The Scots National League (SNL) was a political organisation which campaigned for

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 ...

in the 1920s. It amalgamated with other

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into t ...

bodies in 1928 to form the National Party of Scotland. The Scots National League was formed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1921, out of the

Highland Land League The first Highland Land League ( gd, Dionnasg an Fhearainn) emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Associat ...

and the National Committee, by Ruaraidh Erskine of Marr and

William Gillies William Gillies (1865–1932) was a Scottish patriot and a socialist. He helped to form the Scots National League, which joined with other bodies to form the National Party of Scotland, which in turn evolved into the Scottish National Party (SNP ...

. Eschewing the existing system of government of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

from

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, the SNL adopted an uncompromising programme for

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in preference to

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. Its inspiration was the tradition of

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

independence and

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

. The

revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...

John Maclean chaired one of the SNL's early meetings in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

. By 1925, and partly influenced by the abstentionist tactics of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

, the Scots National League had decided to contest elections, hoping to induce a majority of Scottish MPs to withdraw from the Westminster Parliament to convene an independent

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The SNL also established the '' Scots Independent'' newspaper in 1926 to further their aims. From 1927 onwards, the SNL began to campaign for a Scottish national party. Together with its participation in the electoral process, this change made easier its liaison with the Scottish Home Rule Association, and its subsequent merger into the National Party of Scotland (NPS). By the time of the formation of the NPS, the Scots National League had outgrown its London roots and become stronger in Scotland, largely due to the influence of Tom Gibson. Gibson had realised that nationalist politics needed to be connected to everyday issues in order to become popular. This strain of thought was prominent within the NPS and many former Scots National League members drifted from it due to their belief that the NPS was too moderate. This included Ruairidh Erskine himself, who drifted entirely from politics. The SNL had a number of branches but its membership never exceeded 1000.

References

{{Scottish National Party 1921 establishments in Scotland 1928 disestablishments in Scotland Celtic nationalism Political history of Scotland Political movements in Scotland Scottish National Party Scottish nationalist parties

Further reading

References