The Search for a Rational Strategy: The Scottish National Party and Devolution 1974–79

The systematic study of the policy process of the Scottish National Party has been relatively neglected. It is argued here that rational choice theory can be used as a framework for the analysis of policy. The devolution issue is chosen as it presented especially difficult problems for the Party in terms of attempts to reconcile its basic aspirations with the desire to maximize electoral performance. The experience suggests that the constraints on a ‘rational’ (vote-winning) strategy were overwhelming as the Party progressively withdrew from the main arena of the electoral marketplace and concerned itself increasingly with ‘boardroom’ politics. It is argued that the Party leadership cannot be viewed as a coherent entity which consistently pursued a vote-winning strategy. It was beset by structural weaknesses and internal rivalries which were exacerbated and exposed with the progress of the devolution debate. This resulted in the Party's regress into sectarianism rather than progress to electoral ‘maturity’ as suggested by orthodox models of party development.