The Scottish Nationalist Party

The SNP is a civic nationalist, centre left, social democratic political party which campaigns for Scottish independence within the EU.

A brief history

The Scottish National Party (SNP) was founded in 1934 with the aim of restoring Scottish independence which had come to an end in 1707 with the Act of Union creating one UK parliament.

The first major breakthrough for the SNP came in 1967 with a by-election win for Winnie Ewing and other highlights have included the election of 11 SNP MPs at Westminster in 1974.

Scotland regained its own parliament in 1999, when power was ‘devolved’ to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This allowed the SNP to fight elections ‘at home’ for the first time and resulted in 2007 with them becoming the largest party in Scotland, and going on to win an overall majority in 2011 which most thought impossible in a proportional representation system.

In September 2014, the SNP rose to particular prominence with the Scottish referendum in which around 85% of the Scottish public cast their vote on whether to stay a part of the United Kingdom. The SNP and their ‘Yes’ campaign was defeated, however, when 55% voted in favour of staying in the Union.

Following the referendum, SNP leader Alex Salmond stood down as party leader and First Minister and was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon who led the Party to a hugely successful 2015 General Election in which the Party secured 56 seats in Westminster, an increase of 50 from the previous election.

The SNP, following on from the voting in Scotland, has taken a pro-EU stance and is in favour of leaving the Union in order to rejoin the EU. As one of the main arguments for staying a part of the Union was the retained EU status, the loss of that has led to a redoubling effort to bring about a second independence referendum.

Is Scotland different from England?

Some people would argue that Scotland is just another region of England, but the SNP strongly disagrees. There are surface level differences, such as Scotland’s oil resources, her under-population, and the separate national sports teams. There are also traditional differences in terms of Education, the Law, and the Church.

The Reformation in Scotland took a distinct direction. Where many feel that Henry VIII simply replaced the Pope as head of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland under John Knox followed Calvin and adopted a Presbyterian system. Therefore, the church and state have not been as close in Scotland as they have been in England and in this regard some would say Scotland is closer in religious and cultural terms to the Netherlands or Switzerland.

Politically too Scotland has tended to vote differently to England. Having the SNP has meant there have been four main parties to choose from and up until recently the Conservatives have not been one of the two main players. However, they now seem to be making progress, mainly by adopting a strong unionist stance. Both Labour and Conservatives in Scotland have, until recently, been to the left of their parties in England and this has added to the complexity of Scottish politics although this now appears to be changing. Relationships with their parties across the border do, however, remain complicated.

How to get involved

The first step is often to meet an SNP member in your area who can talk through what is involved. At the most basic level you pay a modest annual subscription and receive all the mailing from the Party.

Next would be to start attending local branch meetings, where both political and organisational issues will be discussed. Social events help you to get to know other SNP activists.

Almost every part of Scotland has an SNP councillor, so there are opportunities to hear about what is happening in the local council area and what line their councillors are taking.

With Westminster, Scottish, and Council elections taking place (not to mention by-elections), it often seems that we are on a constant cycle of elections!

And elections means there is a need for delivering leaflets, knocking on doors, raising money and all the other aspects of a healthy democracy. With all the parties suffering from a lack of activists these days, it is easy to get as heavily involved as you want to be.

Visit the SNP Party website: www.snp.org