SNP Students

SNP Students
Leader	David Buckley
Deputy Leader	Caitlin Keeper
Founded	1961
Membership	4,653
Ideology	Republicanism Socialism Scottish independence
Mother party	Scottish National Party
International affiliation	European Free Alliance Youth
Website	snpstudents.com

SNP Students (also known as the Federation of Student Nationalists) is the student wing of the Scottish National Party, representing students in Scottish higher education. It was formed in 1961 when various student organisations supportive of Scottish independence and the Scottish National Party in particular decided to join forces into a new constituent body.

Unlike Young Scots for Independence, which is the youth wing of the SNP, the group is for those in higher education and membership is not restricted by age.

The organisation has branches at most of Scotland's universities, and regularly campaigns for independence and a host of other policies across the country.

It is an autonomous body of the SNP and as such can devise its own policies, publicity and campaigns. Unlike the SNP it is expressly republican, and has in the past exhibited socialist sentiments.

The organisation was formed in 1961 and key figures were Neil MacCormick and Allan Macartney who would both later become SNP members of the European Parliament. By 1975 the group had around 1,500 members in Scotland.

It has played an active part in the affairs of the SNP and is represented on the party's National Executive Committee, in the past with a representative position shared with the Young Scots for Independence, but now each organisation has its own representative. The SNP Students can send up to 15 delegates to the SNP Annual National Conference and 6 delegates to meetings of its National Council.

In the 2000 SNP leadership election the organisation supported Alex Neil who lost to John Swinney. In the two subsequent leadership campaigns the organisation did not officially endorse any candidate.

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Wikipedia