon years (2014–present)

The SNP rebounded from their loss at the independence referendum at the 2015 UK general election eight months later, led by former Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon. The party went from holding six seats in the House of Commons to 46, ending 51 years of dominance by the Scottish Labour Party. All but 13 of the fifty-nine constituencies in the country elected an SNP candidate in the party's most comprehensive electoral victory at any level.

## Constitution and structure

The local Branches are the primary level of organisation in the SNP. All of the Branches within each Scottish Parliament constituency form a Constituency Association, which coordinates the work of the Branches within the constituency, coordinates the activities of the party in the constituency and acts as a point of liaison between an MSP or MP and the party. Constituency Associations are composed of delegates from all of the Branches within the constituency.

The annual National Conference is the supreme governing body of the SNP and is responsible for determining party policy and electing the National Executive Committee. The National Conference is composed of:

* delegates from every Branch and Constituency Association
* the members of the National Executive Committee
* every SNP MSP and MP
* all SNP councillors
* delegates from each of the SNP's Affiliated Organisations (Young Scots for Independence, SNP Students, SNP Trade Union Group, the Association of Nationalist Councillors, the Disabled Members Group, the SNP BAME Network, Scots Asians for Independence, and Out for Independence)

There are also regular meetings of the National Assembly, which provides a forum for detailed discussions of party policy by party members.

### Membership

The SNP experienced a large surge in membership following the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. In 2013 the party's membership stood at just 20,000, but that number had swelled to over 100,000 by 2015. Annual accounts submitted by the party to the Electoral Commission showed the SNP to have over 114,000 members by the 2015 United Kingdom general election

### European affiliation

The SNP retains close links with Plaid Cymru, its counterpart in Wales. MPs from both parties co-operate closely with each other and work as a single parliamentary group within the House of Commons. Both the SNP and Plaid Cymru are members of the European Free Alliance (EFA), a European political party comprising regionalist political parties. The EFA co-operates with the larger European Green Party to form The Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) group in the European Parliament. Before its affiliation with The Greens–European Free Alliance, the SNP had previously been allied with the European Progressive Democrats (1979–1984), Rainbow Group (1989–1994) and European Radical Alliance (1994–1999).

The SNP currently have 2 MEPs out of 73 UK MEPs (or 6 Scottish MEPs).

## Constitutional debate

The foundations of the SNP are a belief that Scotland would be more prosperous by being governed independently from the United Kingdom, although the party was defeated in the 2014 referendum on this issue. The party has since sought to hold a second referendum at some point in the future, perhaps related to the rise of Euroscepticism in England, as the party sees a referendum as the only route to independence. The party is constitutionalist and as such rejects holding such a referendum unilaterally with the party seeing independence as a process that should be undertaken through a consensual process alongside the UK Government. As part of this process towards independence, the party supports increased devolution to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government, particularly in areas such as welfare and immigration.

Official SNP policy is supportive of the monarchy. Many party members are republicans but party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, believes it is a "model with many merits", although she has proposed reducing the funds spent on the royal family. Separately, the SNP has always opposed the UK's unelected upper house and would like to see both it and the House of Commons elected by a form of proportional representation. The party also supports the introduction of a codified constitution, either for an independent Scotland or the UK as a whole, going as far as producing a proposed interim constitution for Scotland during the independence referendum campaign.

### Fundamentalists and gradualists

There have always been divisions within the party on how to achieve Scottish independence, with one wing described as 'fundamentalists' and the other 'gradualists'. The SNP leadership generally subscribes to the gradualist viewpoint, that being the idea that independence can be won by the accumulation by the Scottish Parliament of powers that the UK Parliament currently has over time. Fundamentalism stands in opposition to the so-called gradualist point of view, which believes that the SNP should emphasise independence more widely to achieve it. The argument goes that if the SNP is unprepared to argue for its central policy then it is unlikely ever to persuade the public of its worthiness.

## Leadership

See also: Scottish National Party leadership election

### Leader of the parliamentary party, House of Commons

* Donald Stewart (Western Isles), 1974–1987
* Margaret Ewing (Moray), 1987–1999
* Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale), 1999–2001
* Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan), 2001–2007
* Angus Robertson (Moray), 2007–present