De ea and Renewal: he Sco ish Na ional Pa y in he
Eigh ies
Jack BRAND
S a hclyde Uni e si y
Wo king Pape n.23
Ba celona 1990
SUCCESS, SORROW AND THE SNP
Since he end o las cen u y, he e ha e been wa es o suppo o
Sco ish home ule. In he 1880s, he i s Sco ish Home Rule Associa ion was
ounded la gely ollowing he I ish example. I s membe s we e o e whelmingly
Libe als. I was well suppo ed in Sco land, bu he cou se o wo ld e en s
o e ook i . A e he Fi s Wo ld Wa , he Labou Pa y quickly ook o e he
second posi ion in B i ish poli ics and a new Sco ish Home Rule Associa ion
exp essed he s ong in e es in Sco ish au onomy (1). Acco ding o he
Au ho ized Ve sion, ha wa had been ough o he igh s o small na ions,
and many Sco s assumed ha hey quali ied. Economic e en s his ime came
in he way o success, and B i ish, including Sco ish, poli ics became class
poli ics. Many membe s o he Associa ion we e, howe e , ou aged by he
lack o in e es o he Labou leade s. They spli o and o med he Na ional
Pa y o Sco land (1928); la e he mode n Sco ish Na ional Pa y (1934) (2).
Un il he ea ly six ies, his o ganiza ion was a iny inge body which
had some imp essi e leade s, bu i was a he di e en om he ea lie
associa ions. These la e had wo ked o Sco ish "au onomy" in which a
Sco ish go e nmen would look a e Sco ish domes ic a ai s, and de ence
and o eign a ai s would be handled in London. The SNP, om he beginning,
sough a Sco land which was comple ely independen .
I was la gely his policy which condemned he SNP o he sidelines.
In I eland na ion and class s uggled o be he basic clea age in he poli ics o
he coun y and na ion won hands down. In Sco land class i ually obli e a ed
any conce n wi h he na ion. In he ea ly six ies, howe e , wi h i ually no
wa ning, Na ionalis candida es began o ge mo e and mo e o es. By he
1970 Gene al Elec ion, he majo pa ies in Sco land ealized ha hey had a
new compe i o and, as Table 1 shows, a he Gene al Elec ion in Oc obe
1974, hey co1lec ed hi y pe cen o he o e, won ele en o he se en y wo
Sco ish sea s, came second o Labou ( he dominan Sco ish pa y) in hi y
six o hei o y one sea s and hey did no loose any deposi s. Thei success
e o ized he Labou go e nmen in o edisco e ing hei ancien commi men
o Home Rule and in oducing legisla ion o i ; one o he wo mos impo an
policies o his Pa liamen . I was los , la gely because Labou MPs we e no
p epa ed o uni e o le i h ough, and hei own Go e nmen ell.
The e ec on Sco land and he SNP was e y d ama ic. A he
esul ing Gene al Elec ion, he Nacionalis s c ashed o se en een pe cen o
he Sco ish o e, los nine o hei MPs and we e in o al, sna ling,
sel -des uc i e disa ay.
Table1
MOVEMENT TO PARTY
This pape is conce ned wi h wha happened wi hin he SNP a e
his disas e . My a gumen is ha he e has been an impo an change aking
he o ganiza ion om a mo emen o a mode n ype o pa y, wi h he esul
ha he e will be qui e se ious changes in which he Na ionalis s will ope a e.
The e ha e been h ee majo in e nal deba es which I shall s a e he e and
hen explo e in he nex h ee sec ions.
The mos s iking change is ha he SNP is now a pa y wi h le -wing
policies, o en mo e adical han hose o he Labou Pa y. Up o he la e
six ies he o hodoxy wi hin he pa y had been ha he SNP was nei he a
pa y o he igh o he le bu was a pa y o Sco land. As such, i ough o
ha e no policy o he han Independence, o ha policy alone could sol e
Sco land's p oblems. Since 1979 he e has been a igo ous deba e esul ing in
he unwilling accep ance o a need o a ge Sco ish wo king-class o e s and
his mean adop ing policies which would a ac hem.
The second majo deba e has been o e whe he he pa y should
pu sue a g adual oad o independence o whe he hey should accep no
comp omises and coope a e wi h o he bodies only in he cause o comple e
independence.
The inal deba e e ol ed a ound whe he , ha ing go id o English
domina ion, Sco land should pu sue a pa h wholly on he own o whe he she
should seek o en e he Eu opean Communi y since his would ac as a
coun e oil o he English connec ion.
ADOPTING THE SCOTTISH WORKING CLASS
Fi s o all, why has he SNP mo ed o he le and wha is he
signi icance o his o he u u e o he pa y?
In an ou s anding s udy o Eu opean poli ics, Angelo Panebianco
s esses he impo ance o he gene ic imp in in he de elopmen o pa ies
(3). In he case o he SNP, one pa o he genesis was ha he mo emen
was se up la gely by people who had been in he Labou Pa y in Sco land. I
ha e e e ed o his when I discussed he Sco ish Home Rule Associa ion.
The o ganiza ion is hea ily in luenced by he a angemen s o he Labou
Pa y and he ea ly publica ions show a conce n o employmen and housing
o he Sco ish wo king class. One canno , hen, say he e was no p eceden
o placing he SNP on he le o B i ish poli ics. On he o he hand he e we e
no links be ween he pa y and he wo king class mo emen . On he con a y,
pe haps mo e in Sco land han in any o he pa o he Uni ed Kingdom, he
Sco ish wo king class was unionized and hus i mly associa ed wi h he
Labou Pa y; wi h he excep ion o he s ongly P o es an wo king class in he
wes o Sco land which was Conse a i e as a esul o an i-Ca holic eeling
and ha ed o I ish Ca holics (4). Nei he g oup was likely o suppo he SNP.
Thus he sympa hy o he ea ly SNP o he pligh o he wo king class was
eally middle-class sympa hy o a g oup wi h which hey had no close ies.
Wi hin a ew yea s gene a ion which had ounded he SNP mo ed-on
and hei successo , a e 1945, aced a Labou go e nmen which was e e y
bi as hos ile o Sco ish au onomy as he Conse a i es had e e been.
Unde hese ci cums ances, he uling app oach in he iny SNP was
ha hei s was a pa y o he whole o Sco land. Class poli ics was i ele an o
a socie y which was being exploi ed, no jus by capi alis s, bu by English
capi alis s o whom he English wo king class seemed o lend willing hands.
A e independence i would be up o he people o Sco land o decide whe he
he coun y was o be Socialis o Conse a i e o Libe al o any hing else.
The Sco ish Na ional Pa y had no hing o do wi h his and many o i s
membe s doub ed whe he he pa y would e en su i e once he coun y
egained i s eedom.
To unde s and his pe iod p ope ly, one mus emembe ha he
SNP was a iny pa y a he inges o Sco ish poli ics. In 1960 i had wo
b anches in he whole o he coun y and p obably unde one hund ed
membe s. I was as much as hey could do o keep ali e he idea o
na ionalism.
To a la ge ex en , he change in he o unes o he SNP owed a
g ea deal o he all in suppo su e ed by bo h he main B i ish pa ies (5).
F om 1961 onwa ds he economy showed clea signs o going w ong and no
one seemed able o handle i . E en he new Labou go e nmen in 1964, wi h
a s ong commi men o b ing down unemploymen h ough i s ade union
connec ions, was impo en . La ge numbe s o people who had always o ed
o hese big pa ies ceased o u n ou o hem; some wen o he Libe als o
e en he Na ional F on and a la ge pe cen age s a ed o o e o he SNP (6).
Tha mus be pa o he explana ion o he ise in he o e o he Na ionalis s,
bu i is no he only one. They could, o example, ha e o ed Libe al
especially since ha pa y s ill held mo e sea s p opo iona ely in Sco land
han in G ea B i ain as a whole. Somewha less imaginable is ha hey migh
ha e o ed Communis . In ac , since he e hnic clea age was second only o
he class clea age in Sco land, i is no su p ising ha , when nei he o he
class pa ies in Sco land seemed able o deli e mo e economic secu i y, o
hei o e s, he SNP should be he second choice.
The Na ionalis s we e, howe e , he choice o cons i uencies on he
pe iphe ies o Sco land. Despi e hei ea ly successes in he Cen al Indus ial
Bel sea s o Hamil on and Go an: bo h won a by-elec ions om Labou : hei
wins in 1974 ha dly ouched he la gely wo king class sea s in any o he majo
sou he n indus ial owns (7).
Despi e he ac ha Labou su e ed a ca aclysm in he 1979
elec ion in B i ain as a whole, his was he i s elec ion whe e i became clea
ha he o ing pa e ns in Sco land, and o some ex en in he No h o
England, we e a he di e en om hose in England as a whole. The Labou
Pa y eme ged as he hegemonic pa y in Sco land and has e ained his
posi ion e e since. Despi e he Conse a i es' dominance o his and all
subsequen elec ions in B i ain, hey consis en ly los g ound in Sco land.
Since he 1987 Elec ion, he Conse a i es ha e no e en been able o elec
su icien Sco ish MPs o s a he majo Sco ish pa liamen a y commi ees.
Gi en ha las de elopmen , h ee s a egies we e open o he SNP.
They could ha e decided o appeal o he Sco ish people as a whole wi hou
ega d o class o o he di isions. To a la ge ex en , hey do his, as hey ha e
always done, bu he wo o he op ions imply impo an changes o emphasis.
They could appeal o Sco ish middle-class o e s and especially o
Conse a i es. Since he e a e only en sea s now ou o he se en y wo who
e u n Conse a i es in Sco land, his would no do much o a ain he a ge
majo i y among Sco ish sea s. Much mo e a ac i e is he inal s a egy which
is o appeal as champions o he wo king class and hus s eal Labou o e s.
They a e a much la ge p opo ion o he Sco ish elec o a e and a mo e
gli e ing p ize.
The e a e o he easons o ecommending he le s a egy. Among
he gene al economic decline o B i ain since he wa , he olde indus ial
a eas ha e done wo s o all. Sco land has pa icula p oblems because
i ually all i s economy was based on he hea y enginee ing o he Sou h
Wes : on shipbuilding and o he s eel based indus y (8). Today he e is only
one la ge shipya d on he Clyde ( un by No wegians) and only one (hea ily
h ea ened) s eel mill. Thus, as he able shows, he e ha e been massi e
numbe s o indus ial closu es in Sco land and unemploymen is much highe
han he B i ish a e age. I he SNP going o a es he p ocess o indus ial

decline, i mus e hink a new manu ac u ing s a egy. Wi h so many on
unemploymen bene i and o he o ms o s a e aid, and wi h so many o he s
employed in a ious public sec o jobs, bo h compassion and common sense
seem o poin he SNP in a le wa d di ec ion.
Table2
The e is ano he eason o a mo e o he le . Du ing he hund ed
yea s when Sco ish home ule has been an issue, among i s ie ces
opponen s ha e been he Sco ish business class. They ha e always ea ed
ha English ma ke s migh be closed o hem and hey ha e no el con iden
ha hey could compe e on equal e ms wi h o he a eas ei he in B i ain o
elsewhe e. Many indica o s o hei skills sugges ha hey a e igh o be
a aid. In ac he si ua ion is mo e se ious han ha : One o he s iking
ea u es o Ca alan na ionalism, as I unde s and i , is ha i was suppo ed by
i ually all he Ca alan eli es including he business eli e. The e e se o his
has been ue in Sco land. The Chu ch o Sco land was gi en a p i ileged
posi ion in he Ac o Union (1707). So also we e he lawye s who ope a ed he
Sco ish sys em comple ely di e en ly om he legal sys em in England and
Wales. The local go e nmen sys em was also gi en a p o ec ed posi ion and
he same could be said o o he Sco ish eli es such as hose unning he
Uni e si ies and he majo cul u al ins i u ions in he wo ld o a , music and, o
a lesse ex en , hea e. The e ec o all his was o make hese ins i u ions
s aunch suppo e s o he Union. In he case o he educa ional and cul u al
ins i u ions, his was compounded e en mo e by he ac ha he heads o he
as majo i y o hem a e English (9).
Wi h all he e conside a ions, i migh seem appa en ha he SNP
should u n o he le . I was no .
The deba e on he p oposal ha he SNP should mo e le was
hea ily in luenced by he in e nal dynamics o he o ganiza ion. In he i s
place, al hough i had been g owing since 1962, he pa y was s ill domina ed
by a small g oup o people who had un i , in some cases, since be o e he
wa . Robe MacIn y e had been he i s success ul SNP pa liamen a y
candida e in 1945. A hu Donaldson had been a na ional o ice-bea e be o e
he Wa . The e we e se e al o he s less p ominen , bu who s ill had con ol o
he machine. Al hough se e al o hem had been socialis s in hei you h, ha
was a long ime ago and o hem he Labou Pa y was he enemy. Labou
ecip oca ed his eeling. The expe ience o keeping he pa y going a a ime
when a g ea many o hei ellow Sco s p obably hough hey we e a li le
mad, seemed o ha e s eeled hei esol e o keep he pa y as i was. The
ce ainly did no wan o loose con ol jus a he poin when he pa y had
become an es ablished pa o Sco ish poli ics. A mo e impo an ea u e o
he pe sonal his o ies o his old gua d was ha hey came om a ime when
Sco ish na ionalism was mo e o a cul u al mo emen . All he alk o sa ing
s eel wo ks o shipya ds was impo an o hem, bu no o he i s
impo ance.
One ele an ques ion is why hese old men and women s ill e ained
hei posi ions in he pa y. one quick answe is ha MacIn y e and Donaldson,
a leas , we e skilled and de ious ope a o s. The o he is ha many o he new
membe s who came in o he pa y in he 1960s and 1970s espec ed hem o
ha ing kep he mo emen oge he h ough he bad imes. Thi dly, many o
hese younge membe s came in o he pa y o a sho ime, bu he e was a
e y conside able u n-o e . O en hey wen o o wo k in o he o ganiza ions
such as he an i-nuclea mo emen o he po e y lobby while he old gua d
s ayed on as hey had done o many yea s. Finally, and pe haps mos
impo an , mos o he new membe s we e non-poli ical in he sense ha hey
had no been deeply in e es ed in poli ics be o e: ce ainly no o he ex en o
joining a poli ical pa y. They did no ha e clea poli ical iews o he han a
eeling o Sco ishness and he con ic ion ha he English we e doing be e
han hey we e (which hey we e). As such, he simplis ic, non-poli ical iews
o he old gua d appealed o hem. They younge gene a ion who p essed he
pa y o wo k ou policies sounded oo like he Labou and Conse a i e
poli icians wi h whom hey had jus dispensed.
In he ac id deba e abou wha had gone w ong in he 1979 elec ions
his old gua d and he majo i y o he pa y membe s who ag eed wi h hem
o med one side o he a gumen . The o he was aken up by a g oup o young
Na ionalis s, mos o hem in hei wen ies, who we e opposed o he "non-
poli ical" app oach o hei elde s (10).
The 79 G oup was se up on h ee p inciples. I was Na ionalis ,
Socialis and Republican. Nobody qua eled wi h he i s basis o he g oup. In
suppo o he second basis, he G oup a gued, as I ha e al eady desc ibed,
ha he na u al base o he Na ionalis o e was he wo king class. Se e al
polls had shown ha he SNP was he second choice o he majo i y o Labou
o e s, whe e his was no ue o o he o e s (11). In any case, i one we e o
a ac Labou o e s o he SNP: he only hope o ic o y: he SNP had o
become he wo ke s' pa y and socialism was he ideology o a wo ke s' pa y.
Finally, he G oup a gued ha he e was no place o he Mona chy in a
mode n Sco land. I was a p op o he class sys em and a jus i ica ion o
snobbe y. No hing could be mo e alien o he li e o a Glasgow housing es a e
han he Queen and all he appa a us o Royal y. I he SNP we e o become a
mode n pa y, i had o be done wi h all o ha .
The mos impo an eac ion o he ounda ion o he 79 G oup was
ha his was ac ionalism. Al hough he e had been disag eemen s abou
policy in he pas en yea s, no ac ion had been o med. The SNP s ood o a
uni ed Sco ish e o o gain eedom and could ind no place o o ganized
in e nal opposi ion g oups, ying o ake o e he pa y o hei own ends.
The e was ano he way o in e p e ing he eac ions o he SNP
es ablishmen o he 79 G oup. They ep esen ed a new gene a ion
in oducing he ideas o he 1970s, dis espec ul o he elde s and eage o
occupy he leading posi ions in he pa y. Basically i was a clash o
gene a ions.
I ha e discussed he es ablishmen and he banning o he 79 G oup
in an ea lie a icle (12). I is signi ican ha he se en membe s who we e
expelled om he Pa y o hei e usal o abandon he p inciples o he 79
G oup we e eadmi ed o he Pa y a e a pe iod o only six mon hs only.
Much mo e impo an was he o icial accep ance by he pa y o he le -wing
ac ic. To c own his, mos o he leading posi ions in he pa y, by he la e
eigh ies we e in he hands o he le wing. Why had his u n-a ound aken
place. The pa y which once expelled he apos les o socialism, now elec ed
hem as hei leade s. Why had his happened?
The i s eason was simply he passing o ime. By he mid-Eigh ies,
he Old Gua d we e e y old and, in many cases, beyond e en he hono i ic
posi ions. Al hough he e we e many "non-poli icals" who sha ed he an i-
ac ional iews o he old gua d, he e was no one o a su icien s a us o
occupy hei posi ion.
The second and m o e ob ious eason was ha he policies o M s.
Tha che 's Conse a i e Go e nmen had pa icula ly bad e ec s on Sco land.
As egional aid was cu o , e en he su i ing hea y indus ies began o close
down. In he huge wo king class housing es a es, he cu s in wel a e bene i s
c ea ed mo e po e y wi h ewe and ewe ways ou . Unde hese
ci cums ances i was di icul o he SNP o ake any hing o he han an
an i-Conse a i e s ance. This migh no be socialis in he e ms o Ka l Ma x,
bu i ce ainly mean ha he Na ionalis s could no bu iden i y wi h he
Sco ish wo king class i hey wan ed o appea o be agains he go e nmen .
Finally, he Conse a i e go e nmen ushe ed in a pe iod o p ospe i y
o he Sou h o England which sel -e iden ly was no sha ed by Sco land. Fo
he e o o u ning on hei ele ision se s, Sco ish people could see how well
he sou he n English wo king class we e doing. They could look a ound hem
and see how badly hey we e doing in compa ison. To make ma e s wo se,
he symbol o ha Conse a i e e olu ion was an English woman wi h a
peculia o ced sou he n English accen who seemed o ally alien o he needs
o a Glasgow high- ise o a c o on Ba a.
My con en ion has been ha he de elopmen o B i ish poli ics made
i almos ine i able ha he SNP should mo e o he le . Jus o d i e he poin
home, he h us o SNP policies became he h us o he 79 G oup a gumen .
Thei main conce n we e he p o ec ion o Sco ish jobs.
The e idence o his s a emen is easy o p oduce. The 79 G oup
had backed up i s ad ocacy o socialis policies wi h campaigning o sa e jobs
in i ms which we e scheduled o close. Pe haps hei mos amous ac ion was
in suppo o he women wo ke s in he Lee Jeans ac o y in G eenock. In he
yea s a e he G oup was dissol ed many mo e ac o ies and wo ks we e shu
down o which he mos impo an was p obably he huge s eel s ip mill a
Ga cosh and he h ea o he e en la ge wo ks a Ra ensc aig. Fo a
coun y wi h i s indus ial pas and i s my hs buil upon hea y indus y, he
p o ec ion o hese s eel wo ks had a special place. In he yea s since he 79
G oup was closed down and hen i s leade s eadmi ed, he e ha e been
many o hese campaigns. The closu es o i ually all he many la ge ac o ies
in Sco land ha e been accompanied by demons a ions and delega ions led
by he SNP: no jus by he leade s o he deceased SNP ac ion, bu by he
Chai man and o he majo igu es in he pa y who ough igo ously agains
he G oup. To make he poin e en mo e o ce ully, du ing he long and bi e
mine s' s ike, suppo om he Labou Pa y lagged when i became clea
ha he leade o he union: A hu Sca gill was a ie ce le -wing c i ic o he
Labou leade ship. By he midpoin o he s ike, i could no be said ha
Labou en husias ically suppo ed he s ike pa y p essu e was exe cised on
he mine s o accep he se lemen (13). By con as , he SNP decla ed i s
suppo o he mine s igh om he s a and ne e wa e ed.
To close his sec ion i is impo an o say ha he le policies o he
SNP we e no con ined o ques ions o indus y and indus ial ela ions. The
SNP was and is a pa y which suppo s unila e al nuclea disa mamen : a
policy only adop ed by he Labou Pa y o wo yea s pe iods in he ea ly
six ies and he ea ly eigh ies. The SNP has ne e wa e ed. I is also opposed
o he peace ul use o nuclea powe and ce ainly o nuclea dumping.
SCOTLAND AND EUROPE
The wo o he policy changes in he SNP can be deal wi h mo e