79 Group
Encyclopedia
The 79 Group was an internal faction within the Scottish National Party
(SNP), 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. Although it had a tiny membership, the group caused sufficient disquiet that they were expelled from the SNP in 1982, although its members were subsequently readmitted and many attained senior positions in the Scottish Government after 2007; First Minister Alex Salmond
was a leading member of the group.
, then assistant research officer for the SNP, and her brother Chris, during the devolution referendum in early 1979. Although a majority of those voting backed devolution in the referendum, the vote was close and crucially the Yes votes did not reach the 40% threshold set by Parliament. At the SNP national council meeting a few days after the result of the referendum, Margo MacDonald
argued that because working-class Scots had supported devolution and middle-class Scots had opposed, the SNP should aim to build its support among the working-class.
A group of eight SNP members who shared this opinion met on 10 March 1979. Before they could meet again, the SNP lost nine of its 11 seats in the 1979 general election
; the poor result prompted a period of internal questioning by many SNP members about the direction the party should take. More than 30 attended a second meeting at the Belford Hotel in Edinburgh on 31 May which agreed to set up an "Interim Committee for Political Discussion". This interim committee later became the 79 Group.
became the group's principal political theorist. The group was formed as a left wing
organisation committed to the establishment of a "socialist
and republican
Scotland". They began producing campaign material in support of their policies, and standing for internal SNP posts. The established SNP wing, now dubbed "traditionalists", disliked the party appearing ideological. Winifred Ewing eventually formed the 'Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland
' as a second internal SNP group to oppose the 79 Group.
Many SNP activists became attracted to the 79 Group, seeing it as a debating forum to discuss the SNP's future, but most left quickly when not attracted by the ideology driving the group. At the 1979 SNP conference, 79 Group candidates were heavily defeated by those in the SNP who put achieving independence over all other policy considerations.
, Jim Sillars
, joined the SNP along with some other SLP members. Given the SLP's stance on the left, Sillars was naturally in line with the 79 Group's policy and immediately joined it too. Although no members of the 79 Group were elected to the SNP National executive at the 1980 conference less than a month after Sillars joined, at the 1981 SNP conference, five were.
.
Sillars, who was elected as the SNP's Executive Vice-Chairman for Policy, was put in charge of the campaign with the details planned by the Demonstrations Committee. He led the campaign on 16 October 1981 by breaking in, with five other 79 Group members, to the Royal High School
in Edinburgh which had been converted to be the Scottish Assembly. The intention had been to symbolically read out a declaration on what the Scottish Assembly would have done to counter unemployment, but the participants were arrested before they had the chance, and a planned later mass demonstration was cancelled. Sillars was later fined for wilful damage by breaking a window to get in. Many in the SNP were uncomfortable with this sort of action; three senior members were quoted in The Scotsman
opposing the occupation.
wrote inviting a 79 Group speaker to its ardfheis (conference). With IRA
violence ongoing, Sinn Féin were considered unacceptable to public opinion in the UK. Alex Salmond moved to reject the request and won, but minutes of the meeting were leaked to the press, linking the two groups. Soon after, the 1982 conference of the SNP voted to ditch "Scottish Resistance", despite a strong speech by Salmond claiming that to do so was to adopt "a defeatist and cringing mentality". Many non-79 Group members felt that the civil disobedience campaign had collapsed in farce.
The SNP leadership under Gordon Wilson
finally decided that the group's activity must be stopped. At the 1982 SNP conference in Ayr
, Wilson threatened to resign unless the conference passed a motion to proscribe all organised political groupings within the party (the motion covered Winifred Ewing's Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland as well). He won what was described as a Pyrrhic victory
by 308 to 188. However the 79 Group's members mostly retained their offices within the party.
Armed with the conference mandate, the leadership then moved to expel the leading 79 Group members. Alex Salmond, Kenny MacAskill
, Stephen Maxwell, and others were expelled; Roseanna Cunningham
was not, on the grounds that she was not a member of the interim committee. Margo MacDonald was not expelled but resigned from the SNP in protest. Other members of the 79 Group in party offices were left alone; when the expelled members appealed against their expulsion, the committee hearing the appeal included 79 Group member Stewart Stevenson
.
A Scottish Socialist Society was formed, open to non-SNP members; among those who joined were Susan Deacon
and Sarah Boyack
, who later became Labour
MSPs
. However the society was short-lived.
The appeals were narrowly rejected when the SNP National Council debated the report of the Appeals Committee. However, the substantial support for those expelled and the minority report
submitted by Stewart Stevenson persuaded National Council to allow their re-admission to the SNP. Once back in the party many would go on to high office in the SNP.
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), 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. Although it had a tiny membership, the group caused sufficient disquiet that they were expelled from the SNP in 1982, although its members were subsequently readmitted and many attained senior positions in the Scottish Government after 2007; First Minister Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
was a leading member of the group.
Background
The idea for the 79 Group came from Roseanna CunninghamRoseanna Cunningham
Roseanna Cunningham is the Scottish Government's Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, having previously represented Perth.-Early life:Raised in Australia, she returned to Scotland and...
, then assistant research officer for the SNP, and her brother Chris, during the devolution referendum in early 1979. Although a majority of those voting backed devolution in the referendum, the vote was close and crucially the Yes votes did not reach the 40% threshold set by Parliament. At the SNP national council meeting a few days after the result of the referendum, Margo MacDonald
Margo MacDonald
Margo MacDonald MSP is a Scottish politician and former Scottish National Party MP and Deputy Leader...
argued that because working-class Scots had supported devolution and middle-class Scots had opposed, the SNP should aim to build its support among the working-class.
A group of eight SNP members who shared this opinion met on 10 March 1979. Before they could meet again, the SNP lost nine of its 11 seats in the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
; the poor result prompted a period of internal questioning by many SNP members about the direction the party should take. More than 30 attended a second meeting at the Belford Hotel in Edinburgh on 31 May which agreed to set up an "Interim Committee for Political Discussion". This interim committee later became the 79 Group.
Formation
The founders decided to establish their group on a formal footing, with membership cards and elected officers. Three spokespeople were appointed, including Margo MacDonald and Alex Salmond. Stephen MaxwellStephen Maxwell
Stephen Maxwell is a Scottish nationalist.He came to prominence in the 1970s when he was elected to the Lothian Regional Council at a by-election for Wester Hailes in Edinburgh as a Scottish National Party candidate. He became a leading figure in the socialist 79 Group within the SNP and stood...
became the group's principal political theorist. The group was formed as a left wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
organisation committed to the establishment of a "socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
Scotland". They began producing campaign material in support of their policies, and standing for internal SNP posts. The established SNP wing, now dubbed "traditionalists", disliked the party appearing ideological. Winifred Ewing eventually formed the 'Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland
Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland
The Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland was an internal grouping within the Scottish National Party 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...
' as a second internal SNP group to oppose the 79 Group.
Many SNP activists became attracted to the 79 Group, seeing it as a debating forum to discuss the SNP's future, but most left quickly when not attracted by the ideology driving the group. At the 1979 SNP conference, 79 Group candidates were heavily defeated by those in the SNP who put achieving independence over all other policy considerations.
Advances
In 1980, the former Labour MP and founder of the Scottish Labour PartyScottish Labour Party (1976)
The Scottish Labour Party was formed on January 18, 1976, as a breakaway from the UK Labour Party, by members disaffected with the then Labour Government's failure to secure a devolved Scottish Assembly, as well as with its social and economic agenda...
, Jim Sillars
Jim Sillars
Jim Sillars is a Scottish politician. He is married to current member of the Scottish Parliament, Margo MacDonald.-Early life:...
, joined the SNP along with some other SLP members. Given the SLP's stance on the left, Sillars was naturally in line with the 79 Group's policy and immediately joined it too. Although no members of the 79 Group were elected to the SNP National executive at the 1980 conference less than a month after Sillars joined, at the 1981 SNP conference, five were.
Scottish Resistance
A passionate appeal by Stephen Maxwell failed to get a motion critical of private industry passed at the 1981 conference, but conference did vote by a big majority for a motion calling for "a real Scottish resistance" including "political strikes and civil disobedience on a mass scale" after a speech by Sillars. The new policy, dubbed "Scottish Resistance", was unveiled in September 1981 with a logo consisting of figures with raised clenched fistsRaised fist
The raised fist is a symbol of solidarity and support. It is also used as a salute to express unity, strength, defiance, or resistance. The salute dates back to ancient Assyria as a symbol of resistance in the face of violence.-History:Assyrian depictions of the goddess Ishtar show her raising a...
.
Sillars, who was elected as the SNP's Executive Vice-Chairman for Policy, was put in charge of the campaign with the details planned by the Demonstrations Committee. He led the campaign on 16 October 1981 by breaking in, with five other 79 Group members, to the Royal High School
New Parliament House, Edinburgh
The Old Royal High School is the name commonly given to a historic building on Calton Hill in Edinburgh which formerly housed the school of that name. The metonym Regent Road, from the street address, is used within the school community to distinguish it from the school's other past sites...
in Edinburgh which had been converted to be the Scottish Assembly. The intention had been to symbolically read out a declaration on what the Scottish Assembly would have done to counter unemployment, but the participants were arrested before they had the chance, and a planned later mass demonstration was cancelled. Sillars was later fined for wilful damage by breaking a window to get in. Many in the SNP were uncomfortable with this sort of action; three senior members were quoted in The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
opposing the occupation.
Decline of the 79 Group
Early in 1982, Sinn FéinSinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
wrote inviting a 79 Group speaker to its ardfheis (conference). With IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
violence ongoing, Sinn Féin were considered unacceptable to public opinion in the UK. Alex Salmond moved to reject the request and won, but minutes of the meeting were leaked to the press, linking the two groups. Soon after, the 1982 conference of the SNP voted to ditch "Scottish Resistance", despite a strong speech by Salmond claiming that to do so was to adopt "a defeatist and cringing mentality". Many non-79 Group members felt that the civil disobedience campaign had collapsed in farce.
The SNP leadership under Gordon Wilson
Gordon Wilson (Scottish politician)
Gordon Wilson is a former leader of the Scottish National Party and current leading figure in the campaign to ban same-sex marriage in Scotland...
finally decided that the group's activity must be stopped. At the 1982 SNP conference in Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
, Wilson threatened to resign unless the conference passed a motion to proscribe all organised political groupings within the party (the motion covered Winifred Ewing's Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland as well). He won what was described as a Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
by 308 to 188. However the 79 Group's members mostly retained their offices within the party.
Expulsions
After the conference resolution, the 79 Group decided to agree to disband, but rather than going away, the Group formed an interim committee to create the "79 Group Socialist Society" outside the party. The interim committee was the same as the executive of the 79 Group. The National Executive declared that membership of this committee was incompatible with that of the SNP.Armed with the conference mandate, the leadership then moved to expel the leading 79 Group members. Alex Salmond, Kenny MacAskill
Kenny MacAskill
Kenneth "Kenny" Wright MacAskill is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh Eastern, formerly Edinburgh East and Musselburgh since 2007...
, Stephen Maxwell, and others were expelled; Roseanna Cunningham
Roseanna Cunningham
Roseanna Cunningham is the Scottish Government's Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, having previously represented Perth.-Early life:Raised in Australia, she returned to Scotland and...
was not, on the grounds that she was not a member of the interim committee. Margo MacDonald was not expelled but resigned from the SNP in protest. Other members of the 79 Group in party offices were left alone; when the expelled members appealed against their expulsion, the committee hearing the appeal included 79 Group member Stewart Stevenson
Stewart Stevenson
Stewart Stevenson is a Scottish politician who became a member of the Scottish Parliament in 2001....
.
A Scottish Socialist Society was formed, open to non-SNP members; among those who joined were Susan Deacon
Susan Deacon
Susan Deacon is a Scottish politician, academic, commentator and a former Scottish Cabinet Minister.She was Labour MSP for Edinburgh East & Musselburgh from 1999–2007 and served as Scotland’s first Cabinet Minister for Health and Community Care following the creation of the Scottish Parliament in...
and Sarah Boyack
Sarah Boyack
Sarah Boyack MSP is a Scottish Labour MSP for the Lothian region and formerly constituency MSP for Edinburgh Central in the Scottish Parliament....
, who later became Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MSPs
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
. However the society was short-lived.
The appeals were narrowly rejected when the SNP National Council debated the report of the Appeals Committee. However, the substantial support for those expelled and the minority report
Minority Report
"The Minority Report" is a 1956 science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in Fantastic Universe. The story is about a future society where murders are prevented through the efforts of three mutants who can see the future...
submitted by Stewart Stevenson persuaded National Council to allow their re-admission to the SNP. Once back in the party many would go on to high office in the SNP.