Scottish National Party
Scottish political party / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Scottish National Party (SNP; Scots: Scots National Pairty, Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba [ˈpʰaːrˠʃtʲi ˈn̪ˠaːʃən̪ˠt̪ə nə ˈhal̪ˠapə]) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party. The party holds 63 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 43 out of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons in Westminster. It has 453 local councillors of 1,227.
Scottish National Party Scots National Pairty Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | SNP |
Leader | Humza Yousaf |
Depute Leader | Keith Brown |
Westminster Leader | Stephen Flynn |
President | Vacant[1] |
Chief Executive | Murray Foote |
Founded | 7 April 1934 |
Merger of | |
Headquarters | Gordon Lamb House 3 Jackson's Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ |
Student wing | SNP Students |
Youth wing | Young Scots for Independence |
LGBT wing | Out for Independence |
Membership (December 2023) | 69,325[2] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre-left[20][21] |
European affiliation | European Free Alliance |
Colours | Yellow Black |
Anthem | "Scots Wha Hae"[22][23] |
House of Commons (Scottish seats) | 43 / 59 |
Scottish Parliament[24] | 63 / 129 |
Local government in Scotland[25] | 427 / 1,227 |
Website | |
snp.org | |
The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for Scotland's membership in the European Union,[17][26][27] with a platform based on progressive social policies and civic nationalism.[3][4]
Founded in 1934 with the amalgamation of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, the party has had continuous parliamentary representation in Westminster since Winnie Ewing won the 1967 Hamilton by-election.[28] With the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, the SNP became the second-largest party, serving two terms as the opposition. The SNP gained power under Alex Salmond at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, forming a minority government, before going on to win the 2011 Parliament election, after which it formed Holyrood's first majority government.[29] After Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum, Salmond resigned and was succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon. The SNP was reduced back to being a minority government at the 2016 election. In the 2021 election, the SNP gained one seat and entered a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. In March 2023 Sturgeon resigned and was replaced by current leader Humza Yousaf.
The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland in terms of both seats in the Westminster and Holyrood parliaments, councillors in local government and membership. It currently has 43 members of Parliament (MPs), 64 members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and over 450 local councillors.[30] As of December 2023 the party had 69,325 members.[2]
The party does not have any members of the House of Lords on the principle that it opposes the upper house of Parliament and calls for it to be scrapped.[31] The SNP is a member of the European Free Alliance (EFA).