part of what helped bring about the collapse in support for the party in 1979. Labour continues to ridicule the SNP for their claims of government interference. "The SNP appears totally paranoid. All the evidence shows they are absolutely no threat whatsoever to the British state," said a Labour spokesperson in response to the SNP's complaints. Despite these words, the Labour government has had several files on the SNP sealed for fifty years, citing reasons of national security. Factionalism after 1979 The party went into a period of decline after the failure to secure a devolved Scottish Assembly in 1979, its poor performance in the general election of that year, and a perceived complicity in helping Thatcher get elected by voting for the dissolution of the Labour government. A period of internal strife followed, culminating in the proscription of two internal groups, Siol nan Gaidheal and the left-wing 79 Group. However, several 79 Group members would later return to prominence in the party, including Alex Salmond, who would later lead the party. It proved too much for Margo MacDonald though, who was defeated by Douglas Henderson for the position of party deputy leader at the 1979 party conference, and left the SNP, angry at the treatment of the left wing of the party, although she would later return to the party and be elected as an MSP. There was also another internal grouping formed within the party, primarily as a response to the growth of the 79 Group entitled the Campaign for Nationalism in Scotland, with the support of traditionalists such as Winnie Ewing. This group sought to ensure that the primary objective of the SNP was campaigning for independence outwith a traditional left-right orientation. If the group was successful, it would have undone the work of figures such as William Wolfe, who moved the SNP to become a clearly defined social democratic party in the 1970s. The 1980s The period of internal factionalism inside the SNP came to an end at the 1982 SNP Conference, where internal factions were banned. The 79 Group, despite their proscription, were bolstered by the collapse of the Scottish Labour Party (SLP) in the aftermath of the 1979 election. This resulted in the SLP's leading figure, Jim Sillars deciding to join the SNP, as did a great number of other ex-SLP members. Sillars had been a Labour Party MP in the 1970s but, dissatisfied