"It's Scotland's oil" was a widely publicised political slogan used by the Scottish National Party (SNP) during the 1970s in making their economic case for Scottish independence. It was argued that the discovery of North Sea oil off the coast of Scotland, and the revenue that it created would not benefit Scotland to any significant degree while Scotland remained part of the United Kingdom. The SNP campaigned widely in both the February 1974 UK General Election and subsequent October 1974 UK General Election using this slogan. At the February election the SNP gained seven seats in the House of Commons and 22% of the Scottish vote, rising to eleven seats and 30% of the vote in the October election. The idea behind the slogan has proven to be controversial in discussions surrounding the financial viability of an independent Scottish state and still resonates to this day.
The outcome of the February 1974 General Election saw the Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, win the most seats. Prime Minister Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party, lost support from the Ulster Unionist Party and, although he entered coalition negotiations with Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, these broke down. The Labour Party then formed the new government, with a plurality of seats but without a majority. In October 1974, Wilson went back to the country to ask for a renewed mandate.