William Wolfe Gordon Wilson There was an election to choose a new leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) held in 1979.

In 1978, he announced that he intended to stand down the following year and, as a result, he had little involvement with the party's campaign in the 1979 United Kingdom general election.

The election went very badly for the SNP, which lost nine of its eleven seats in Parliament.

[3] In response, those who wished to prioritise independence over all other considerations formed the Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland.

Three candidates stood to replace Wolfe: Wilson easily won the election, with 530 votes.