55 Group
Encyclopedia
The 55 Group were an internal body within the Scottish National Party
(SNP) formed in 1955 (hence the name of the group).
This grouping started an organised campaign of internal dissent. This group was formed mainly of younger SNP members frustrated at the lack of electoral progress of the party in this period. There was also overt tones of anti-English
sentiment amongst this grouping, epitomised by the publication of a leaflet The English: Are They Human?. This anti-English streak proved too much to bear for the SNP leadership and the 55 Group were expelled.
Some of their members went on to form a new political party, the National Party of Scotland
(NPS) (not to be confused with the earlier NPS which merged with the Scottish Party
in 1934 to form the SNP). This split in the SNP proved to be minor and involved only a few members, mainly located in the city of Edinburgh
, and the new NPS made no impact whatsoever in the long-run.
The 55 Group are not the only organisation to have been proscribed by the SNP. In the early 1980s the 79 Group
(like the 55 Group, named after the year they were formed, but unlike the 55 Group not an anti-English body, but a radical socialist organisation) and Siol nan Gaidheal
were banned, and in more recent times they have banned their members from joining the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement.
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) formed in 1955 (hence the name of the group).
This grouping started an organised campaign of internal dissent. This group was formed mainly of younger SNP members frustrated at the lack of electoral progress of the party in this period. There was also overt tones of anti-English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sentiment amongst this grouping, epitomised by the publication of a leaflet The English: Are They Human?. This anti-English streak proved too much to bear for the SNP leadership and the 55 Group were expelled.
Some of their members went on to form a new political party, the National Party of Scotland
National Party of Scotland
The National Party of Scotland was a political party in Scotland and a forerunner of the current Scottish National Party.The NPS was formed in 1928 after John MacCormick of the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association called a meeting of all those favouring the establishment of a party...
(NPS) (not to be confused with the earlier NPS which merged with the Scottish Party
Scottish Party
The Scottish Party was formed in 1930 by a group of members of the Unionist Party who favoured the establishment of a Dominion Scottish Parliament within the British Empire and Commonwealth...
in 1934 to form the SNP). This split in the SNP proved to be minor and involved only a few members, mainly located in the city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, and the new NPS made no impact whatsoever in the long-run.
The 55 Group are not the only organisation to have been proscribed by the SNP. In the early 1980s the 79 Group
79 Group
The 79 Group was an internal faction within the Scottish National Party , named after the fact that it was formed in 1979. The group sought to persuade the SNP to take an active left-wing stance, arguing that it would win more support, and were highly critical of the established SNP leaders...
(like the 55 Group, named after the year they were formed, but unlike the 55 Group not an anti-English body, but a radical socialist organisation) and Siol nan Gaidheal
Siol nan Gaidheal
-Name:The name, properly spelled Sìol nan Gàidheal is Scottish Gaelic for Seed of the Gaels. The term sìol has numerous meanings, most commonly translated as "breed, brood, lineage, progeny, seed"....
were banned, and in more recent times they have banned their members from joining the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement.