The Scottish National Party's origins can be traced back to a number of organisations formed in the 1920's, even though political support for Home Rule had existed after a fashion ever since the 1790s. As the 1800s proceeded, the Liberal Party and early Labour pioneers were pledged to Home Rule. Pressure groups grew and withered, but by 1920 there was ample reason to assume that, with the Liberal Party in ruins and Ireland in revolt, Scottish Home Rule was a mere dream. Then...

In 1921 the Scots National League was formed by Ruaraidh Erskine of Marr. Its newspaper, the Scots Independent, was first published in November 1926 by William Giles and his son, Iain, and is now the oldest political journal in Europe. The following link will take you there : Scots Independent

Then in August 1922, there appeared The Scottish Chapbook, in which the young poet Christopher Murray Grieve demanded that Scots writers should begin to 'speak with our own voice for our own times.' They should engage in a serious examination of profound themes seen through Scottish eyes. Thanks to Grieve - or 'Hugh MacDiarmid' as he called himself - and a generation or more of men and women inspired by his example, Scottish writing ceased to be provincial and trivial, as it had become for some fifty preceding years, becoming rather the source of a new national intellectual reawakening, reminiscent of the days of the Enlightenment. What followed might be unfamiliar by English standards, but in Europe and Ireland a cultural revival followed by political action was a familiar experience.

In 1927, John MacCormick, a law student, formed the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association. The final such group was the Scottish National Movement, led by the poet Lewis Spence.

In 1928 The Duke of Montrose, Compton Mackenzie, R B Cunninghame Graham, Christopher Murray Grieve, James Valentine and John MacCormick at the first public meeting of the National Party of Scotland, St Andrews Halls, Glasgow, 1928. Several organisations favouring Home Rule functioned in the 1920s. The Home Rule Association had indeed been formed in the 1890s; and it was now joined in its work by the Scots National Movement and the Scots National League. The former was deeply influenced by cultural developments, while the latter was more anxious to get on with the work of building up a force which could challenge the existing political parties at election time. Just as the Labour Party emerged when enough people saw the need for a class to have a party of its own, so now the League based its appeal on the need for a nation to regain the power to devise policies and arrange priorities in the best interests of the people of that nation. These and other groups combined in 1928 (following upon the rejection of a Home Rule Bill in Parliament in 1927), to form the National Party of Scotland; and later, after another accession of support, the Scottish National Party. These Groups came together in 1928 to form the National Party of Scotland. Leading members of the new party were John MacCormick, John (Manny) MacNicol, Robert Gray, the poet Hugh McDairmid and Lewis Spence. Spence became the first Scottish Nationalist to contest a parliamentary by-election, in 1929, in the North Midlothian Constituency. At the Dumbartonshire by-election in 1930, Robert Gray won a substantial 6,000 votes for the National Party. In 1931, Sir Compton MacKenzie was elected as a Scottish Nationalist Rector of Glasgow University.

The next development was the creation of the pro-Home Rule Scottish Party in 1932, by John Bannerman, Professor Andrew Dewar Gibb, Sir Alexander McEwan (provost of Inverness), Kevin MacDowell and the Duke of Montrose.

After another accession of support, from the National Party of Scotland to form the Scottish National Party. The new party, after some initial doubts, followed the strategy line of the Scots National League, and proceeded to challenge the established parties at the polls, with results varying from the ridiculous to the reasonably encouraging. The war was a setback for a party trying to capture public attention. The Scottish Party was a breakaway section of the Cathcart Conservative Association, and was right- of-centre in ideas and policies, unlike the left-of-centre National Party. However at a meeting of both Parties on 14th December 1933, in the Hillhead Burgh Halls in Glasgow, the amalgamation of the two parties was proposed. This duly came about on the 7th of April 1934 and the new party was called the Scottish National Party. (The abbreviation 'SNP' was not commonly used until the 1960's).The merger of the National Party and the Scottish Party was the work of John MacCormick. His reasons for seeking the merger were the National Party's dire financial position, its need for high status, "respectable" leaders, and also to stop the two nationalist parties from campaigning against one another. The cost of the merger, apart from some defections, was a modification of the Party's aim from, "self government for Scotland with Independent national status within the British group of nations" to the 1934 policy for, "a Parliament which shall be the final authority on all Scottish Affairs". By 1936, most of those who had come to the Scottish National Party via the Scottish Party had left, dismayed by its left-wing tendencies, and the Parties constitutional policy was duly re-amended back to its original form. The headquarters of the Scottish National Party were at West Regent Street in Glasgow. Before the war the Party moved to Elmbank Street, and remained there until 1969. Rooms were also acquired in Edinburgh by the then North Edinburgh Constituency, in North St Andrew Street. These rooms are still owned by the Party and are now run as an SNP social club. When the Glasgow rooms were vacated in 1969, Party headquarters were centred exclusively in Edinburgh. During the 1930's, the activities of some nationalists included various kinds of peaceful civil disobedience, as well as fighting elections. For example in 1937 the Wallace Sword was removed from the Stirling Monument and hidden under Bothwell Bridge; and there were various episodes where Union flags were taken down from castles and Saltires flown in their place. Prominent in this later activity was Wendy Wood, who left the Party to form the Scottish Patriots.After the outbreak of the Second World War, Arthur Donaldson - SNP Chairman throughout the 1960's - was imprisoned along with several other nationalists for his pacifist stance. However the National Party was unclear in its attitude to the war, as on some other issues, and the Party split at its 1942 Annual National Conference.

MacCormick, around whom the Party had revolved, left the SNP, taking many supporters with him, and set up the Scottish Union, which later became the Scottish Convention and eventually, the Scottish Covenant Association. MacCormick's inspired publicity and propaganda skills made an enormous contribution towards swaying public opinion in favour of Scottish self-government. The Scottish Convention's famous Home Rule Covenant gathered over two million signatures between 1949 and 1950, but was ignored by the Labour Secretary of State, Arthur Woodburn and the Labour Prime Minister, Clement Atlee. Clearly, Scotland's case could only be advanced by a nationalist party winning votes at elections.

Despite their internal problems, 1945 saw the election of the first SNP Member of Parliament at a by-election in Motherwell, where Dr Robert Macintyre won 51.4 per cent of the vote in a straight fight against the Labour Party. However, Labour regained the seat at the subsequent General Election in a multi-party contest. At the 1945 General Election, The Scottish National Party fielded only eight candidates, receiving just 7.6 per cent of the vote in the seats it contested. At the 1950 General Election the situation worsened, when the SNP fielded only three candidates and received just 7.4 per cent of the vote in the contested seats. Fielding only two candidates in both the 1951 and 1955 General Elections, the SNP polled 12.2 per cent and 14.4 per cent respectively in contested seats. Generally speaking the 1950's was not a particularly productive period for the National Party. A major reason for this is that Scotland was a much more 'British' Country than it is now, with a relatively low level of teaching and awareness of Scottish culture and history. However things were changing - as the Stone of Destiny incident illustrates. Traditionally, medieval Scottish Kings were crowned at Scone upon the Stone of Destiny, but in 1296, the stone was stolen by the English conqueror, Edward I, and taken to Westminster Abbey.

On Christmas Day 1950, four Glasgow University students - led by Ian Hamilton, and associated with the Covenant Association rather than the National Party - "liberated" the stone. The British authorities took the incident very seriously indeed - which simply added to the fun for the Scots! The Stone was hidden in Scotland for a while, the displayed at Arbroath Abbey and removed from Scotland once again by English authorities in April 1951. However there is evidence that masons made a replica, or replicas, of the Stone, and some people still claim that the Stone currently in Westminster Abbey is not the original Stone of Destiny.A further venture associated with the Covenant Association was the legal action raised in 1953 by John MacCormick and Ian Hamilton against the Lord Advocate, challenging the right of the Queen to call herself Elizabeth the Second, in Scotland, since she was the first Elizabeth to be queen of Scots.

They lost their case but one an important moral victory with the statement by Lord President Cooper, delivering the Opinion of the First Division of the Court of Session on the 30th of July 1953, that: "The principle of the unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctively English principle which has no counterpart in Scottish constitutional law." Some Scots vandalised and even blew up post boxes which carried the Queen's ER II insignia and there was broad nationalist agitation against her title, which was generally supported by the Scottish people. After the post box in Edinburgh was blown up, the Post Office removed all post boxes carrying the insignia and, to this day, all Scottish post boxes bear simply ER, with no numeral. The demise of the Covenant Association by the end of the 1950's left the nationalist field clear to the National Party, and the Party made progress at the 1961 Bridgeton by-election where Ian Macdonald came a close third. The following year, William Wolfe - SNP chairman from 1969 to 1979 - came a good second at the West Lothian by-election. The SNP bandwagon was rolling and membership of the Party rose throughout the 1960's.In 1962 Angus MacGilvarey - who was still employed by the party until 1995 - started the Alba Pools fundraising scheme, which raised 200,000 pounds in five years. The SNP receives no funds from big businesses or trade unions, being largely dependent on its membership base for money. As a result, fundraising is extremely important to the SNP, in terms of enabling the party to increase its campaigning profile.

The 1960's also saw the birth of Radio Free Scotland, which broadcast through television after the 'National' Anthem finished in the evening, and, later on, on 262 meters medium wave on the radio. A leading figure in Radio Free Scotland was Gordon Wilson, who later became and SNP and was Chairman (Convener) of the SNP from 1979 to 1990.

In 1966 the SNP fought its largest ever number of seats at a General Election, with 23 seats contested. The party won 14.3 per cent of the vote in these seats. However the biggest triumph for the SNP came on the 2nd of November 1967, when Mrs Winifred Ewing won the Hamilton by-election in a three cornered fight (the Liberals did not contest the by-election) in a seat where Labour had won 71.2 per cent of the vote at the General Election, the previous year. The rise in support for Nationalism in Scotland had been preceded in Wales with a by-election by Plaid Cymru, the National Party of Wales, in 1966. Winnie Ewing's success transformed Scottish Politics, despite the fact that she lost the seat at the General Election in1970. Winnie Ewing, now Member of the European Parliament for the Highlands and Islands, has been President of the SNP since 1987.The SNP went on to win 30 per cent of the vote in the May 1968 municipal elections.

The 1970 General Election saw the SNP contest 65 seats but only win a modest 11.4 per cent of the vote overall - 12.2 per cent in contested seats. However, by winning the Western Isles, Donald Stewart became the first SNP candidate to be elected at a General Election. He held this seat until his retirement at the 1987 General Election. Donald Stewart was president of the SNP from 1982 to 1987.The 1970's were an exciting period for the Party. The discovery of oil in Scottish Water was of enormous significance, and the SNP ran the very effective "It's Scotland's Oil" campaign, which removed the doubts about the economic viability of an independent Scotland. Party membership shot up during the decade, and the SNP saw its greatest electoral successes at Parliamentary level.

The starting point of the SNP electoral success was the Govan by-election in November 1973, when Margo MacDonald won the seat with 41.0 per cent of the vote against Labour's 38.2 per cent, in a seat which Labour had held at the 1970 General Election with 60.0 per cent of the vote to the SNP's 10.3 per cent. A by-election was also held in Dundee East in 1973, where Gordon Wilson came a very close second to Labour, with the SNP support in the constituency rising from 8.9 per cent at the 1970 general election to 30.2 per cent.

The February 1974 General Election saw the election of seven SNP MP's. Including Gordon Wilson in Dundee East, Donald Stewart in the Western Isles and Winnie Ewing in Moray and Nairn. The four new MP's were Iain MacCormick in Argyll and Bute, Douglas Henderson in East Aberdeenshire, George Reid in Clackmanan and Hamish Watt in Banff. unfortunately Margo MacDonald lost her seat.Due to its weak parliamentary position, the Labour Government was obliged to hold another General Election in October 1974.

This is where the SNP attained its highest ever percentage of the vote in a Parliamentary election, and another four MP's were elected - Margaret Bain in Dumbartonshire East, Douglas Crawford in Perth and East Perthshire, George Thomson in Galloway, and Andrew Welsh in Angus South. The SNP were euphoric and the Labour Government was forced to legislate for Scottish devolution.

The first manifestation of Siol nan Gaidheal was born as an ultra-nationalist reaction to the frustrations of the great devolution debate. The founder of this Siol nan Gaidheal, Tom Moore, wanted an organisation whose aim was to inspire nationalism without inhibition or restraint. Scots should be conscious, proud and unashamed of their own identity. The old S.N.G. challenged the moribund devolutionist leadership of the SNP and built up the morale of rank and file Nationalists shattered after the defeats of 1979.

After a false legislative start to process culminated in the 1979 referendum on the Scotland Act. The Government had inserted the notorious forty per cent rule, whereby forty per cent of the total electorate had to vote "Yes" before the promised Scottish Assembly would be set up. Thus people who did not or could not vote - including those who had died between the compilation of the electoral register and the date of the election - were counted as "No" voters. In the event, the "Yes" vote won a majority of 77,435 - despite a well financed "No" campaign and serious doubts about the effectiveness of the Assembly - but this was not enough to clear the 40 per cent hurdle, and the new Tory Government repealed the Act in May 1979.The 1979 General Election was a set-back for the SNP, largely explained by a combination of disappointment and apathy on the constitutional question after the referendum. Only two SNP MP's were re-elected - Donald Stewart and Gordon Wilson. However a consolation was the election of Winnie Ewing as the Member of the European Parliament for the Highlands and Islands in June 1979. The Party was gripped by internal debate for a period in the early 1980's culminating in 1982 with the expulsion of leading members of the socialist "79 Group", and the proscription of Siol nan Gaidheal. These first divisions were quickly mended, and some of the expelled members were re-admitted and selected as candidates for the 1983 General Election. The proscription on SnG remained in force. The 1983 General Election was not a success for the SNP. The Party's share of the vote fell to 11.7 per cent and no new seats were gained although both Donald Stewart and Gordon Wilson held on to their seats. In 1984 Winnie Ewing was re-elected to the European Parliament with a 16,000 majority. There was some comfort in the results of the 1987 General Election, although the loss of Gordon Wilson's seat in Dundee East and of the Western Isles (Donald Stewart had announced his retirement and did not contest the seat) were major blows. However, the party gained seats for the first time since 1974. Alex Salmond became the MP for Banff and Buchan, and Andrew Welsh became an MP for the second time, representing Angus East. Margaret Bain had married Winnie Ewing's son, an, as Margaret Ewing she was re-elected to Parliament, this time for the Moray constituency.The SNP had fought every seat since October 1974, but agreed an electoral pact with the Orkney and Shetland Movements in 1987, and did not contest the Orkney and Shetland seat. In Parliament the SNP forged an alliance with Plaid Cymru, which also had three MP's after 1987.

In 1988, anticipating the upsurge of Scottish Nationalism which led to Jim Sillar’s victory for the Scottish National Party in Glasgow’s Govan, Jackie Stokes founded a completely new Nationalist organisation, and took the name Siol nan Gaidheal. This particular manifestation of Siol nan Gaidheal had been launched after several years were spent studying the actions, mistakes, results and deaths of all previous Ultra Nationalist organisations. Lessons had been learned, and safeguards installed. From the beginning, there was a complete determination that this S.N.G. would prosper despite interference from the forces of the British state. There were branches set up all over Scotland, and others established in England and the rest of Europe. SnG established a SnG Colour Party, this to impress and aid recruitment, anyone seeing the drum beating, black banner waving , Colour Party in their Black Shirts and kilts couldn’t fail to be impressed and old and young alike flocked to join the ever-swelling ranks of Siol nan Gaidheal. However, only the very able and bright were promoted into the various smaller committees that were set up to cover Scottish Culture, Education, Security, Research, History, Politics etc. There was also a strong SnG Women’s Movement in progress. SnG also set up a group of articulate individuals with long-term knowledge of the Scottish scene, these were employed as a mobile force to tour schools, colleges and universities giving lectures on SnG policy and world view. Their task was primarily and candidly to recruit the best individuals these establishments had to offer. Their secondary purpose was to investigate the percentage of English students attending each of these establishments in order to add to the research being carried out by others on the proof or otherwise of what was known as "The Englishing of Scotland" Siol nan Gaidheal carried out many campaigns successfully, they worked unceasingly to promote the Gaelic language and to that end, sent questionnaires to practically every school in Scotland asking teachers and headmasters to support the teaching of Gaelic. They also supported the use of Scots or Lallans as a language that historically has its own value in Scotland. This manifestation eventually fizzled out, despite the protests of many members, following the National Organiser's ill health - 4 heart attacks brought on by the strain of running this massive organisation.

1988 saw the tide turn once again for the SNP. In May the SNP polled over 20 per cent in the District Council elections. At its Annual National Conference the SNP made several important strategic decisions. The Conference formally approved the policy of working for Independence within the European Community (now the European Union), despite some vociferous opposition from the right wing of the party, and also adopted two campaigns of civil disobedience - a poll tax campaign, and a commitment to use civil disobedience against any attempt to dump nuclear waste in Scotland.When the Government announced MP Bruce Millan's appointment as a European Commissioner, the SNP geared itself up to fight another Govan by-election. The candidate chosen was Jim Sillars, a former Labour MP, now married to Margo Macdonald. The seat was one of Labour's safest, but the SNP overturned a Labour Majority of 19,000 to send a fourth SNP MP to Westminster. The effect of this victory was electric, and was instrumental in generating a period of sustained debate on Scotland's constitutional future.The SNP faced two electoral contests in 1989, both held on the same day - the European Elections and a by- election in Glasgow Central caused by the death of the sitting Labour MP. At the European Elections the SNP won over 25 per cent of the vote - the Party's third best share of the vote in a UK wide election. Winnie Ewing trebled her majority in the Highlands and Islands to 45,000 and the party came within 2,613 votes of winning North East Scotland. In Glasgow Central the SNP trebled its vote, coming from fourth to second place with a swing from Labour of over 15 per cent. While there was some disappointment with these results in terms of the party not winning more seats, they represented significant progress for the SNP. The 1980 Regional Council elections were fought mainly on the issue of the Poll Tax. The SNP had been leading a "Can Pay, Won't Pay!" campaign against this unfair tax since it had come into operation in April 1989. The SNP originally called for 100,000 Scots not to pay their Poll Tax in order to make the system unworkable, but it soon became clear that over one million Scots were refusing payment - most because they could not afford to pay. In the Regional Elections, the Party won 21.8 per cent of the vote - the Party's highest ever share of the vote at this tier of Government. Non-payment destroyed the Poll Tax and was instrumental in bringing about the political demise of its chief advocate - Mrs (now Baroness) Thatcher. With the Government's abandonment of the Poll Tax, under a new Prime Minister, the SNP called off the "Can Pay, Won't Pay!" campaign at a Special National Conference in Govan Town Hall (originally convened to decide European Policy) in March 1991. November 1990 witnessed two more parliamentary by-elections, both caused by the deaths of the sitting Labour MP's. Both by-elections were in Paisley and were overshadowed by the Conservative Party's leadership contest. In the event the party won nearly 30 per cent in Paisley North and 27.5 per cent in Paisley South, with a combined swing from Labour of nearly 13 per cent. Clearly the SNP had chalked up another Glasgow Central type result, rather than another Glasgow Govan - a very creditable performance given the focus of attention South of the Border.

In Alex Salmond, the SNP had a new Convener (Leader) by the time of the Paisley by-elections. Alex Salmond - previously Deputy Leader - was elected as Leader at the SNP's Annual National Conference in September 1990, following Gordon Wilson's decision to stand down after 11 years in the job. A former professional economist, Alex Salmond is a first class advocate of the Party's policies and arguments concerning the economic benefits of Independence.Also at this time Dick Douglas MP (Dunfermline West) - a former member of the Labour Party - joined the SNP to boost the SNP's parliamentary representation to five. Like many others in Scotland, Dick Douglas could not continue supporting a Labour Party which refused to fight the Poll Tax and supported dumping Trident nuclear weapons in Scotland. November 1991 saw yet another parliamentary by-election - this time in Tory held Kincardine and Deeside - caused by the death of the much-admired Alick Buchanan-Smith. While the SNP had no prospect of winning this seat - A Tory/Democrat marginal - the priority was to increase the share of the vote and beat Labour. Both objectives were successfully achieved. The Democrats won the seat, which meant the Tories had only nine seats in Scotland out of 72. This immediately led to debate on Scotland's constitutional position, which had the effect of raising the profile of the "Scottish Question" once again. Intense debate on Scotland's future continued right up to the General Election itself, with a steady increase in the SNP's opinion poll position. Other highlights of the pre-election period included the debate between the four Scottish party leaders held in Edinburgh's Usher Hall in January 1992 and organised by The Scotsman newspaper. The conversion of The Sun to the cause of Independence, and the ICM opinion poll showing a record 50 support for full Independence. At the General Election in April the SNP increased its share of the vote by 50 per cent, to 21.5 per cent - the best performance since 1974. However, this was not matched in terms of seats won. While the SNP held on to Banff and Buchan, Moray, and Angus East, Govan was lost to Labour, and - as was to be expected - Dunfermline West also returned to Labour (Dick Douglas having contested Glasgow Garscadden in the election, the seat of the late Donald Dewar, the Shadow Scottish Secretary). Unfortunately, many Scots believed the opinion polls which suggested a Labour victory and voted Labour in the expectation that a devolved Parliament was imminent. It is also worth reflecting on the fact that, on average, it took 23,324 votes to elect a Labour MP in Scotland at the General Election, 42,651 votes to elect a Democrat MP, 68,359 votes to elect a Tory MP, but 209,851 votes to elect an SNP MP!The Scottish People went to the polls again in May 1992, in the District Council elections, with the SNP running a larger number of candidates than any other party. The party polled 24.3 per cent and made inroads into the Labour vote throughout the Central Belt. In addition to regaining control of Angus District, the SNP won power in West Lothian district (with the assistance of an independent) and gained the Provostships in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Kilmarnock-and-Loudoun. The SNP fought the District campaign on both local issues and the constitutional question. Specifically, the Party sought support for holding a multi-option referendum on Scotland's constitutional future - between Independence in Europe, devolution and the status quo. The SNP approved this strategy at a meeting of the National Council in June 1992.The constitutional question was re-invigorated in December 1992 by the holding of the European Community Summit in Edinburgh. While other small European nations were involved in crucial EC negotiations, the host nation of Scotland had no voice. On the second day of the summit, 12th December, 25,000 people demonstrated in Edinburgh to demand "the recall of our own Parliament as a modern and democratic body empowering all our citizens.".The SNP has maintained this momentum through the European elections in June 1994, and two by-elections - one of which in May 1995 has resulted in a new MP, Roseanna Cunningham in Perth and Kinross - and two rounds of local government election. The most recent, in April 1995 has seen SNP Councils win overall control of three Unitary Authorities - Perth and Kinross, Angus, and Moray - and form the official opposition in several others including East Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.During this period, the Tories under John Major became increasingly weak in Scotland, perhaps culminating with the appointment of Michael Forsyth as Secretary of State for Scotland. During the 1980s and 1990s the rising levels of support for independence put the constitutional issue at the top of the Scottish political Agenda and forced the Labour Party to address the Scottish question by offering a referendum for a devolved Scottish parliament. John Smith, then leader of the Labour Party, clearly stated that a General Election victory would mark the 'settled will of the Scottish people' for devolution but this commitment was put in doubt by his death and the succession of Tony Blair. Forsyth's opposition to devolution hit it's mark resulting in Blair declaring, to the outrage of the Constitutional Convention, that election victory was not enough but that a referendum on devolution would also be required.

Responding to the challenge of new times and the demands of its former members, Jackie Stokes re-established the third manifestation of Siol nan Gaidheal in the New Year of 1997. The National Organiser of S.N.G. has stated that if Labour adhered to its pre-election promises to the Scottish people, then "Siol" must be organised to meet the challenge of having our own Parliament and to accept this as the first step to complete Independence. However, knowing Labour's history of betrayal of the Scottish people’s trust, we must also stand ready to deal with this also. Despite the considerable promises made prior to the General Election, Labour thought they would desperately need the votes of the Scottish electorate, they now have such a majority they can afford to either water down their earlier proposals, or find a way to sink the very idea of a Scottish Parliament. The official S.N.G. view is that Labour will betray us again, they were, are and always will be a Unionist Party who will do all in their power to deprive the Scottish people of their independence and sovereignty. Siol nan Gaidheal will be paying very close attention to their actions in the future and will take up the challenge when it comes.

The referendum was held on 11 September 1997. Although remaining firmly committed to Independence, under Alex Salmond's leadership the SNP campaigned vigorously with Labour and the Liberal Democrats to achieve a spectacular success of 74.3% in favour of a Scots Parliament and 63.5% in favour of it having tax raising powers.At the first Scottish Parliamentary Elections, held on 6 May 1999, the SNP returned a total number of 35 MSPs. In the first "Constituency" Ballot (using the first past the post system) the SNP polled 28.7%, returning 7 MSPs. In the second "Regional" ballot (using a proportional representation system) the SNP secured 27.3 % of the vote and returned 28 MSPs, giving a total number of 35 SNP Members of the Scottish Parliament. The SNP was now the Official Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. All the SNP sitting Westminster MPs chose to stand for election to the Scottish Parliament and all were elected.In 2000, Alex Salmond, whilst riding on the crest of his popularity, surprised many by declaring his resignation as leader after 10 years of mounting internal strife. After a vigorous leadership campaign demonstrating the difference between the 'Fundamentalist' and 'Gradualist' wings of the SNP, John Swinney was elected the new leader of the SNP in September 2000. beating his nearest rival Alex Neil. Under John Swinney's ineffectual leadership, the SNP does not pose any serious challenge to the Unionist parties.

On Thursday 7th June 2001 the SNP performed poorly losing one of its seats in Galloway and narrowly holding on to another with a greatly reduced majority. It seems likely that the Party will go into meltdown and a new SNP dedicated to the Fundamentals of Independence will arise from the ashes.

On 24th July 2001 the nationalist community mourned the death of Jackie Stokes, twice National Organiser of Siol nan Gaidheal, and a committed patriot and nationalist.