*We' in this instance was The spirited opposition to the proconference demonstrated beyond doubt that Sillars had failed to build a secure and stable majority for his policies inside the party which he himself had set up. It was the challenge to the leadership represented by the left that drove the into the apparent madness of expelling around half the But at the root of the expulsion lay one stark fact. The membership of the SLP has not expanded significantly since its foundation last January. The party had less than a thousand paid up fine ot Sillars leadership had failed a decisive test.
The SLP is now split. The Sillars wing of the party does not present a pretty picture. It is now mainly conSillars' own stamping ground of South Ayrshire.
But the dramatic shrinkage in its forces is only one consequence of the split. There has also been a dramatic shift towards openly nationalist posiThe main proponents of this position range from Tom Nairn to the right-wing bourgeois nationalists represented by George Easton.
This shift has the logic of entering the Scottish National Party. It can only be a matter of time before the matter of dual membership is raised formally PAISLEY LINWOO PAISLEY&