Foundation and early breakthroughs (1934–1970) , the first
leader of the Scottish National Party from 1934 to 1936 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.
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. 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. 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) the SNP won 11 constituencies, a record that would stand until
Nicola Sturgeon assumed the party's leadership.|350x350px 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 six 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. In 1976,
James Callaghan's minority government made an agreement with the SNP and
Plaid Cymru. In return for their support in the Commons, the government would respond to the
Kilbrandon commission and legislate to devolve powers from Westminster to Scotland and Wales. The resulting
Scotland Act 1978 would create a Scottish assembly, subject to a referendum. Labour, the Liberals and the SNP campaigned for a "yes" vote in
the referendum on the Scotland Act and "yes" won a majority, but a threshold imposed by
anti-devolution Labour MP
George Cunningham requiring 40% of the electorate to be in favour was not reached due to low turnout. When the government decided not to implement the Act, the SNP's MPs withdrew their support and voted to support
Margaret Thatcher's motion of no confidence in Callaghan's government. In the ensuing
general election, the party experienced a large drop in its support. Reduced to just 2 MPs, the successes of October 1974 were not to be surpassed until the
2015 general election.
Factional divisions and infighting (1980s) sought to define the party on the
left. Following this defeat, a period of internal strife occurred within the party, culminating with the formation of the 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) the SNP gained control of
Tayside, the only time the party controlled a regional council, albeit without a majority.
Alex Salmond was 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 led to the establishment of a
Scottish Parliament with tax-varying powers. In 1999, the
first elections to the parliament were held. 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 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) led by
Alex Salmond as
First Minister of Scotland, here seated next to
Nicola Sturgeon who served as his
deputy, in
Bute House 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 party 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 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. At the
2016 Scottish election, the SNP lost a net total of six seats, losing its overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, but returning for a third consecutive term as a minority government despite gaining an additional 1.1% of the constituency vote, for the party's best-ever result, from the 2011 election however 2.3% of the regional list vote. On the constituency vote, the SNP gained a net 10 seats from Labour. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats each gained two constituency seats from the SNP on 2011. led the party and served as First Minister for eight years from November 2014 to March 2023. This election was followed by the
2016 European Union referendum, after which the SNP joined with the
Liberal Democrats and
Greens to call for continued UK membership of the EU. Despite a consequential increase in the Conservative Party vote at the
2017 local elections the SNP for the first time became the largest party in each of Scotland's four city councils:
Aberdeen,
Dundee,
Edinburgh and
Glasgow, where a Labour administration was ousted after 37 years. At the
2017 general election, the SNP underperformed compared to polling expectations, losing 21 seats to bring their number of Commons seats down to 35 – however, this was still the party's second-best result ever at the time. This was largely attributed by many, including former Deputy First Minister John Swinney, to their stance on holding a
second Scottish independence referendum and saw a swing to the unionist parties, with seats being picked up by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats and a reduction in their majorities in the other seats. High-profile losses included SNP Commons leader
Angus Robertson and former SNP leader and First Minister
Alex Salmond. The SNP went on to achieve its best-ever
European Parliament result
in the final election before
Brexit, the party taking its
MEP total to three (or half of
Scottish seats) and achieving a record vote share for the party. This was also the best performance of any party in the era of proportional elections to the European Parliament in
Scotland. This was suggested as being due to the party's
europhile sentiment during what amounted to a single-issue election. Later that year, the SNP experienced a surge in support at the
2019 general election, winning a 45.0% share of the vote and 48 seats, its second-best result ever. The party gained seven seats from the Conservatives and 6 from Labour. This victory was generally attributed to Sturgeon's cautious approach regarding holding a second independence referendum and a strong emphasis on retaining EU membership during the election campaign. The following January, the strengthened
Conservative government ensured that the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020. over her plans to
hold a referendum in 2023, a proposal that would fail after the
Supreme Court ruled the parliament didn't have the power. At the
2021 Scottish election, the SNP won 64 seats, one seat short of a majority, albeit achieving a record high number of votes, vote share and constituency seats, and leading to another minority government led by the SNP. Sturgeon emphasised after her party's victory that it would focus on controlling the
COVID-19 pandemic as well as pushing for a second referendum on independence. Although they won with a majority in 2021, a majority of MSPs elected had come from parties that supported Scottish independence; this prompted negotiations between the SNP and the Scottish Green Party to secure a deal that would see Green ministers appointed to government and the
Scottish Greens backing SNP policies, with hopes that this united front on independence would solidify the SNP's mandate for the second independence referendum. The
Third Sturgeon government was formed with Green support. In July 2021, the Scottish Police launched an investigation into possibly missing funds raised between 2017 and 2020 specifically for a second referendum. The investigation was given the code name
Operation Branchform. 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. On 15 February 2023, Sturgeon announced her intention to resign as leader and first minister. On 16 March 2023, it was revealed that the SNP's membership had fallen to 72,000, down from over 125,000 at the end of 2019. As a result of this, CEO
Peter Murrell resigned on 18 March after criticism was levied at him over the way the figures were published.
Yousaf era (March 2023–May 2024) ,
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, 2024
Humza Yousaf was announced as the next Leader of the Scottish National Party on 27 March 2023 after winning the
leadership election. Yousaf defeated challenger
Kate Forbes in the final stage, with 52% of the vote to Forbes' 48%. The leadership election was dominated by the strategy for a
second independence referendum and the
Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which has divided the party. On 29 March 2023, Yousaf was appointed First Minister of Scotland. On 18 April, his government published its policy prospectus titled "Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership – A fresh start" On 23 August 2023, Murray Foote was appointed as the new Chief Executive of the SNP. On 12 October 2023, MP
Lisa Cameron crossed the floor to join the Scottish Conservatives, ahead of counting the votes on her selection contest within the SNP for the
2024 United Kingdom general election. She became the first elected representative from the SNP to defect to a unionist party. Cameron claimed a "toxic and bullying" culture in the SNP led to her defection. On 15 October 2023, the SNP National Conference voted in favour of Yousaf's strategy on Scottish independence, including a number of amendments proposed from senior SNP representatives. This committed the SNP to launching a Scotland-wide independence campaign before the end of 2023. Yousaf also made a number of policy announcements, including a freeze on Council Tax rates, additional funding for the NHS to reduce waiting lists as well as the issuing of
government bonds to fund infrastructure projects. On 25 April 2024, it was announced that the
Bute House Agreement would come to an end before a vote was to be held by the Scottish Greens on whether to continue the agreement. Four days later, Yousaf announced that he would be resigning as Leader of the Scottish National Party and as First Minister of Scotland.
Operation Branchform In April 2023, two SNP officials were arrested and released without charge in connection with the
investigation into Scottish National Party finances:
Peter Murrell was arrested on 5 April and
Colin Beattie, the SNP treasurer, on 18 April. Murrell is the husband of former party leader, Nicola Sturgeon. The day Murrell was arrested and interviewed,
Police Scotland also searched a number of addresses, including the SNP's headquarters and Murrell's home in Glasgow. Beattie resigned as SNP treasurer and was replaced by Stuart McDonald. Also in April, it was reported that the SNP's auditors, Johnston Carmichael, had resigned from their role around October 2022, and were yet to be replaced, three months before the party's accounts 2022 were due to be submitted to the Electoral Commission. New auditors were appointed in May. Filing the party accounts in June 2023, the new auditors highlighted that they had not been able to find original records for some cash and cheques. Murrell was re-arrested on 18 April 2024 and charged with embezzlement. He later resigned his membership of the SNP. A
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service spokesman confirmed that it received a report in relation to Murrell and that an investigation into two other individuals "a man aged 72 and a 53-year-old woman" were still ongoing. Murrell appeared in court for the first time on 20 March 2025 charged with embezzlement. He was released on bail. At the same time, Police Scotland confirmed that its inquiries into Nicola Sturgeon and Colin Beattie had concluded and they were no longer under investigation.
Swinney era (May 2024–present) on 8 May. On 6 May 2024,
John Swinney was confirmed as the new leader of the Scottish National Party in the
2024 Scottish National Party leadership election. He was unopposed in the race as on 2 May his main speculated challenger,
Kate Forbes, announced she would not stand in the race and endorsed Swinney. Further, on 5 May, Graeme McCormick claimed that he secured enough member votes for a nomination. However, he dropped out the same evening following a conversation with Swinney; he ultimately endorsed Swinney. During the campaign for the
2024 general election, the SNP was investigated by Holyrood authorities for allegedly misusing MSPs' expenses to fund their campaigning. An anonymous complaint was sent to
Alison Johnstone in which an individual claimed that stamps bought with expenses were given to Westminster election candidates for mailing leaflets. The complaint included a WhatsApp screenshot showing MSP staff discussing the traceability of the stamps. Parliamentary rules state that stationery and postage provided by the
Scottish Parliament Corporate Body "must be used only for parliamentary duties and must not be used for any other purpose, including party political purposes". It was reported that John Swinney's office manager had told an SNP staff WhatsApp group chat that "stamp fairy is very useful when it comes to campaigns". An SNP spokesperson confirmed the investigation and emphasized compliance with the rules, while John Swinney stated that he had been "assured that no parliamentary stamps that have been provided by Parliament have been used to support election purposes", adding that he was "confident" that there had been no use of any public money to support the SNP general election campaign. This investigation occurred amid SNP's financial struggles, falling membership, and the police investigation into alleged embezzlement. Despite a £128,000 bequest boosting their campaign, SNP spending was minimal compared to other parties. The SNP ultimately won nine seats in the 2024 election, a loss of 39 seats on its 2019 result, reducing it to the second-largest party in Scotland, behind
Scottish Labour, and the fourth-largest party in Westminster. Swinney took full responsibility but said that he would not resign as leader. He said of the results, "There will have to be a lot of soul searching as a party as a consequence of these results that have come in tonight", and that the SNP has to be "better at governing on behalf of the people of Scotland", admitting the party was not "winning the argument" on Scottish independence. In November 2024, the SNP announced a plan to reduce permanent paid staff at its headquarters from twenty-six to sixteen, a reduction of more than a third, in order to "protect the long-term finances of the party" before the next Scottish Parliament election. The pressure on the SNP's finances was attributed to a reduction in
Short Money they receive following the 2024 general election, along with an increased reliance on membership fees over substantial donations. ==Constitution and structure==