History of The Scottish National Party - Factionalism After 1979

Factionalism After 1979

The party went into a period of decline after the failure to secure a devolved Scottish Assembly in 1979 and its poor performance in the general election of that year. A period of internal strife followed, culminating in the proscription of two internal groups, Siol nan Gaidheal and the left-wing 79 Group. However, several 79 Group members would later return to prominence in the party, including Alex Salmond who would later lead the party. It proved too much for Margo MacDonald though, who was defeated by Douglas Henderson for the position of party deputy leader at the 1979 party conference, and left the SNP, angry at the treatment of the left wing of the party, although she would later return to the party and be elected as an MSP.

There was also another internal grouping formed within the party, primarily as a response to the growth of the 79 Group entitled the Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland, with the support of traditionalists such as Winnie Ewing. This group sought to ensure that the primary objective of the SNP was campaigning for independence regardless of any traditional left-right ideology, and if it had been successful would have undone the work of figures such as William Wolfe moving the SNP to become a clearly defined social-democratic party in the 1970s.

The period of internal factionalism inside the SNP came to an end at the 1982 SNP Conference where internal factions were banned.