Scottish National Party

(SNP)

   Formed in 1934, the SNP originally supported a romantic form of nationalism which was strong in rural, Gaelic-speaking areas. For years, the SNP was cursed by internal division and feuding. But since its take-off of the late 1960s when it won a dramatic by-election victory in Hamilton and resurgence in the mid-1970s, it has appealed much more widely. It emphasises culture and language much less than does the Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru. Many SNP members want more: they stress the separatist goal more strongly than their Plaid counterparts. Their party is left-of-centre on many issues, such as nuclear power, tuition fees and the Iraq war. In the last 15 years or so, the SNP has made much of the European dimension, arguing that an independent Scotland should be able to attract European Union funding and noting how small countries in the Union have proved their viability. It has campaigned on the slogan ‘Scotland in Europe’. It campaigned for devolution in 1997 but views it as a halfway house to full independence, its ultimate goal. In recent years, it has regularly won representation in the Westminster, Scottish and European parliaments. Since the 2007 elections, it has acted as a minority government in the Scottish Parliament, sustained by limited support from Green MSPs.

   See also: Salmond, Alex

   Further reading: P. Lynch, Scottish Government and Politics, Edinburgh University Press, 2001