The Scottish National Party is a study of the SNP immediately after it came to power in May 2007. It is based on a survey of the entire membership and elite interviews with over 80 senior party figures. Discussion is located within the appropriate literatures and comparisons drawn with other British parties.
The image of the SNP as a youthful party, with a decentralized social-movement-type organization is challenged. The party is much older and much more male than had previously been thought and appears more like other conventional parties than its past image suggested. Its increased...