Scottish National Party

The civic nationalist party of Scotland, founded in 1934, which has dominated Scottish politics since 2007.

Overview

The SNP formed in 1934 from a merger of nationalist bodies and spent decades on the fringe, its breakthrough coming with Winnie Ewing 1967 Hamilton by-election. Devolution in 1999 gave it a platform, and in 2007 it formed a minority government under Alex Salmond, winning a majority in 2011 and the 2014 independence referendum campaign that lost 45 to 55 but transformed its membership. Nicola Sturgeon led the party through a decade of dominance before stepping down in 2023. The party sits at the center left on economics and campaigns for Scottish independence within the European mainstream, making it the dominant force in a nation of five and a half million.