Stephen Maxwell is a Scottish nationalist. He came to prominence in the 1970s when he was elected to the Lothian Regional Council at a by-election for Wester Hailes in Edinburgh as a Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate. He became a leading figure in the socialist 79 Group within the SNP and stood for leader of the SNP in 1980 when William Wolfe stood down as leader. He received 117 votes, to Gordon Wilson's 530 (a third candidate, Willie MacRae got 52 votes). Maxwell was expelled from the SNP (along with Alex Salmond who would become SNP leader in 1990) for his activities within this group in 1981. He was later readmitted to the SNP and remains committed to Scottish independence. He is now an associate director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, SCVO.
