He began in politics as a member of the Glasgow University Labour Club, before deciding to form the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association (GUSNA) in 1927. He then helped to form the National Party of Scotland in 1928 before leading them into a merger with the Scottish Party in 1934 to found the modern Scottish National Party (SNP). He resigned from the party in 1942 following his failure to persuade the party to adopt a devolutionist stance rather than supporting all out Scottish independence and due to the victory of Douglas Young over his favoured candidate William Power for the chairmanship of the party. Along with a number of dissatisfied delegates to that years SNP conference he established the Scottish Convention to campaign for home rule for Scotland.
MacCormick also took the decision to join the Liberal Party as he viewed them as being the party most closely allied to his devolutionist ambitions for Scotland.
He was elected rector of the University of Glasgow in 1950 as GUNSA's candidate, serving until 1953. This association with GUSNA also saw the formation of a poltical friendship with a then young law student at Glasgow University, Ian Hamilton, who had run his campaign to be elected rector.
He was involved, along with Hamilton, in the removal of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950 and its return to Arbroath Abbey. He was also responsible for the constitutional challenge, again along with Hamilton, over Queen Elizabeth using the title the second, rather than the first in Scotland (there has been no Elizabeth I of Scotland.
In the 1950s he formed the Scottish Covenant, a non-partizan political organisation which campaigned to secure the establishment of a devolved Scottish Assembly. This covenant was hugely successful in securing support from across the political spectrum as well as in capturing the Scottish public's imagination (over 2 million signed a petition demanding the convocation of an Assembly). However, in the longrun it proved unsuccessful in establishing the Assembly MacCormick so craved, and it would not be until nearly 40 years after his death would Home Rule be secured.
In 1955 MacCormick had a book detailing his activities in the home rule movement published entitled, The Flag in the Wind.
His son Iain served as SNP Member of Parliament for Argyll from 1974 till 1979, and his second son Neil was Professor of Law and Vice-Principal of the University of Edinburgh and elected a SNP Member of the European Parliament in 1999.