The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist, regionalist, and social-democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for membership of the European Union, with a platform based on civic nationalism. The SNP is the third-largest political party by membership in the United Kingdom, behind the Labour Party and the Conservative Party and it is the largest political party in Scotland, where it has the most seats in the Scottish Parliament and 47 out of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons at Westminster. The current Scottish National Party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has served as First Minister of Scotland since 20 November 2014.
Scottish independence is the political movement for Scotland to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Sturgeon has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007 and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a Scottish Nationalist, centre 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. Its current leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is the First Minister of Scotland.
Unionism in Scotland is a political movement which favours the continuation of political union between Scotland and the other countries of the United Kingdom, and hence is opposed to Scottish independence. Scotland is one of four countries of the United Kingdom which has its own devolved government and Scottish Parliament, as well as representation in the UK Parliament. There are many strands of political Unionism in Scotland, some of which have ties to Unionism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland. The three main political parties in the UK—the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats—all support Scotland remaining part of the UK.
Scottish Labour is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the national Labour Party. Labour currently hold 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and one of 59 Scottish seats in the UK House of Commons.
A referendum took place on Thursday 18 September 2014 on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the January 1910 general election, which was held before the introduction of universal suffrage.
Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a Yes vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 25 May 2012 and dissolved in late 2014 after Scotland voted against independence.
Better Together was the principal campaign for a No vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, advocating Scotland continuing to be part of the United Kingdom. The organisation was formed in June 2012, operating until winning the vote on the referendum's polling day on 18 September 2014 with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. In June 2014, the campaign adopted a No Thanks branding, in relation to the referendum question.
Labour for Independence is a political organisation for Scottish Labour supporters and other believers in social justice who believe that Scottish independence will lead to a fairer society. It claimed to have 2,000 members across Scotland in June 2014. The organisation has been described as an "SNP front" and, following the September 2014 independence referendum, its founder Allan Grogan joined the Scottish Socialist Party.
National Collective was a political organisation self-described as an "open and non-party [...] group of artists and creatives" who support Scottish independence active from 2011–2015. The organisation was founded in late 2011 by Ross Colquhoun, Andrew Redmond Barr and Rory Scothorne with the goal of "[helping to] shape the vision of a new society and nation". The group argued that independence for Scotland could achieve both a realisation of self-determination and a "cultural dawn" for the nation. The organisation was supported by independence-minded artists, including Liz Lochhead, Alasdair Gray, Elaine C. Smith and Karine Polwart.
The Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) was a political organisation established in 2012 to campaign for left-wing politics in an independent Scotland.
Generation Yes was a political organisation established to campaign for a yes vote amongst young voters in the referendum on Scottish Independence. It was established in January 2014 with an official launch two months later.
Cat Boyd is a Scottish trade union activist who was a co-founder of the Radical Independence Campaign and the Scottish Left Project. She was a prominent figure during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
The Scottish Government has proposed holding a second referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom (UK). A referendum on independence was held in September 2014, with 55% voting "No" to independence. Ahead of that referendum, the Scottish Government stated in its white paper proposing 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".
There was a Scottish National Party leadership election to choose the new Depute leader of the Scottish National Party at the SNP's conference on 14–15 October 2016. The SNP's Westminster Group Leader Angus Robertson MP won the election.
Bella Caledonia is an online magazine publishing social, political and cultural commentary. It was launched in 2007 and came to particular prominence during the campaign period of the Scottish independence referendum that was held in 2014. The site is not affiliated to any political party. Until late 2017, it also produced a 24-page print magazine which appeared as a supplement in The National on the first Saturday of every month.
Róisín Mary Bridget McLaren is a national co-spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP).
Voices for Scotland is the campaign arm of the Scottish Independence Convention, formed in April 2019. The organisation is a civic campaign for Scottish independence, with an aim to get support for Scottish independence above 60%
