79 Group

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The 79 Group was an internal faction within the Scottish National Party (SNP), formed in the aftermath of the 1979 UK general election. The SNP had polled poorly at the election and this prompted a period of internal questioning by many SNP members about the direction the party should take.

The 79 Group was a left wing organisation committed to the idea that the SNP should be in favour of an independent Scotland being a socialist republic. The group was bolstered when many Scottish Labour Party (SLP) members decided to join the SNP after the collapse of the SLP. This made the SNP-left even stronger and they started to exert their influence in the party.

The SNP leadership under Gordon Wilson however took a hostile view of internal factions and in the early 1980s they proscribed the 79 Group, along with another internal SNP faction Siol nan Gaidheal. The 79 Group however reformed itself as a cross-party organisation called the Scottish Socialist Society in an attempt to carry on the work it had began. But the SNP leadership took the view that the 79 Group was continuing. This resulted in the expulsion from the party of the previous Group leaders (including Alex Salmond who would later become the SNP leader). The new society included Susan Deacon and Sarah Boyack, who later became Labour MSPs, among its membership.

The 79 Group leaders narrowly lost their appeal against expulsion when the SNP's National Council debated the report of the party's 15-person 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, including the aforementioned Salmond and Kenny MacAskill. Other of today's Parliamentarians who were members included Roseanna Cunningham and Stewart Stevenson.

Margo MacDonald was also a high profile member of the 79 Group.