55 Group - Definition

The 55 Group were an internal body within the Scottish National Party (SNP) formed in 1955. 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, with some of their members going onto form a new political party, the National Party of Scotland (NPS) (not to be confused with the earlier NPS). 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 what so ever in the long-run.