Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba Scottis Naitional Pairtie Leader Alex Salmond MSP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon MSP SNP Westminster Group Leader Angus Robertson MP Founded 1934 Headquarters Gordon Lamb House 3 Jackson's Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Scotland Student wing Federation of Student Nationalists Youth wing Young Scots for Independence Membership 18,0001 Ideology Scottish independence Scottish nationalism Social democracy Left-wing nationalism Internal Factions:  • Pro-Europeanism  • Scottish republicanism  • Civic nationalism  • Liberal conservatism Political position Centre-left International affiliation None European affiliation European Free Alliance European Parliament Group The Greens–European Free Alliance Official colours Yellow and Heather Scottish seats in the House of Commons 6 / 59 Scottish seats in the European Parliament 2 / 6 Scottish Parliament 69 / 129 Local government in Scotland2 362 / 1,222 Website http://www.snp.org/ Politics of Scotland Political parties Elections The Scottish National Party (SNP; Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba; Scots: Scottis Naitional Pairtie) is a centre-left, social-democratic34 political party in Scotland which campaigns for the independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom. The party's stated aim is "to create a just, caring and enterprising society by releasing Scotland's full potential as a sovereign state in the mainstream of modern Europe."5 In the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election, the SNP became the largest political party in Scotland for the first time, governing as a minority administration, with party leader Alex Salmond as First Minister. At the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election, the SNP became the first party to form a majority government in the Scottish Parliament since its inception in 1999. The SNP was founded in 1934, and has had continuous parliamentary representation since Winnie Ewing's groundbreaking victory at the 1967 Hamilton by-election.6 The SNP currently holds 6 of 59 Scottish seats in the UK Parliament and 2 of 6 Scottish seats in the European Parliament. The SNP is also currently the largest group in Scottish local government and, in coalition, forms 12 out of 32 local administrations. Contents 1 History 2 Party leaders 3 Party presidents 4 Scottish parliamentary leaders 5 Westminster parliamentary leaders 6 Party organisation 7 Policy platform 8 Party ideology 9 European Free Alliance 10 Ministers and spokespeople 10.1 Scottish Parliament 10.2 Westminster Parliament 10.3 European Parliament 11 Elected representatives (current) 11.1 Members of the Scottish Parliament 11.2 Members of Parliament 11.3 Members of the European Parliament 11.4 Councillors 12 Electoral performance 13 Criticism 13.1 Accusations of anglophobia 13.2 Accusations of "cash for policies" 14 See also 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External links History Main article: History of the Scottish National Party The SNP was formed in 1934 from the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party. Professor Douglas Young, who was the leader of the Scottish National Party from 1942 to 1945 fought for the Scottish people to refuse conscription and his activities were popularly vilified as undermining the British war effort against the Nazis. Young was imprisoned for refusing to be conscripted. The SNP first won a parliamentary seat at the Motherwell by-election in 1945, but Dr Robert McIntyre MP lost the seat at the general election three months later. They next won a seat in 1967, when Winnie Ewing was the surprise winner of a by-election in the previously safe Labour seat of Hamilton. This brought the SNP to national prominence, leading to the establishment of the Kilbrandon Commission. The high point in a British General Elections thus far was when the SNP polled almost a third of all votes in Scotland at the October 1974 general election and returned 11 MPs to Westminster, to date the most MPs it has had. In May 2011 the SNP won an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, with 69 seats. This was a remarkable achievement, especially as the Additional Member system that is used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, was specially designed by the UK Labour government in 1999 to prevent any party gaining overall control of the parliament. Party leaders Alexander MacEwan (1934–1936) Andrew Dewar Gibb (1936–1940) William Power (1940–1942) Douglas Young (1942–1945) Bruce Watson (1945–1947) Robert McIntyre (1947–1956) James Halliday (1956–1960) Arthur Donaldson (1960–1969) William Wolfe (1969–1979) Gordon Wilson (1979–1990) Alex Salmond (1990–2000) John Swinney (2000–2004) Alex Salmond (2004–present) Party presidents Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (1934–1936) Roland Muirhead (1936–1950) Tom Gibson (1950–1958) Robert McIntyre (1958–1980) William Wolfe (1980–1982) Donald Stewart (1982-1987) Winnie Ewing (1987-2005) Ian Hudghton (2005-present) Scottish parliamentary leaders Alex Salmond (1999–2000) John Swinney (2000–2004) Nicola Sturgeon (2004–2007) Alex Salmond (2007–present) Westminster parliamentary leaders Donald Stewart (1974-1987) Margaret Ewing (1987-1999) Alasdair Morgan (1999-2001) Alex Salmond (2001-2007) Angus Robertson (2007–present) Party organisation The SNP consists of local branches of party members. Those branches then form an association in the constituency they represent (unless there is only one branch in the constituency, in which case it forms a constituency branch rather than a constituency association). There are also eight regional associations, to which the branches and constituency associations can send delegates. The SNP's policy structure is developed at its annual national conference and its regular national council meetings. There are also regular meetings of its national assembly, at which detailed discussion (but not finalising) of party policy takes place. The party has an active youth wing as well as a student wing. There is also an SNP Trade Union Group. There is an independently-owned monthly newspaper, The Scots Independent, which is highly supportive of the party. The SNP's leadership is vested in its National Executive Committee (NEC) which is made up of the party's elected office bearers and six elected members (voted for at conference). The SNP parliamentarians (Scottish, Westminster and European) and councillors have representation on the NEC, as do the Trade Union Group, the youth wing and the student wing. According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission for the year ending 2008, the party had a membership of 15,097 in 2008, up from 9,450 in 2003.7 In 2004 the party had income of approximately £1,300,000 (including bequests of just under £300,000) and expenditure of about £1,000,000.citation needed Policy platform The SNP's policy base is mostly in the mainstream European social-democratic mould. For example, among its policies are a commitment to unilateral nuclear disarmament, progressive personal taxation, the eradication of poverty, free state education including support grants for higher education students and a pay increase for nurses. It is also committed to an independent Scotland being a full member state of the European Union, to the country joining the single European currency at the appropriate exchange rate and is against membership of NATO (however this remains controversial). Contrary to the expectations of many outside the party, the SNP is not expressly republican, and its general view is that this is an issue secondary to that of Scottish independence. Many SNP members are republicans, however, and both the party student and youth wings are expressly so. In August 2009 as part of its third legislative term in the Scottish Parliament, the Government proposes to debate the Scottish referendum bill 2010, which would set out a planned referendum for 30th8 November 2010 on the issue of Scottish independence. It was not however expected to pass, due to opposition from all the major opposition parties in the Parliament.910 Party ideology Although it has a representative majority of moderate left-of-centre politicians, this has not always been the case. Almost from the party's foundation there have been internal ideological tensions. This was largely a product of the way in which the left-of-centre National Party of Scotland amalgamated with the right-of-centre Scottish Party. Nowadays, ideological tensions within the SNP have been partially resolved. However, by the 1960s, the party was starting to become defined ideologically. It had by then established a National Assembly which allowed for discussion of policy and was producing papers on a host of policy issues that could be described as social democratic. Also, the emergence of William Wolfe (universally known as Billy) as a leading figure played a huge role in the SNP defining itself as a left-of-centre social-democratic party. He recognised the need to do this to challenge the dominant political position of the Scottish Labour Party. He achieved this in a number of ways: establishing the SNP Trade Union Group; promoting left-of-centre policies; and identifying the SNP with labour campaigns (such as the Upper-Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in and the attempt of the workers at the Scottish Daily Express to run as a cooperative). It was during Wolfe's period as SNP leader in the 1970s that the SNP became clearly identified as a social-democratic political party. There were some ideological tensions in the 1970s SNP. The party leadership under Wolfe was determined to stay on the left of the Scottish political spectrum and be in a position to challenge Labour. However, the party's MPs, mostly representing seats won from the Conservatives, were less keen to have the SNP viewed as a left-of-centre alternative to Labour, for fear of losing their seats back to the Conservatives. There were further ideological and internal struggles after 1979 with the 79 Group attempting to move the SNP further to the left, away from being what could be described a 'social-democratic' party, to an expressly 'socialist' party. 79 Group members including current leader, Alex Salmond, were expelled from the party. This produced a response in the shape of the Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland from those who wanted the SNP to remain a 'broad church', apart from arguments of left vs. right. The 1980s saw the SNP further define itself as a party of the left, for example running campaigns against the poll tax. It developed this platform to the stage it is at now: a clear, moderate, centre-left political party. This has itself not gone without internal criticism from the left of the party who believe that in modern years the party has become too moderate. The ideological tensions inside the SNP are further complicated by the arguments between gradualists and fundamentalists. In essence, gradualists seek to advance Scotland to independence through further devolution, in a 'step-by-step' strategy. They tend to be in the moderate -left grouping, although much of the 79 Group was gradualist in approach. However, this 79 Group gradualism was as much a reaction against the fundamentalists of the day, many of whom believed the SNP should not take a clear left or right position. This grouping of "neo-fundamentalists" have their roots within the camp of the former high-profile Labour Party MP Jim Sillars who left Labour to form the short-lived Scottish Labour Party in the 1970s (it had no connection with the UK Labour Party or the current Scottish Labour group in the Scottish Parliament). Sillars eventually joined the SNP, winning the Govan, Glasgow, by-election in 1988 to become an SNP MP. He lost the Westminster seat at the 1992 general election and expressed his disappointment by calling the Scottish people 'Ninety minute patriots'. European Free Alliance The SNP retains close links with Plaid Cymru and MPs of both parties co-operate closely with each other. They work as a single group within the House of Commons, and were involved in joint campaigning during the 2005 General Election campaign. Both are in the European Free Alliance (EFA), which works with the European Green Party to form a grouping in the European Parliament: the Greens - European Free Alliance. Between 2007 and 2011 the Scottish Greens supported the appointment of the government under an agreement which also specified areas of common policy and gave the Greens input to the budget process and convenorship of the parliamentary committee on transport, infrastructure and climate change. Ministers and spokespeople Scottish Parliament See also: Government of the 4th Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, Members of the 4th Scottish Parliament Portfolio SNP Spokesperson Leader of the Scottish National Party First Minister of Scotland Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon MSP Minister for Parliamentary Business Bruce Crawford MSP Minister for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop MSP Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney MSP Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Jim Mather MSP Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Keith Brown MSP Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Michael Russell MSP Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning Angela Constance MSP Minister for Children and Early Years Adam Ingram MSP Minister for Public Health and Sport Shona Robison MSP Minister for Housing and Communities Alex Neil MSP Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill MSP Minister for Community Safety Fergus Ewing MSP Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead MSP Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Roseanna Cunningham MSP Westminster Parliament Portfolio SNP Spokesperson Westminster Group Leader Defence and Foreign Affairs Angus Robertson MP Deputy Group Leader and Chief Whip HM Treasury and Economic Affairs Stewart Hosie MP Culture and Sport; Constitution Peter Wishart MP Business; Energy and Climate Change Michael Weir MP Transport; Constitutional Reform Angus MacNeil MP Fisheries; International Development; Women; Work and Pensions Eilidh Whiteford MP European Parliament Portfolio SNP Spokesperson President of the Scottish National Party Fisheries; Regional Development Ian Hudghton MEP Agriculture and Rural Development Alyn Smith MEP Elected representatives (current) Members of the Scottish Parliament See also: List of Scottish National Party MSPs MSP Constituency or Region Brian Adam Aberdeen Donside George Adam Paisley Clare Adamson Central Scotland Alasdair Allan Western Isles Colin Beattie Midlothian North and Musselburgh Marco Biagi Edinburgh Central Chic Brodie South of Scotland Keith Brown Clackmannanshire and Dunblane Margaret Burgess Cunninghame South Aileen Campbell Clydesdale Roderick Campbell North East Fife Willie Coffey Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Angela Constance Almond Valley Bruce Crawford Stirling Roseanna Cunningham Perthshire South and Kinross-shire Graeme Dey Angus South Nigel Don Angus North and Mearns Bob Doris Glasgow James Dornan Glasgow Cathcart Jim Eadie Edinburgh Southern Annabelle Ewing Mid Scotland and Fife Fergus Ewing Inverness and Nairn Linda Fabiani East Kilbride John Finnie Highlands and Islands Joe FitzPatrick Dundee City West Kenneth Gibson Cunninghame North Rob Gibson Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Christine Grahame Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale Jamie Hepburn Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Fiona Hyslop Linlithgow Adam Ingram Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Colin Keir Edinburgh Western Bill Kidd Glasgow Anniesland Richard Lochhead Moray Richard Lyle Central Scotland Kenny MacAskill Edinburgh Eastern Angus MacDonald Falkirk East Gordon MacDonald Edinburgh Pentlands Derek MacKay Renfrewshire North and West Mike MacKenzie Highlands and Islands Tricia Marwick Mid Fife and Glenrothes John Mason Glasgow Shettleston Michael Matheson Falkirk West Stewart Maxwell West of Scotland Joan McAlpine South of Scotland Mark McDonald North East Scotland Christina McKelvie Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Aileen McLeod South of Scotland Fiona McLeod Strathkelvin and Bearsden Stuart McMillan West of Scotland Alex Neil Airdrie and Shotts Gil Paterson Clydebank and Milngavie Dennis Robertson Aberdeenshire West Shona Robison Dundee City East Michael Russell Argyll and Bute Alex Salmond Aberdeenshire East Stewart Stevenson Banffshire and Buchan Coast Kevin Stewart Aberdeen Central Nicola Sturgeon Glasgow Southside John Swinney Perthshire North Dave Thompson Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch David Torrance Kirkcaldy Jean Urquhart Highlands and Islands Bill Walker Dunfermline Maureen Watt Aberdeen South and North Kincardine Paul Wheelhouse South of Scotland Sandra White Glasgow Kelvin John Wilson Central Scotland Humza Yousaf Glasgow Members of Parliament See also: List of Scottish National Party MPs and List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland 2010– Member of Parliament Surname, Firstname Constituency First elected Notes Stewart Hosie Hosie, Stewart Dundee East 2005 Angus MacNeil MacNeil, Angus Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) 2005 Angus Robertson Robertson, Angus Moray 2001 Mike Weir Weir, Mike Angus 2001 Eilidh Whiteford Whiteford, Eilidh Banff and Buchan 2010 Pete Wishart Wishart, Pete Perth and North Perthshire 2001 Members of the European Parliament See also: List of Scottish National Party MEPs Constituency MEP First elected Scotland Ian Hudghton 1998 Alyn Smith 2004 Councillors The SNP has more than 360 councillors in Local Government elected from the Scottish local elections, 2007.11 Electoral performance Election12 ! Percentage of Scottish vote Seats won Additional Information 1935 General Election 1.1% 0 seats 1945 General Election 1.2% 0 seats 1950 General Election 0.4% 0 seats 1951 General Election 0.3% 0 seats 1955 General Election 0.5% 0 seats 1959 General Election 0.5% 0 seats 1964 General Election 2.4% 0 seats 1966 General Election 5.0% 0 seats 1970 General Election 11.4% 1 seat 1974 General Election (Feb) 21.9% 7 seats 1974 General Election (Oct) 30.4% 11 seats High water mark, until 2007. Increased presence contributed to Labour holding a devolution referendum in 1979. 1974 Regional Council Election 12.6% 18 seats 1974 District Council Election 12.4% 62 seats 1977 District Council Election 24.2% 170 seats 1978 Regional Council Election 20.9% 18 seats 1979 General Election 17.3% 2 seats Poor performance compared to the two 1974 elections caused internal ructions during the 1980s. 1979 European Parliament Election 19.4% 1 seat 1980 District Council Election 15.5% 54 seats 1982 Regional Council Election 13.4% 23 seats 1983 General Election 11.7% 2 seats 1984 District Council Election 11.7% 59 seats 1984 European Parliament Election 17.8% 1 seat 1986 Regional Council Election 18.2 % 36 seats 1987 General Election 14.0% 3 seats 1988 District Council Election 21.3% 113 seats 1989 European Parliament Election 25.6% 1 seat 1990 Regional Council Election 21.8% 42 seats 1992 General Election 21.5% 3 seats 1992 District Council Election 24.3% 150 seats 1994 European Parliament Election 32.6% 2 seats 1994 Regional Council Election 26.8% 73 seats 1995 Council Areas Election 26.1% 181 seats 1997 General Election 22.1% 6 seats 1999 Scottish Parliament Election 28.7% 35 seats (including 7 First Past the Post seats) First election to the re-constituted Scottish Parliament. Finished second to Labour and became the official opposition to the coalition of Labour and Liberal Democrats. 1999 Council Areas Election 28.9% 201 seats 1999 European Parliament Election 27.2% 2 seats 2001 General Election 20.1% 5 seats 2003 Scottish Parliament Election 23.8% 27 seats (including 9 First Past the Post seats) 2003 Council Areas Election 24.1% 181 seats 2004 European Parliament Election 19.7% 2 seats 2005 General Election 17.7% 6 seats 2007 Scottish Parliament Election 32.9% 47 seats (including 21 First Past the Post seats) Largest party in the Scottish Parliament; formed the Scottish Government. 2007 Council Areas Election 29.7% (of seats) 363 seats Largest party in local government (first ever Scottish local elections to be held under the Single Transferable Vote). 2009 European Parliament Election 29.1% 2 seats The first European Parliament elections in which the SNP won the most votes within Scotland13 2010 General Election 19.9% 6 seats 2011 Scottish Parliament Election 45.4% 69 seats (including 53 First Past the Post seats) Formed the first majority Scottish Government. Criticism Accusations of anglophobia The SNP have been charged with being "Anglophobic". In 2000, the Labour party said that two SNP members of the Scottish Parliament were anti-English after they "registered their support for Germany's (2006 Football World Cup) bid on its official website".14 The SNP responded that they "have no position on where the World Cup is held" and that it was "silly to describe the website entry as anti-English".14 Prominent figures in Scottish politics such as Labour's George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnockcitation needed and the Liberal Democrats' Jamie Stone15 (and subsequently Danny Alexandercitation needed - the current Chief Secretary to the Treasury) have publicly apologised for calling the SNP "xenophobic". SNP MSP Ian McKee has by contrast pointed out his own status in the Scottish Parliament chamber as an Englishman16 as evidence of there being no such anti-English feeling. Indeed, McKee is one of six SNP MSPs born in England, along with other prominent figures such as Christine Grahame and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Mike Russell. Accusations of "cash for policies" The party has been criticised over a £500,000 donation from the transport businessman Brian Souter. One month later, in April 2007, the SNP's commitment (made at the party's 2006 conference) to re-regulate the bus network was not included in their 2007 manifesto, although the SNP denies any direct link.17 Opposition politicians suggested that the donation and policy shift were linked and that it was a case of "cash for policies", although no official accusations have been made.18 Brian Souter went on to make a further donation of £125,000 to the SNP, making him their single biggest donor.19 Souter made approaches to the SNP government for a £3 million subsidy for his company, Stagecoach, to develop a hovercraft service between Kirkcaldy and Portobello in Scotland.20 The service had already received subsidy from the previous Labour administration for the pilot scheme, but was put on hold pending "clarification" of the public sector's involvement.21 See also Topics related to Politics of Scotland History of the Scottish National Party History of Scottish devolution It's Scotland's oil Radio Free Scotland Robert Cunninghame-Graham Scottish Independence ^[b] Other pro-independence parties which contested the most recent UK general election (2010), include Scottish Green Party, Scottish Socialist Party, Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement, Scottish Jacobite Party References ^ "Top poet Edwin Morgan stuns SNP party bosses after leaving them £1m fortune". Daily Record. 19 June 2011. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics-news/2011/06/19/top-poet-edwin-morgan-stuns-snp-party-bosses-after-leaving-them-1m-fortune-86908-23211927/. Retrieved 19 June 2011.  ^ "http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/uklocalgov/makeup.htm". Gwydir.demon.co.uk. http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/uklocalgov/makeup.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ http://www.snp.org/node/10890 ^ Parties and Elections in Europe: The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck ^ "Independence - SNP - Scottish National Party". Snp.org. http://www.snp.org/independence. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "About SNP". Snp.org. http://www.snp.org/about. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ SNP's membership surges by 60%, The Scotsman, 1 January 2009 ^ "Plans for special body to run independence referendum". BBC News. 21 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8526938.stm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "Referendum Bill". Official website, About > Programme for Government > 2009-10 > Summaries of Bills > Referendum Bill. Scottish Government. 2 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jggEjHoR. Retrieved 10 September 2009.  ^ MacLeod, Angus (3 September 2009). "Salmond to push ahead with referendum Bill". London: The Times. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jgoTKBiL. Retrieved 10 September 2009.  ^ "Local Councillors | SNP - Scottish National Party". SNP. http://www.snp.org/people/councillors. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "The Scottish National Party". Historylearningsite.co.uk. 30 March 2007. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/scottish_national_party.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "Salmond hails 'historic' Euro win". BBC. 8 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8088358.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2009.  ^ a b "SNP's German support condemned". BBC News. 30 January 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/625090.stm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "Lib Dem MSP Jamie Stone to quit Holyrood at election". BBC News Online (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2 June 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/10213416.stm. Retrieved 12 July 2010.  ^ "The Scottish Parliament - Official Report". Scottish.parliament.uk. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-07/sor1206-02.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "SNP under attack after bus U-turn". Business.scotsman.com. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=539&id=621242007. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "SNP accused of dumping bus plan to please millionaire backer". Sundayherald.com. 21 April 2007. http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1346656.0.snp_accused_of_dumping_bus_plan_to_please_millionaire_backer.php. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ Swanson, Ian. "SNP faces hovercraft dust-up". Edinburghnews.scotsman.com. http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/SNP-faces-hovercraft-dustup.3719954.jp. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ Paul Hutcheon (3 November 2007). "SNP donor in £3.3m hovercraft subsidy plea". Sundayherald.com. http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1807832.0.snp_donor_in_3_3m_hovercraft_subsidy_plea.php. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  ^ "Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Row over Forth hovercraft freeze". BBC News. 19 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7253201.stm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.  Further reading The Flag in the Wind, by John MacCormick, 1955 Scotland Lives: the Quest for Independence, by Billy Wolfe, 1973 Scotland: the Case for Optimism, by Jim Sillars, 1985 ^[a] SNP:The History of the Scottish National Party, by Peter Lynch, 2002 Stop the World; The Autobiography of Winnie Ewing, 2004 The Modern SNP: From Protest to Power, edited by Gerry Hassan, Edinburgh University Press 2009, ISBN 978 0 7486 39918 (article in the Sunday Times Scotland, 4 October 2009) The Making of the Modern SNP: From Protest to Power The Making of the Modern SNP: What is it and where is it going? External links Scottish National Party - Official website SNP Conference Autumn 2009 - BBC Coverage SNP Manifesto - 2007 Holyrood General Election SNP Manifesto - 2005 Westminster General Election 'Make Scotland Matter' Scots Independent newspaper website 'Flag in the Wind' The Scotsman newspaper - newsfeeds - 'SNP' - XML, RSS, JavaScript Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections Division Collection of material relating to the Scottish National Party Scottish Politics - Information about election results in Scotland. European Free Alliance website The Greens/European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament - website Scots vote reinforces antinuclear position v · d · eScottish National Party Leaders MacEwan · Gibb · Power · Young · Watson · McIntyre · Halliday · Donaldson · Wolfe · Wilson · Salmond · Swinney · Salmond Deputy Leaders Wolfe · Leslie · Henderson · Wilson · MacDonald · Henderson · Fairlie · Ewing · Salmond · Morgan · Sillars · Macartney · Swinney · Cunningham · Sturgeon Presidents Graham · Muirhead · Gibson · McIntyre · Wolfe · Stewart · Ewing · Hudghton Members of the Scottish Parliament Adam · Ahmad · Allan · Brown · Campbell · Coffey · Constance · Crawford · Cunningham · Don · Doris · Ewing · Fabiani · FitzPatrick · K Gibson · R Gibson · Grahame · Harvie · Hepburn · Hyslop · Ingram · Kidd · Lochhead · MacAskill · Marwick · Mather · Matheson · Maxwell · McKee · McKelvie · McMillan · Morgan · Neil · Paterson · Robison · Russell · Salmond · Somerville · Stevenson · Sturgeon · Swinney · Thompson · Watt · Welsh · White · B Wilson · J Wilson Members of the UK Parliament Hosie · MacNeil · Robertson · Weir · Whiteford · Wishart Members of the European Parliament Hudghton · Smith  Links to related articles v · d · eScottish National Party MSPs Elected in the 2011 election Brian Adam · George Adam · Clare Adamson · Alasdair Allan · Colin Beattie · Marco Biagi · Chic Brodie · Keith Brown · Margaret Burgess · Aileen Campbell · Roderick Campbell · Willie Coffey · Angela Constance · Bruce Crawford · Roseanna Cunningham · Graeme Dey · Nigel Don · Bob Doris · James Dornan · Jim Eadie · Annabelle Ewing · Fergus Ewing · Linda Fabiani · John Finnie · Joe FitzPatrick · Kenneth Gibson · Rob Gibson · Christine Grahame · Jamie Hepburn · Fiona Hyslop · Adam Ingram · Colin Keir · Bill Kidd · Richard Lochhead · Richard Lyle · Kenny MacAskill · Angus MacDonald · Gordon MacDonald · Derek Mackay · Mike MacKenzie · John Mason · Michael Matheson · Stewart Maxwell · Joan McAlpine · Mark McDonald · Christina McKelvie · Aileen McLeod · Fiona McLeod · Stuart McMillan · Alex Neil · Gil Paterson · Dennis Robertson · Shona Robison · Michael Russell · Alex Salmond · Stewart Stevenson · Kevin Stewart · Nicola Sturgeon · John Swinney · David Thompson · David Torrance · Jean Urquhart · Bill Walker · Maureen Watt · Paul Wheelhouse · Sandra White · John Wilson · Humza Yousaf Former SNP MSPs v · d · eScottish National Party MPs Elected in the 2010 election Stewart Hosie · Angus MacNeil · Angus Robertson · Mike Weir · Eilidh Whiteford · Peter Wishart Former SNP MPs v · d · eScottish National Party MEPs Elected in the 2009 election Ian Hudghton · Alyn Smith Former SNP MEPs Winnie Ewing · Allan Macartney · Neil MacCormick v · d · e Political parties in Scotland MSPs in the Scottish Parliament (129) Scottish National Party (69) · Scottish Labour Party (37) · Scottish Conservative Party (15) · Scottish Liberal Democrats (5) · Scottish Green Party (2) MPs in the UK Parliament (59) 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East Dunbartonshire Independent Alliance · East Kilbride Alliance · Independent Green Voice · Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers · Scottish Democratic Alliance · Scottish Jacobite Party · Scottish Voice · Left Alliance (Scotland) · Scottish Republican Socialist Party Defunct parties Adam Lyal's Witchery Tour Party · Communist Bulletin Group · Communist Labour Party (Scotland) · Fife Socialist League · Fishing Party (Scotland) · Highland Land League · Highlands and Islands Alliance · Kirk Party · Labour Party of Scotland · Scottish Labour Party (1888) · Scottish Labour Party (1976) · Scottish Militant Labour · National Party of Scotland · Nine Per Cent Growth Party · Orkney and Shetland Movement · Progressives (Scotland) · Scottish Prohibition Party · Publican Party · Scottish Enterprise Party · Scottish Land Restoration League · Scottish Party · Scottish Protestant League · Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party · Scottish Socialist Federation · Scottish Socialist Party (1987) · Squadrone Volante (Scotland) · Unionist Party (Scotland) · United Socialist Movement · Workers Party of Scotland · Scottish Workers Republican Party · Scottish Workers' Representation Committee Politics of Scotland · Elections in Scotland · List of political parties by country v · d · eMembers of the European Free Alliance Elected to the European Parliament For Human Rights in United Latvia · Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie · Party of the Corsican Nation · Plaid Cymru · Republican Left of Catalonia · Scottish National Party Other members Andalusian Party · Bavaria Party · Catalan Unity · Chunta Aragonesista · Eusko Alkartasuna · Frisian National Party · Future of Åland · Galician Nationalist Bloc · Liga Veneta Repubblica · List for Fiume · Majorca Socialist Party · Mebyon Kernow · Moravané · Occitan Party · Party of Regions of Slovakia · Rainbow · Sardinian Action Party · Savoy Region Movement · Savoyan League · Silesian Autonomy Movement · Slovene Union · Social Liberal Party · South Schleswig Voter Federation · South Tyrolean Freedom · The Friesen · Union Démocratique Bretonne · United Macedonian Organization Ilinden–Pirin · Unity List · Unser Land Observers Movement for the Independence of Sicily · ProDG · Renewed Roma Union Party of Hungary · Valdotanian Renewal · Wendish People's Party v · d · eUnited Kingdom general election, 2010 Boundary changes · Constituencies · Debates · MPs elected · MPs standing down · Newspaper endorsements · Opinion polling · Parties · Results breakdown · Results by constituency Incumbent Prime Minister: Gordon Brown (Labour) · Subsequent Prime Minister: David Cameron (Conservative) Parties elected to the House of Commons Conservative · Labour · Liberal Democrats · Democratic Unionist Party · Scottish National Party · Sinn Féin · Plaid Cymru · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Green Party of England and Wales · Alliance Party of Northern Ireland · Independent Leaders David Cameron · Gordon Brown · Nick Clegg · Peter Robinson · Alex Salmond · Gerry Adams · Ieuan Wyn Jones  · Margaret Ritchie · Caroline Lucas · David Ford · Sylvia Hermon Parties represented in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, London, or Europe British National Party · Green Party in Northern Ireland · Progressive Unionist Party · Scottish Green Party · Ulster Unionist Party  · United Kingdom Independence Party Leaders Nick Griffin · Mark Bailey/Karly Greene · Dawn Purvis · Eleanor Scott/Patrick Harvie · Sir Reg Empey · Lord Pearson Results by area Cornwall  · East Sussex  · Glasgow · Lancashire · Surrey  · Scotland · Wales · England United Kingdom local elections, 2010 v · d · e Political parties in the United Kingdom House of Commons (650): Conservatives (307)  · Labour (258, including 28 Labour Co-operative)*  · Liberal Democrats (57)  · DUP (8)  · SNP (6)  · Sinn Féin† (5)  · Plaid Cymru (3)  · SDLP (3)  · Greens (E&W) (1)  · Alliance (1)  · Independent (1) House of Lords (789): Labour (243)  · Conservatives (218)  · crossbenchers (182)  · Liberal Democrats (92)  · Lords Spiritual (26)  · DUP (4)  · UUP (4)  · UKIP (2)  · Plaid Cymru (1)  · Conservative Independent (1)  · Independent Labour (1)  · non-affiliated (16)  · Scottish Parliament (129): SNP (69)  · Scottish Labour (37)  · Scottish Conservatives (15)  · Scottish Liberal Democrats (5)  · Scottish Greens (2)  · Independent (1) National Assembly for Wales (60): Welsh Labour (30)  · Welsh Conservatives (14)  · Plaid Cymru (11)  · Welsh Liberal Democrats (3)  · Seats Vacant (2)  · Northern Ireland Assembly (108): DUP (38)  · Sinn Féin (29)  · UUP (16)  · SDLP (14)  · Alliance (8)  · Greens (NI) (1)  · Traditional Unionist Voice (1)  · Independent (1) London Assembly (25): Conservatives (11)  · Labour (8)  · Liberal Democrats (3)  · Greens (E&W) (2)  · Independent (1) European Parliament (72 of 736): Conservatives (ECR, 25, including 1 UCUNF)‡  · Labour (PES, 13)  · UKIP (EFD, 13)  · Liberal Democrats (ELDR, 11)  · BNP (Non-Inscrit, 2)  · Greens (E&W) (EGP, 2)  · SNP (EFA, 2)  · Plaid Cymru (EFA, 1)  · Sinn Féin (EUL-NGL, 1)  · DUP (Non-Inscrit, 1) Other national and regional parties: Christian Peoples Alliance  · Christian  · Communist Party of Britain  · English Democrats  · Independent Working Class Association  · IKHH  · Liberal  · Mebyon Kernow  · National Front  · Official Monster Raving Loony  · Progressive Unionist Party  · Respect  · Scottish Socialist  · Social Democratic  · Socialist Labour  · Socialist  · Socialist Workers  · Solidarity  · United Unionist Coalition  · Workers' Party of Ireland Notes: *Co-operative Party candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as “Labour and Co-operative Party” candidates. †Although Sinn Féin have five elected members and have offices at Westminster, they are abstentionist and therefore do not take their seats. ‡Some Ulster Unionist Party candidates stand jointly with the Conservative Party as "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force" candidates. Portal:Politics - List of political parties by representation - Politics of the United Kingdom v · d · eNationalism in the United Kingdom Articles British nationalism • British unionism • British independence • British identity • British republicanism • Cornish nationalism • English devolution • English independence • English nationalism • Irish nationalism • Irish republicanism • Irish unification • Irish unionism • Scottish independence • Scottish republicanism • Scottish unionism • Ulster loyalism • Ulster nationalism • Welsh independence • Welsh nationalism Political parties British: British National Party • Democratic Unionist Party • Progressive Unionist Party • Traditional Unionist Voice • Ulster Unionist Party • United Kingdom Independence Party - Cornish: Mebyon Kernow - English: English Democrats - Irish: Sinn Féin • Social Democratic and Labour Party - Scottish: Scottish National Party • Scottish Green Party • Scottish Socialist Party • Solidarity (Scotland) - Welsh: Plaid Cymru • Cymru Annibynnol • Llais Gwynedd • Wales Green Party v · d · eUnited Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011 Referendum question "At present, the UK uses the "First Past the Post" system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the "Alternative Vote" system be used instead?" (compare) Acts Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 Parties Advocating a "Yes" vote Alliance Party of Northern Ireland • Christian Party • Christian Peoples Alliance • English Democrats • Green Party of England and Wales • Liberal Democrats • Liberal Party • Mebyon Kernow • Pirate Party UK • Plaid Cymru • Scottish Green Party • Scottish National Party • SDLP • Sinn Féin • UKIP • Libertarian Party Neutral/split Labour Party • Socialist Party of Great Britain Advocating a "No" vote British National Party • Communist Party of Britain • Conservative Party • Democratic Unionist Party • England First Party • Green Party in Northern Ireland • Respect Party • Socialist Party of England and Wales • Traditional Unionist Voice • Ulster Unionist Party Advocacy groups Advocating a "Yes" vote YES! To Fairer Votes Advocating a "No" vote NOtoAV Print media Advocating a "Yes" vote The Guardian • The Independent • The Financial Times • Daily Mirror Advocating a "No" vote The Sun • Daily Mail • The Times • Daily Express • Daily Telegraph • The Economist • Evening Standard Result Results of the United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011 Politics Portal