The Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland was an internal grouping within the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
(SNP) that formed in response to the efforts of the
79 Group within the party. The 79 Group was another internal grouping within the SNP that was attempting to turn the party into an expressly
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
party. The Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland formed itself to try to ensure that the SNP avoided traditional debates of left and right, arguing that the cause of
Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
S ...
transcended such arguments. It had the support of prominent traditionalists inside the party such as
Winnie Ewing
Winifred Margaret Ewing (' Woodburn; born 10 July 1929) is a Scottish politician, lawyer and figure within the independence movement who served as President of the Scottish National Party from 1987 to 2005. Ewing was a Member of the Scottish P ...
who had been a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
in the 1960s and was by this stage a Member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
SNP leader
Gordon Wilson was determined to end factionalism inside the SNP, and at the party conference of 1982 internal groupings were banned. This was largely a reaction to the growth of the 79 Group who faded in significance after this decision was taken. After the 79 Group fell apart the Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland did likewise (however, many of the members of the 79 group were readmitted, and indeed came to lead the party).
Scottish National Party
Political party factions in Scotland
{{poli-org-stub