Top Sturgeon aide backs Salmond s Alba Party ONE of Nicola Sturgeon’s most trusted former advisers has backed voting for Alex Salmond’s new Alba Party. Noel Dolan, Ms Sturgeon’s senior special adviser and policy guru while she was deputy First Minister, said it would improve the odds of a pro-independence Holyrood. The endorsement comes in spite of the First Minister accusing list-only Alba of trying to game the Holyrood electoral system and asking people to give both their votes to the SNP. Mr Salmond, who is due to set out a route map to independence this afternoon, says Alba can mop up list votes that would otherwise be “wasted” if they went to the SNP, given their strength in constituencies makes it harder for them to get top-up MSPs.
Last modified on Tue 6 Apr 2021 15.41 EDT
Alex Salmond has claimed that resistance from Westminster to a fresh independence referendum âwill crumbleâ if Scottish voters elect a large number of pro-independence MSPs.
The former first minister said recent polls suggested a âsuper-majorityâ of up to 90 pro-independence MSPs could be elected in May, including a number from his new nationalist party, Alba, which launched at the end of last month.
Describing his new party as âthe grit in the independence oysterâ, Salmond said Albaâs goal was to push his successor as Scottish National party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, into opening talks on Scotland leaving the UK in the first week of the new parliament.
Alex Salmond is a gift to the Unionist cause spectator.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spectator.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated: April 5, 2021, 8:14 pm
Patrick Harvie.
Thank you for signing up to our Politics newsletter.
Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up
Alex Salmond has been compared with Nigel Farage in a swipe at the former first minister’s new pro-independence party.
Greens leader Patrick Harvie likened him to the Brexit campaigner in the battle for votes on Holyrood’s regional ballot. That’s where the Greens and Alba party will be hoping to secure MSPs on May 6, with both claiming they can provide more pro-independence politicians.
Mr Salmond said his fledgling group can increase the share of MSPs who want Scotland to leave the UK. However, Mr Harvie said there is no need for voters to switch from his party, which helped the SNP maintain the majority balance on the constitution since 2016.
Alex Salmond is to set out Alba s route to independence. ALEX Salmond will set out Alba s route to independence tomorrow at the launch of his new party s national campaign. The former First Minister will unveil the strategy for the key goal in Ellon on the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. Last month, the former SNP leader announced his return to frontline politics as leader of Alba which is bidding to achieve a supermajority for Yes in Holyrood at next month s elections. It is standing four candidates in each of Scotland s eight electoral regions but is not contesting any of the country s 73 constituencies and has called for supporters to vote for the SNP in those seats.