History of the Scottish National Party
[4] The merger was the brainchild of leading NPS figure John MacCormick, who desired unity for the nationalist movement in Scotland, and, upon learning of the Scottish Party's emergence, moved to secure it.Young fought for the Scottish people to refuse conscription and his activities were popularly vilified as undermining the British war effort against the Nazis.The Covenant managed to get over 2 million signatures to a petition demanding Home Rule for Scotland in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and secured support from across the parties, but it eventually faded as a political force.The party's first MP was Robert McIntyre who won a by-election for Motherwell under unusual wartime conditions, but he lost the seat in the general election later that year.The party's former president, Roland Muirhead, devoted much of his time to the Scottish National Congress, a direct action organisation which competed for support with the SNP.This split proved to be minor and involved only a few members, mainly located in the city of Edinburgh, and the new National Party of Scotland made no impact whatsoever in the long-run.Several prominent individuals formed the 1320 Club, hoping to develop a wider movement in the style of the Scottish Covenant Association,[6] but they were expelled in 1968 for advocating paramilitary activity.While Scottish Labour's electoral dominance had been well-established at this point, since Labour – as the party that created the National Health Service galvanised support for its vision of the welfare state and working class solidarity across the nations of the UK; the discovery of North Sea oil offered nationalists an equally compelling vision – where oil wealth would provide Scotland an escape from the stagflation the British economy was experiencing and the social unrest it led to.By 1976, the Labour Government had lost the three-seat majority it won at the 1974 general election after a series of by-election defeats, making its survival dependent on SNP support.However, Labour MP George Cunningham inserted an amendment requiring that the proposal be approved by 40% of all registered voters in order to take effect.In practice this doomed the home rule cause as while the proposed Scottish Assembly secured a majority of 51.6% at the referendum, a turnout of 63.7% meant only 32.9% of the electorate approved the bill.[11] The Labour Party, which controlled the government at the time and drew a great deal of support from Scotland, saw that the SNP had become much more than a protest vote.If the group was successful, it would have undone the work of figures such as William Wolfe, who moved the SNP to become a clearly defined social democratic party in the 1970s.This resulted in the SLP's leading figure, Jim Sillars deciding to join the SNP, as did a great number of other ex-SLP members.He argued against the idea that somehow the country could be guided in a "tartan trance" to independence, as if the Scottish people could ignore the realities of the economic system in which they found themselves.Sillars was also key in moving the party to adopting a position of Independence in Europe to alleviate the "separatist" tag that the SNP's unionist opponents attached to them.In the 1994 elections for the European Parliament the party managed to secure over 30% of the popular vote and return two MEPs (Winnie Ewing and Allan MacCartney).The SNP also came very close to winning the Monklands East by-election of that year, caused by the death of the leader of the Labour Party, John Smith.This gave the SNP an opportunity to firmly establish itself as a political force in Scotland, and it returned 35 MSPs in the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999.Despite optimism that the party would at least retain the same number of MSPs they gained in 1999, a downturn in electoral fortune at the 2003 Scottish Parliament Elections weakened them somewhat.Wilson was broadly critical of what he argued were the centralising tendencies of the Swinney leadership, as well as a drift to the centre ground of politics away from the SNP's traditional position of the left.Shortly afterwards, two MSPs (Roseanna Cunningham and Nicola Sturgeon) and one former MSP (Mike Russell) announced that they would be candidates in the election for the party leadership.It was particularly surprising in light of Salmond's earlier comments, before he had entered the race that he would have difficulties working with Neil should he be elected leader, although he later went on the record to say that he should not have publicly said this.They managed to gain two seats (Angus MacNeil winning in Na h-Eileanan an Iar and Stewart Hosie in Dundee East) from the notional four they held to bring their total to six Members of Parliament.[14] However, there was also disappointment in that the sitting MP Annabelle Ewing did not manage to win the new Ochil and South Perthshire constituency, finishing 688 votes behind the Labour candidate.The SNP's victory came on the back of the collapse of the Lib Dems, who was tainted by its participation in the Conservative-led UK Government, while Scottish Labour had clearly failed to inspire voters in opposition.[25] Following the defeat of the Yes Campaign, on the morning of 19 September, Alex Salmond announced he intended to step down as Leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland at the SNP's Autumn Conference.Although the party suffered a loss to the Liberal Democrats, it gained the seat of its then UK leader Jo Swinson, along with 7 from the Conservatives and 6 from Labour.[31] In the 2022 Scottish local elections, the SNP remained as the biggest party, winning a record number of councillors and securing majority control of Dundee.[46] On 7 April 2023 it was announced that the SNP's auditors, Johnston Carmichael, had resigned from their role around October 2022,[47] leaving only three months for their successors to approve and submit to the Electoral Commission the party's annual accounts for 2022.
ScotlandScottish National Partysocial democraticpolitical partyScottish independencedevolved legislature2007 election2011 election2016 electionSir Alexander MacEwenfirst leader of the SNPNational Party of ScotlandScottish PartyAlexander MacEwenJohn MacCormickdevolvedScottish AssemblyUnited KingdomDouglas YoungBritish war effortHome RuleGlasgowScottish Covenant AssociationUK parliamentWestminsterRobert McIntyreMotherwellRoland MuirheadScottish National Congress55 GroupEdinburgh1961 Glasgow Bridgeton by-electionWilliam Wolfe1962 West Lothian by-electionPollok by-electionWinnie EwingHamiltonby-electionJohn McAteerArthur DonaldsonDouglas Drysdale1320 ClubStirlingProvostKilbrandon CommissionEdward Heath'sConservativeunionist1970 general electionWestern IslesDonald StewartDundeeLabour Party of Scotlandby-election of 1973Gordon WilsonGlasgow GovanMargo MacDonaldLabour Partyby-election in 1973February 1974 General ElectionOctober 1974 General ElectionNorth SeaIt's Scotland's oilNational Health Servicestagflationthe British economy was experiencingthe social unrest it led toUpper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-inJimmy Reid1979 United Kingdom general electionLiberalsDavid SteelGlasgow GarscaddenBerwick and East Lothian1974 general electionhome rule for Scotlanda bill to hold a referendum on establishinga devolvedlegislative assembly for ScotlandGeorge CunninghamreferendumJames Callaghanturkeys voting for Christmas1979 general electionMargaret Thatchergeneral electionSiol nan Gaidheal79 GroupAlex SalmondDouglas HendersonCampaign for Nationalism in ScotlandScottish Labour PartyJim SillarsStephen MaxwellWillie McRaeGovan seat in a by-electionScottish Constitutional ConventionMargaret EwingJohn SwinneyDunfermline WestDick DouglasPoll Tax1992 General ElectionDonald Dewar1999 Scottish Parliament election1994 electionsEuropean ParliamentAllan MacCartneyMonklands East by-election of that yearJohn SmithPerth and Kinross by-electionRoseanna Cunningham1997 General Electionreferendum on Scottish devolutionScottish Parliamentfirst Scottish Parliament election2000 Scottish National Party leadership election2003 Scottish National Party leadership electionAlex NeilDorothy-Grace Elder2001 UK general election2003 Scottish Parliament ElectionsScottish Socialist PartyScottish Green PartyDr. Bill WilsonShetland Islands