The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 62 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament,and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It has 453 local councillors of the 1,227 available. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for Scotland's membership in the European Union,with a platform based on progressive social policies and civic nationalism. 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.
James Sillars is a Scottish politician and campaigner for Scottish independence. Sillars served as a Labour Party MP for South Ayrshire from 1970 to 1976. He founded and led the pro-Scottish Home Rule Scottish Labour Party in 1976,continuing as MP for South Ayrshire until he lost the seat in 1979.
John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland since May 2024. Swinney has served as Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions,since May 2024 and between 2000 and 2004. He has held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and,following boundary changes,has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
Angus Struan Carolus Robertson is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution,External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Formerly Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2016 to 2018,he has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Central since 2021. Robertson previously served as a Westminster MP for Moray from 2001 to 2017,where he served from 2007 to 2017 as the Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons.
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999,first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region,and as the member for Glasgow Southside from 2007.
In Scotland,the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a left social democratic political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. The SNP has controlled Scotland's devolved legislature since the 2007 election as a minority government,and were a majority government from the 2011 election and have been a minority government,since the 2016 election.
Johann MacDougall Lamont is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 until her election to the leadership in 2011. In addition to her ministerial and leadership roles,she has been a campaigner on equality issues and violence against women throughout her political career.
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement,he was Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions,from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of the Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024.
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Senedd election in Wales,English local elections,London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE WS NP is a Scottish politician,serving as chair of the Alba Party since 2021. She was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Conservatives,Labour,and the Scottish National Party (SNP),Ahmed-Sheikh served as the SNP's Trade and Investment spokesperson,Deputy Shadow Leader of the House in the House of Commons,and the SNP's National Women's and Equalities Convener. A solicitor and businessperson,and a former actress,Ahmed-Sheikh founded and formerly chaired the Scottish Asian Women's Association.
The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland,following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP.
Mhairi Black is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2022 to 2024,and as a Member of Parliament for Paisley and Renfrewshire South from 2015 to 2024.
Philippa Whitford is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and a breast surgeon. Originally from Northern Ireland,she was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Ayrshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. Whitford stood down at the 2024 general election. She previously served as the SNP Spokesperson for Scotland from December 2022 to September 2023.
Kirsty Blackman is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen North since 2015.
Ashten Regan is a Scottish politician. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Eastern since 2016. Initially elected to parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP),she defected to the Alba Party. Regan served under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the minister for community safety from 2018 until she resigned in 2022 in protest against her government's Gender Recognition Reform bill.
A second referendum on the independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom (UK) has been proposed by the Scottish Government. An independence referendum was first held on 18 September 2014,with 55% voting "No" to independence. The Scottish Government stated in its white paper for independence that voting Yes was a "once in a generation opportunity to follow a different path,and choose a new and better direction for our nation". Following the "No" vote,the cross party Smith Commission proposed areas that could be devolved to the Scottish Parliament;this led to the passing of the Scotland Act 2016,formalising new devolved policy areas in time for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election campaign.
The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. Founded in February 2021,it was led by former first minister of Scotland and SNP leader Alex Salmond until his death in 2024. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021,with the party standing list-only candidates.
Nicola Sturgeon's term as first minister of Scotland began on 20 November 2014 when she was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed Alex Salmond's resignation following the defeat of the Yes campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. She is the first female and longest serving officeholder. Sturgeon's premiership was dominated by Brexit,which she used as an argument to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence,however,opposition from the UK Government,the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,the cost of living crisis and the ruling against her government holding an advisory referendum would be obstacles for Sturgeon securing her legacy of gaining Scottish independence. Sturgeon's term ended on 29 March 2023,following her resignation announcement on 15 February,in which she claimed occupational burnout was the reason for her resignation.
The 2022 Scottish National Party (SNP) Westminster leadership election was held to choose the leader of the SNP in the House of Commons,following the resignation of Ian Blackford on 1 December 2022. Stephen Flynn and Alison Thewliss were the two MPs who ran in the election. Flynn was elected by 26 votes to 17.
The 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election took place in February and March 2023 to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) to succeed Nicola Sturgeon,who announced her resignation on 15 February. Nominations closed on 24 February 2023 with three candidates:Kate Forbes,Ash Regan,and Humza Yousaf being presented to the electorate of party members. Yousaf was elected the new leader on 27 March with 48.2% of first preference votes and 52.1% of the vote after third-placed candidate Regan's second preferences were redistributed. Yousaf was elected as the First Minister of Scotland on 28 March 2023.
