Five years ago, a new, self-described, pro-independence party split from the Scottish National Party with big and bold ambitions. Its aim was simple: while leaving the SNP alone in Scottish parliamentary constituencies, the party, known as the Alba Party, would compete for pro-independence votes on the regional list to create an “independence supermajority” in the Scottish Parliament.
Led initially by the late Alex Salmond, its logic was that the ‘Both votes SNP’ model was a pathway for unionist candidates to slip into Holyrood through the back door, and that by voting Alba and not SNP on the list, the Scottish Parliament could have an overwhelming number of pro-independence MSPs. This stance was heavily criticised by the SNP.
Now, five years after its founding and just before its second set of Scottish parliamentary elections, Alba has announced that it is “winding up” due to its “dire financial plight”, as put by its last party leader, Kenny MacAskill. This follows an announcement in late February by MacAskill that Alba was unlikely to stand in the 2026 Scottish elections.
The loss of a voice
Despite my initial admiration for Alex Salmond at the helm of the SNP and the campaign for Scottish independence in 2014, I never warmed to Alba. Despite its roster of left-wing members, its gender-critical views and inclusion of more right-wing thinking people like Ash Regan were off-putting. And, of course, the issue of Scottish independence, which as a socialist I oppose, was a non-starter. I could never have supported Alba.
Yet, I am sad, not for myself but for others, that a political party has met its demise. Political parties are an important part of not only governing the country, but ensuring democracy remains strong and that people have as many options as possible to make their voices heard. I feel, also, for the regular party members who have, thanks to decisions by those at the top, lost the party they worked hard for and felt they belonged to. Regardless of circumstance, losing your political home is never easy. I sincerely hope that party members and supporters can find another way to make their voices heard and find someone else who will represent their views.
Not bad news for everyone
Despite its passionate support for Scottish independence, the Alba Party did not get on with the Scottish National Party. Fears of Alba splitting the pro-independence vote were rife in the ranks of the SNP and it attracted much criticism from the dominant pro-independence party.
SNP MP for Perth and Kinross-shire, Pete Wishart, said of Alba’s demise in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “They were to be the purest of Indy fighters and if you didn’t go along, you were a ‘traitor’ or ‘trougher’”, as well as: “They ended up being the worst of us”. In the same post he referenced being threatened with legal action by Alba and being subject to demonstrations outside his office by its activists. In another post on its demise, he said:
“It was a textbook exercise on how to do everything wrong in establishing a new Indy party. Some of the strangest and most divisive people in the Indy movement weren’t satisfied in berating the SNP; they had to viciously turn on themselves. A salutary lesson for all Indy supporters.”
For me, as a liberal and socialist unionist, I personally shed no tears on behalf of myself for the loss of the Alba Party which, despite its self-proclamation as a left-wing party, attracted some on the right-wing of Scottish politics, promoted gender-critical ideology and the break-up of Britain. Yet I do, for those who believed in it, lament the loss of a voice in Scottish politics, a representation of a chunk of the electorate and a position in the debate on Scotland’s future. Regardless of views, as long as a party is not promoting hatred and division akin to the far right, which I don’t think Alba was doing from what I saw of it, it doesn’t deserve to be erased from the national debate.
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