Wikipedia

Alba Party

Alba Party
Pàrtaidh Alba
LeaderKenny MacAskill[1]
ChairwomanDebbie Ewen[2]
Director of OperationsCorri Wilson[3]
Depute LeaderNeale Hanvey
FounderLaurie Flynn
Founded8 February 2021; 4 years ago (8 February 2021)
Split fromScottish National Party[4]
Headquarters17 Forth Street
Glasgow
G41 2SP
Membership (March 2025)5,002[5]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[14][a]
National affiliationScotland United
Colours  Blue   White
SloganNow is the Time
House of Commons (Scottish seats)
0 / 57
Scottish Parliament
0 / 129
Local government
1 / 1,226
Website
www.albaparty.org Edit this at Wikidata
^ a: The party was also described as centre-right in a single instance.[15]

The Alba Party (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Alba; Alba being the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland) is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. Founded in February 2021, it was led by former first minister of Scotland and SNP leader Alex Salmond until his death in 2024. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021, with the party standing only region (list) candidates, but no constituency candidates.

Two members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons defected from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Alba Party on 27 March 2021, and a member of the Scottish Parliament Ash Regan defected on 28 October 2023 before leaving in 2025. Several former SNP MPs also joined the Alba Party.

In the 2024 general election, the Alba Party stood candidates in 19 constituencies across Scotland but achieved just 11,784 votes and won no seats. All their candidates lost their deposits.[16]

History

[edit]

Background

[edit]

Alex Salmond served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1990 to 2000 and again from 2004 to 2014, and as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014.[citation needed] He was succeeded in both positions in 2014 by his former deputy, Nicola Sturgeon. Salmond resigned from the SNP in 2018 following accusations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.[17] He was acquitted of charges made against him in a subsequent court case in March 2020.[18] Later that year, the possibility of Salmond leading a new party supporting Scottish independence was discussed, in the context of a feud between Sturgeon and Salmond, who accused Sturgeon's "inner circle" of plotting against him.[19] Polling conducted in July 2020 reported that 40% of those who voted SNP at the 2019 general election would back a new independence-supporting party if it was led by Salmond.[19][20]

Founding

[edit]

The party was founded and registered with the Electoral Commission by the retired television producer Laurie Flynn on 8 February 2021.[citation needed][21] Alba (pronounced [ˈal̪ˠapə] in Scottish Gaelic and Scottish English, /ˈælbə/ in British English[22]) is the Gaelic name for Scotland.[23] On 26 March 2021, Salmond announced at the party's election launch that he had joined the party and would become the new leader, taking over from Flynn, after "discussions with Laurie and others from other list parties" over the prior weeks.[24] During the announcement of candidates, it gained its first elected member, councillor Chris McEleny, who previously had served as the SNP group leader on Inverclyde Council[25] and was due to be an SNP candidate for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[26] The MPs Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, as well as the former MP Corri Wilson, joined the party on 26 March.[27][28] The SNP's national equalities convener, Lynne Anderson, also defected to Alba.[29] BBC Scotland's political editor Glenn Campbell said the list of defectors to the party included "those who fear that gender self-identification for trans people poses a threat to women's rights" as well as politicians who personally support Salmond and his approach to Scottish independence.[30]

2021 Scottish Parliament election

[edit]

The party announced plans to stand at least four candidates for the list vote in every region in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[31] Intended candidates included Salmond standing for the North East Scotland region as well as former SNP members Chris McEleny standing for the West Scotland region, Eva Comrie for the Mid Scotland and Fife region (for which she was previously the SNP candidate),[citation needed] and Cynthia Guthrie for the South Scotland region.[24][32] Caroline McAllister, the SNP's women's convener and deputy leader of West Dunbartonshire council, joined the party and was announced as a candidate in the West Scotland region.[33] The party endorsed voting for the SNP in the constituency vote while voting for the Alba Party for the list vote, to ensure more pro-independence MSPs are elected.[34]

On 26 March 2021, the Leader of Action for Independence, former SNP MSP Dave Thompson, stated that the party would be standing down all their candidates to support Alba.[35][36] Tommy Sheridan who had been seeking election as part of Action for Independence, joined the Alba Party on 28 March.[37] On 29 March, former professional boxer Alex Arthur was announced as a list candidate, whilst former SNP MPs George Kerevan and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh and former MSP Jim Eadie joined later that day.[38][39]

The party failed to win any seats in the election,[40] after attracting only 1.7% of the vote.[41] It received 44,000 votes which was enough proportionally to win two or three seats, but its support was spread across multiple regions, with no concentration large enough to produce a seat.[42][43] Salmond said that the party's results were "creditable" given its recent founding.[44] According to Neville Kirk, some observers attributed Alba's poor performance to Salmond being "out of touch with the younger, greener and feminist activists attracted in large numbers to the independence cause", and to his "seemingly unapologetic behaviour towards his female staff complainants".[45] Some commentators also argued that Alba had benefitted Sturgeon individually by removing some of her most vocal internal party critics from the political scene.[46]

A few months after the election, on 28 June 2021, the Electoral Commission rejected all seven of Alba's official descriptions. In a round-up of recent decisions, the Commission said all seven proposed ballot paper slogans failed to "meet the requirements of a description".[47]

Criticism

[edit]

Sturgeon and the SNP criticised the new party, questioning Salmond's fitness to take public office given the sexual harassment claims against him.[48][49] Sturgeon said she would refuse to have any dealings with Salmond unless he apologises to the women who had accused him of harassment.[50] Alex Salmond refused to apologise during his titular sexual harassment scandal and was found not guilty of 12 charges, and not proven of one.[51]

Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, also criticised the new party, describing it as "a party thrown together", Neil Mackay called the party "Trumpian" and "a hotchpotch of social conservatives and nationalist fundamentalists".[52] The party was further criticised as "cynical" for potentially using women's rights as a campaign issue despite making misleading statements about one of their candidates' role in Glasgow City Council's equal pay dispute.

In April 2021, Margaret Lynch claimed that the SNP's Scottish Government was funding LGBT rights groups that wanted to lower the age of consent to 10 years old.[53][54] The SNP described this as "untrue" and Lynch was later criticised by Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie. The Scotsman repeated her claim that LGBT organisations which received "£2.8 million of Scottish public funds" have signed a letter advocating lowering the age of consent to 10 years of age.[55] LGBT charity Stonewall called on Lynch to retract the allegation about their organisation and apologise.[56] ILGA World released the statement that the claims are dangerous and irresponsible, that they urge those making or sharing them, to stop".[57] LGBT Youth Scotland described Lynch's claims as "vicious lies" and "an act of prejudice and discrimination that repeats harmful myths".[58] When asked by The Scotsman whether Lynch's position was also that of the party, Alba refused to comment.[59] Former SNP councillor Austin Sheridan left the Alba Party, describing Lynch's comments stating there was "no way I can be part of a party that tolerates such views.[60][61] In an article in The Times, Lynch claimed that trans rights would allow access by "sexual predators".[62] However, Alba as a party had not condemned the claim made by Lynch, members citing the Isla Bryson case during the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill push through where Bryson, a trans woman, was jailed within a women-only prison for sexually assaulting two women before transitioning.[63] Bryson was later relocated to a male-only prison, receiving eight years in jail.[64]

2022 Scottish local elections

[edit]

For the 2022 Scottish local elections, the Alba Party announced that 111 candidates would be standing in councils across Scotland to win as many as possible. Salmond launched the party's manifesto at the Caird Hall in Dundee with the main aim of electing the first councillors under the Alba banner. Ahead of the election, Salmond said that he was confident that the party would win seats.

The party failed to win any seats at the election, attracting 0.7% of first preference votes.[65] All of the councillors who defected to the party from the SNP failed to be elected, including Christopher McEleny, the party's General Secretary who only received 126 votes. In response to the result, Salmond expressed his disappointment with the outcome and said that it would take time for the party to build enough support to have candidates elected.[66]

Further activities

[edit]

The week after the elections, Kamran Butt, who although not elected was the most successful Alba candidate, defected to the SNP. He claimed that joining the SNP was the only way that independence and strong governance could be delivered in Scotland.[67] The same day, Salmond stated that all pro-independence parties needed to work together if Scottish independence was to be achieved. He said that the proposed 2023 independence referendum would need to take place, but if it didn't then there would be huge political change in Scotland in which Alba would play a strong part.[68]

In December 2022, polling suggested that Alba could win seats at the next Scottish Parliament election. 34% of voters who backed the SNP in the 2021 Scottish Parliament constituency vote said they would vote for Alba with their regional list ballot to return a greater number of pro-independence MSPs, with 19% support overall.[69]

In August 2023, Alba came under fire, after featuring a poster of then prime minister, Rishi Sunak, as vampire, with the slogan "No wonder he's laughing, he's got Scotland's oil." The same poster had been used against Margaret Thatcher by the SNP in the 1980's in response to the extracting of oil in the North Sea. Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser accused the party of racism, which was denied by Chris McEleny, who said: "In a democratic society, a political message that criticises the government of the day and the way it squanders resources is completely legitimate."[70][71][72][73]

In late August 2023, Alba announced they would not contest the October Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, called after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was suspended from the House of Commons and recalled from her seat for breaching COVID-19 regulations. They accused the SNP of rebuffing their call for only one pro-independence candidate and said that this would allow the SNP to "fly solo" in the ballot.[74][75] The seat was lost to Labour, who won an outright majority.

On 28 October 2023, former leadership candidate Ash Regan defected to Alba becoming the party's first member of the Scottish parliament and the party leader in the Scottish Parliament.[76] The same month the "Scotland United" technical group was formed in the House of Commons between Alba and independent MP Angus MacNeil.[77]

In 2024, Alba started a campaign in favour of keeping the Grangemouth Refinery open.[78][79]

In March 2024, Eva Comrie, the party's equalities convener who was also a founding member of the party, resigned from Alba, citing comments made by the party's women's convener, Yvonne Ridley, that trans-women are "assigned male at birth" as the reason. As a result, Salmond announced that Ridley was stepping down from the role.[80][81][82]

2024 general election

[edit]

In November 2023, Salmond confirmed that the Alba Party would field candidates at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.[83] In total, 19 candidates stood, including their sitting MPs: Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey.[84] At a press conference prior to candidate nominations closing, Salmond confirmed that he was not among the Alba candidates to be seeking election, instead telling journalists that it was his intention to contest the Banffshire and Buchan Coast seat at the next Scottish Parliament election.[85][86][87]

The Proclaimers endorsed the party's campaign to save the Grangemouth Oil Refinery in the election.[88]

In the election, Alba received 11,784 votes (0.5%), and were unsuccessful in returning any MPs.[89] Additionally, none of the candidates were successful in retaining their £500 election deposit, having failed to reach the 5% threshold required to do so.[90] Their best result came in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, where Hanvey took 2.8% of the vote.[91][92] MacAskill received 638 votes (1.5%) in Alloa and Grangemouth, coming behind Eva Comrie who ran as an independent.[93][94][95] Alba did not put up candidates in the North East of Scotland.[96] As a result, Salmond admitted that he had voted SNP in his home constituency of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.[97][98]

Death of Alex Salmond and 2025 leadership contest

[edit]
See also: 2025 Alba Party leadership election

On 12 October 2024, Salmond died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 69, whilst attending an event in North Macedonia.[99] Under the party's constitution, the deputy leader would become acting leader whenever the role is vacant, holding office until a leadership election could be held. As a result, Kenny MacAskill became the interim leader.[100]

On 9 January 2025, Ash Regan announced that she would be running in the leadership election to succeed Salmond.[101][102][103][104] In addition to the election of a new leader, the party also had a contest for the role of deputy leader, which saw Chris McEleny and Neale Hanvey stand for the position.[105][106] On 26 March 2025, MacAskill was announced as the next leader of Alba, securing 52.3% of the vote to Regan's 47.7%.[107][108] Hanvey won the deputy leadership election.[109]

MacAskill leadership

[edit]

In April 2025, MacAskill announced that Alba would once again field list-only candidates at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.[110]

Alba chose not to field a candidate for the 2025 Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, which was held due to the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie. The party said that their decision not to stand was as a mark of respect to McKelvie's work as an MSP, and to the wider independence movement.[111] Additionally, Alba reiterated their intention to run on the regional lists in 2026.[112]

Ash Regan withdrew from the party in October 2025 to sit as an independent MSP, leaving the party with no representation in the Parliament.[113] Later that month Hugh Kerr and Craig Murray left Alba to join Your Party.[114][115] Kerr argued that Alba "was in its death throes” and "likely to die", while Murray argued that "the need for a real left-wing party is urgent". In response, MacAskill stated that he respects their decision to switch parties; he also stated that the Alba Party intends to treat the 2026 Scottish Parliament election as a "de facto referendum" on Scottish independence and campaign on economic issues.[116]

On 28 November, the party launched a petition to halt onshore wind farm development in Scotland. The petition argues that expansion of onshore wind farms is unnecessary and unwanted by local communities, and that the wind farms "damage our landscape, don’t bring energy prices down, and in many cases are simply used to make a quick buck by corporate fat cats".[117] In December, it launched a similar campaign "It's Still Scotland's Oil", based on the SNP's "It's Scotland's Energy" campaign from the 1970s. The campaign protests the shutdown of Grangemouth refinery and Mossmorran plant, and argues for the importance of Scotland to develop its oil industry in order to create jobs and recreate the success of Norway's sovereign wealth fund.[118]

On 13 January 2026, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh stepped down as the party's chair due to personal reasons, although she remains a member of the party's national executive committee. MacAskill wrote that he expects her to return to the post in the future, and appointed Debbie Ewen as the interim chairwoman.[2][119]

Ideology and policies

[edit]

The Alba Party supports Scottish nationalism, advocating Scottish independence as an "immediate necessity".[120] It describes its objective as being to build a "socially just and environmentally responsible" Scotland.[121] The party proposes that, now that the reign of Queen Elizabeth II has ended, Scotland should become a republic with "an elected head of state with similar powers to the Uachtarán na hÉireann (the President of Ireland)", with the final document of a written constitution for this purpose to be confirmed by a referendum.[10][11] Its platform also opposed proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act until a citizens' assembly can be formed to discuss and debate the perceived conflicts between sex- and gender-based rights.[122] Alex Salmond described holding a gender-critical belief as a "cardinal aspect of ALBA policy".[123] In March 2022, Salmond unveiled a 38-page "Wee Alba Book" which makes the "fundamental case for independence", covering issues such as Europe, currency and borders.[124][125]

The party officially describes itself as left-of-centre,[126] and claims to be more left-wing than the Scottish National Party.[127] Regarding the party's ideology, Salmond stated: "I had an idea a while back when leading another political party. I thought that if the SNP could present as a coherent left of centre political party it could replace the Labour Party as the dominant force in Scottish politics. As it was for the SNP and Labour so is it now for Alba and the SNP."[128] The party has politicians with a variety of positions as members, such as Tommy Sheridan and George Kerevan on the left-wing,[129][130] as well as Kenny MacAskill, who is described as left-wing,[131] and a social democrat.[132] Ash Regan, the long-standing MP of the party, was considered centre-right, but she left the party in October 2025.[113] Salmond himself was described as left-wing.[133] After Salmond's death in 2024, George Kerevan wrote: "Making MacAskill leader would cement Alba's position on the centre-left." He described MacAskill as "passionate about independence and socialism".[134]

Some political commentators, such as Gerry Hassan, expressed skepticism of the party's claim to be "more left-wing and working class" than the SNP. Hassan claimed that "it is not that difficult to find a position to the left of the current centrist SNP" and that the Alba's allegiance to the left is superficial, predicting that it would "in a populist manner attempt to position itself to the left of the SNP on the Growth Commission's economics, the currency question, public spending, and Trident."[135] The Guardian's Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, labelled the party centre-right in 2024.[15] Europe Elects has classified the party as centre-left.[136] Nathalie Duclos of the University of Toulouse wrote that Alba is positioned on "the left or centre-left on the left-right axis",[137] and Italian journal Democrazia e Diritto described it as "social-democratic left".[138] It has also been described as the leftmost Scottish party along with the Greens,[139] left of the SNP,[140] and left-leaning.[141] ZNetwork described the party as "anti-NATO and anti-monarchy, among other left-wing markers."[142]

Economic policy

[edit]

Economically, the party describes itself as social democratic,[143] and has also been described as such by some observers, such as the Polish journalist Konrad Rękas,[144] and Democrazia e Diritto.[138] Two SNP Aberdeenshire councillors who defected to Alba in 2021, argued that they had done so to because they "are committed to a social-democratic independent Scotland".[145] The Common Weal Group, a SNP faction which promoted "genuine radical, anti-market policies", also defected to Alba, arguing that the party is building "a left-wing, progressive wing of the independence movement".[146] Alba called for "a far bolder and more progressive tax system", "a social security system based on fairness", and an end to "the Westminster system of punishing those most in need in our society".[137]

Alba proposes a state house-building company that would build houses above the existing targets, and a Scottish state energy corporation that would produce energy using wave power and tidal power.[147] It postulates that Scotland abandons pound sterling and the monetary union with the United Kingdom in favor of its own independent currency, arguing that Scotland "must have control over the money in its economy and how it’s managed".[148] The party is protective of Scotland's oil industry and opposes proposals to phase it out, likening such attempts to Margaret Thatcher's shutdowns of British coal mines that led to the 1984–1985 United Kingdom miners' strike and disempowerment of the British trade union movement.[149] In 2025, Alba launched a "It's Still Scotland's Oil" campaign inspired by SNP's 1970 "It's Scotland's Energy" one. Alba argues that Scotland can recreate Norway's oil and gas policies that developed Norwegian sovereign wealth fund worth over £1.5 trillion, and protests the shut down of Grangemouth refinery and Mossmorran plants.[118]

In an interview with El País, Salmond stated that Alba is more radical than SNP in terms of the economic program, proposing more left-wing policies: "It's true that we're also more radical [than SNP] in social and economic policy. Their proposals are good, but they're not enough. For example, the amount they want to allocate to each child to combat child poverty is ridiculous. We're proposing four times as much."[150] According to Gregor Gall, a factor in the creation of Alba was the rightward shift of SNP's leadership towards accommodation with neoliberalism, which led to defection of left-wing SNP factions to Alba.[151] According to Scottish Left Review, "most of the left in the SNP" had defected to Alba,[152] and the party is composed of "old SNP party cadres and avowed leftists."[153] In 2023, a pressure group within Alba named Radical Alba Campaign was created, seeking "to push the party to the left on its economic policy", arguing that Alba "made significant strides, but there is always room for improvement." Its proposals included a "people's bank" as well as a "citizen's chamber" within the Scottish Parliament.[154]

Social policy

[edit]

Tichys Einblick described the party as opposed to "SNP's woke side proposals",[155] while Fraser Macmillan wrote that it offers an alternative to voters who oppose "SNP's social liberalism".[156] Emilio Casalicchio writing for Politico in 2023 called the party socially conservative,[157] while Nathalie Duclos of the University of Toulouse argued that Alba's stance on gender identity "stems not from a conservative stance on equality issues but from a belief that gender self-identification threatens women’s ‘right to maintain their sex based protections’".[158] Javier Castro Cruz stated that the party appeals to "pro-independence voters who are more socially conservative, a group that voted strongly for Brexit".[159] In contrast, according to Fraser McMillan, Alba's voters in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election were found to be slightly to the left of the SNP supporters and did not meet "the profile of the socially conservative "alt-nat" caricature."[160] Edwige Camp-Pietrain stated that Alba's support is concentrated in areas with high unemployment and child poverty rates.[149]

Alba is officially opposed to further gender reforms proposed by the SNP,[161] and spoke against liberalisation of gender recognition laws.[162] Alex Salmond criticised the 2023 Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill as the "worst legislation in the history of devolution",[163] He also argued that the gender legislation is meant to distract from socioeconomic issues, stating: "Clearly, that's the most important issue on your mind, with your coat on, at home, shivering on a Saturday afternoon in Bucksburn. Let's get back to the issues that matter to people!"[164] Ash Regan cited this as a reason for joining Alba and called for an end to further legal action against the section 35 ruling by the UK Government.[165] Alba argues that the gender recognition laws proposed by the SNP administrations violate the 2010 Equality Act, as they would "allow any man to simply declare he is a woman" and "give males access to female spaces and services"; instead, Alba argues that women must have a right to single-sex spaces and sports.[166]

Canadian magazine L'Actualite has described Alba as "more socially conservative" than the SNP, "particularly regarding LGBTQ+ issues".[167] Journalist Helen Lewis argued that the party is ambiguous on social issues, on one hand comprising "older men for whom the new party is a refuge from wokeness", but including prominent lifelong feminists on the other. She noted that more than half of Alba's 2021 candidates were female. According to Caroline McAllister, a former SNP women's convener that defected to Alba, the party provides a safe "space where women can speak freely about their concerns about gender ideology". At the same time, she claimed that LGBT people, including transgender persons, are also welcome in the party.[168] Alba's Deputy Leader Neale Hanvey, who identifies as LGBTQ, called the transgender legislation "homophobia", claiming that "if we remove sex, there can be no homosexual."[169] Alba also supports republicanism, being critical of the British monarchy and arguing that Scotland must "move to an elected head of state".[170]

International policy

[edit]

Alba supports a future independent Scotland joining the European Free Trade Association (EFTA),[171] arguing that it would mitigate the negative effects of Brexit while avoiding the "obligations and restrictions" of becoming an EU member. The party does not want Scotland to rejoin the European Union, although it is open to holding a referendum on the issue. It staunchly opposes NATO membership, and demands the removal of British nuclear arsenal and the nuclear submarine base HMNB Clyde at Faslane from Scotland.[172][173] In reaction to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the party condemned "the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty" while also calling for "Russia’s own security interests" to be considered, stating that the West had broken its 1990s assurance to not expand eastwards and that the conflict can only be resolved through negotiation and dialogue with Russia.[174] In reaction to the Gaza war, the party expressed "solidarity with the Palestinian people" and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.[175]

In regards to Scottish independence, Kezia Dugdale described the party as "fundamental nationalists" who "want an independence referendum yesterday, definitely today, and not in two years", while also noting that the party's opposition to "more socially liberal policies" of the SNP is the key difference between Alba and the SNP.[176] Similarly, The Political Quarterly argues that the SNP and Alba correspond to the gradualist-fundamentalist split amongst Scottish nationalists, with the SNP representing gradualist nationalism and the Alba Party attempting to form a radically separatist, fundamentalist force.[177] Alba was described as "more populist" than SNP, and in 2021, 70% of its supporters wanted a Scottish independence referendum within 12 months, as opposed to 48% of SNP's supporters.[178]

Alba postulates the unification of Scottish national movement in order to recreate the 1980s Scottish Constitutional Convention that played a crucial role in the implementation of Scottish devolution. The party argues that the recreated convention would focus on Scottish independence. To this end, Alba has become associated with the All Under One Banner movement composed of non-aligned Scottish nationalists.[179] In 2023, Alba proposed an alliance with the SNP.[180] In 2025, the party again proposed a convention of pro-independence parties, but SNP and Scottish Greens reacted to the proposal with reluctance.[149]

Leadership

[edit]

Leader of the Alba Party

[edit]
Leader of the Alba Party
Name Entered office Left office Photo
1 Laurie Flynn 8 February 2021 25 March 2021
2 Alex Salmond 25 March 2021
(announced)[24] 		12 October 2024
[A]
3 Kenny MacAskill 12 October 2024
(announced)
[B] 		Incumbent

Deputy Leader of the Alba Party

[edit]
Deputy Leader of the Alba Party
Name Entered office Left office Photo
1 Kenny MacAskill 11 September 2021
(announced)[181] 		26 March 2025
2 Neale Hanvey 25 March 2025 Incumbent

Director of Operations of the Alba Party

[edit]
Director of Operations of the Alba Party
Name Entered office Left office Photo
1 Christopher McEleny
[C] 		4 June 2021 27 February 2025
- Corri Wilson
[D] 		27 February 2025 Incumbent

Leader of the parliamentary party, Scottish Parliament

[edit]
Leader of the parliamentary party, Scottish Parliament
Name Entered office Left office Photo
Ash Regan 28 October 2023 10 October 2025

Leader of the parliamentary party, House of Commons

[edit]
Leader of the parliamentary party, House of Commons
Name Entered office Left office Photo
Neale Hanvey 28 March 2021 30 May 2024

Representatives

[edit]

The party has not had any candidates directly elected. Their representatives, listed below, all defected having been elected as SNP candidates.[182]

MPs

[edit]
Name Former party Constituency Date defected Lost seat
Kenny MacAskill Scottish National Party East Lothian 26 March 2021 4 July 2024
Neale Hanvey Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath

MSPs

[edit]
Name Former party Constituency Date defected Date resigned party
Ash Regan Scottish National Party Edinburgh Eastern 28 October 2023[183] 10 October 2025[184]

Councillors

[edit]

Following Salmond's announcement, eleven councillors had joined the party by the end of March 2021. All eleven had been elected as SNP candidates, though three had already left that party.[185] This included three councillors on Aberdeenshire Council[186] and two on North Lanarkshire Council.[187]

Alba nominated 111 candidates for the 2022 Scottish local elections, including the 13 incumbent councillors who were elected as members of other parties before joining Alba. None were elected.[188]

In October 2023, Chris Cullen, a councillor in South Ayrshire Council defected from the SNP to Alba.[189]

In March 2024, Karl Rosie became the party's second councillor when he also defected to Alba.[190] He had been elected in Thurso and North West Caithness on The Highland Council and had left the SNP the previous month to sit as an independent.[190][191] In December 2025 he resigned from Alba and became a member of the Highland Independents group.[192]

Electoral performance

[edit]

House of Commons

[edit]
Election Leader Scotland Total seats ± Rank (UK) Rank (Scotland) Government
Votes % Seats
2024 Alex Salmond 11,784 0.5%
0 / 57
0 / 650
 22nd 7th Not in parliament

Scottish Parliament

[edit]
Election Leader Regional Total seats ± Rank Government
Votes % Seats
2021 Alex Salmond 44,913 1.7
0 / 56
0 / 129
 Steady 6th Not in parliament

Local elections

[edit]
Election Leader Votes Seats ± Councils Notes
Votes % Pos.
2022 Alex Salmond 12,335 0.7 Steady 7th
0 / 1,226
0 / 32

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Died in office.
  2. ^ Acting between 12 October 2024 and 26 March 2025.
  3. ^ The position was known as General Secretary between June 2021 and April 2025.
  4. ^ The position was known as General Secretary between February and April 2025.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Perry, Robert (14 October 2024). "Alba Party will continue Alex Salmond's legacy, says acting leader". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b Amery, Rachel (13 January 2026). "Alex Salmond ally stands down as chair of Alba Party". The Scotsman.
  3. ^ Wilson, Corri (14 April 2025). "Corri Wilson appointed Director of Operations of Alba Party". Twitter. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  4. ^ McCall, Chris (30 March 2021). "Former SNP MP joins Alex Salmond's new Alba Party as defections continue". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  5. ^ Brown, Hannah (26 March 2025). "MacAskill wins Alba leadership following Salmond's death". The Herald. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  6. ^ Brooks, Libby (26 March 2021). "Alex Salmond launches new independence-focused Alba party". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  7. ^ Brooks, Libby (26 March 2021). "Scottish opposition offered easy hit by Alex Salmond party launch". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  8. ^ Jefferson, Rodney (26 March 2021). "Alex Salmond Will Lead a New Scottish Party Into May Election". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  9. ^ [6][7][8]
  10. ^ a b "Where we stand - Elected Head of State and Written Constitution". ALBA. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b Harrison, Jody (11 September 2021). "Alba Party: Members push for republic after vote in favour of scrapping monarchy". The Herald. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  12. ^ [10][11]
  13. ^ Davies, Gareth; Sanderson, Daniel (26 March 2021). "Alex Salmond returns to politics to lead new pro-independence Alba Party – watch live". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  14. ^
    • Duclos, Nathalie (2025). "Fragmentation in the Scottish Independence Movement". In Emmanuelle Avril; Laurence Cossu-Beaumont; David Fée; Fabrice Mourlon (eds.). Fragmented Powers: Confrontation and Cooperation in the English-Speaking World. University of Toulouse, France: Emerald Publishing Limited. p. 115. doi:10.1108/9781836084129. ISBN 978-1-83608-412-9. All movement organisations bar one (All Under One Banner, which does not claim to be either left wing or right wing) present themselves as left wing. An analysis of the policies defended by the pro-independence parties confirms that they can all be situated on the left or centre-left of the left–right axis. The fact that the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialists are left wing certainly goes without saying, but, less obviously, so are the small nationalist parties, with the ISP (2022, p. 10), for instance, supporting a Universal Basic Income for all permanent legal residents of Scotland, and Alba arguing that…
    • Iqbal, Waleed; Tyson, Gareth; Castro, Ignacio (5 July 2024). "How Similar Are Elected Politicians and Their Constituents? Quantitative Evidence From Online Social Networks". arXiv:2407.03255 [cs.SI]. In the UK we find 11 political parties with elected politicians. We classify them into right and left-wing as in. Three small parties are not included in classification: Social Democratic and Labour Party (2 constituencies, 10,944 posts), Alba Party (2 constituencies, 1,645 posts), and Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (1 constituency, 4,224 posts). We manually classify these as left-wing by inspecting their corresponding official website.
    • Furzi, Simone (2023). "Scozia. Origini e prospettive di un percorso diviso tra autonomia e indipendenza" [Scotland. Origins and prospects of a path divided between autonomy and independence]. Democrazia e Diritto (in Italian). 59 (3). FrancoAngeli: 50. doi:10.3280/DED2022-003003. ISSN 1972-5590. Alba Party si collocò nell'area della sinistra socialdemocratica. [Alba Party is located on the social-democratic left.]
    • Usano, Carlos (14 March 2023). "El futuro del SNP y del nacionalismo escocés tras la dimisión de Nicola Sturgeon". Descifrando la Guerra (in Spanish). Además, podría llevar al SNP a moverse a la derecha para intentar atraer a todo el espectro político independentista. Un movimiento de este calibre podría desencadenar una pérdida de votos en favor de formaciones situadas más a la izquierda, como los Verdes o el Alba Party, o incluso provocar una ruptura del partido. [Furthermore, it could lead the SNP to move to the right in an attempt to attract the entire pro-independence political spectrum. A move of this magnitude could trigger a loss of votes in favour of leftmost parties such as the Greens or the Alba Party, or even cause a split in the party.]
    • Hansen, Claudia (25 April 2021). "Showdown in Schottland". Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Die Rückkehr Salmonds auf die politische Bühne droht die Verhältnisse in Holyrood kompliziert zu machen. „Times"-Kolumnist Alex Massie nannte die Alba-Gründung „das politische Äquivalent eines Rache-Pornos". […] Salmond spricht eher ältere, konservativere Wähler an, Sturgeons SNP hat sich indessen ganz auf die „progressive" Seite geschlagen. Das ist das Besondere der schottischen „Nationalisten": Sie stehen in allen gesellschaftspolitischen Fragen weit links. [Salmond's return to the political stage threatens to complicate the situation in Holyrood. Times columnist Alex Massie called the founding of Alba “the political equivalent of revenge porn.” [...] Salmond speaks to older, more conservative voters, while Sturgeon's SNP embraces the “progressive” faction instead. That is what makes Scottish “nationalists” so special: all of them are sociopolitically far on the left.]
    • 2023 Modern Studies (PDF). Advanced Higher Finalised Marking Instructions (Report). Scottish Qualifications Authority. 2023. p. 25. In Scotland nationalism is best seen in the Scottish National Party and in the more recently created Alba Party. These left-wing parties trumpet a separate Scottish identity and advocate for an independent.
    • Hassan, Gerry (20 September 2024). "Scotland Ten Years on from the Indyref". Bella Caledonia. This sold-out event brought together a host of speakers, some drawing from the former Radical Independence Campaign whose leading lights morphed into Conter after the electoral failure of RISE, and included various strands of the left: the SNP, Alba, academia, trade unionists, and campaigners.
    • Agirrezabal, Aitor (29 March 2021). "Salmond, ¿piloto o copiloto hacia un nuevo referéndum?". naiz.eus (in Spanish). Alba Party ha aterrizado con la mira puesta en los comicios de mayo y con el objetivo de lograr una «supermayoría» indepdentista que haga inevitable un segundo referéndum de independencia. Pero escarbando un poco en el anuncio, se atisba el partido a la izquierda del SNP. [Alba Party has landed with its sights set on the May elections and the goal of achieving a pro-independence "supermajority" that would make a second independence referendum inevitable. But digging a little deeper into the announcement, a party to the left of the SNP can be seen.]
    • "Scotland - Europe Elects". europeelects.eu. Europe Elects. 2024. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Alba Party (ALBA)
      Leader: Vacant
      Orientation: Regionalist, centre-left
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  127. ^ Kerevan, George. "Whither the Scottish Left?". Scottish Left Review. The other big story from the local elections is that the Alba Party – which sees itself to the left of the SNP – failed to make any gains and lost all of its sitting councillors, even after fielding around one hundred candidates.
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  132. ^ Bambery, Chris (31 March 2021). "Scottish independence at a crossroads: where has Alba come from?". Counterfire. Kenny MacAskill is a social democrat and Neale Hanvey has a track record as a trade union activist.
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  136. ^ "Scotland - Europe Elects". europeelects.eu. Europe Elects. 2024. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Alba Party (ALBA)
    Leader: Vacant
    Orientation: Regionalist, centre-left
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  138. ^ a b Furzi, Simone (2023). "Scozia. Origini e prospettive di un percorso diviso tra autonomia e indipendenza" [Scotland. Origins and prospects of a path divided between autonomy and independence]. Democrazia e Diritto (in Italian). 59 (3). FrancoAngeli: 50. doi:10.3280/DED2022-003003. ISSN 1972-5590. Alba Party si collocò nell'area della sinistra socialdemocratica. [Alba Party is located on the social-democratic left.]
  139. ^ Usano, Carlos (14 March 2023). "El futuro del SNP y del nacionalismo escocés tras la dimisión de Nicola Sturgeon". Descifrando la Guerra (in Spanish). Además, podría llevar al SNP a moverse a la derecha para intentar atraer a todo el espectro político independentista. Un movimiento de este calibre podría desencadenar una pérdida de votos en favor de formaciones situadas más a la izquierda, como los Verdes o el Alba Party, o incluso provocar una ruptura del partido. [Furthermore, it could lead the SNP to move to the right in an attempt to attract the entire pro-independence political spectrum. A move of this magnitude could trigger a loss of votes in favour of leftmost parties such as the Greens or the Alba Party, or even cause a split in the party.]
  140. ^ Agirrezabal, Aitor (29 March 2021). "Salmond, ¿piloto o copiloto hacia un nuevo referéndum?". naiz.eus (in Spanish). Alba Party ha aterrizado con la mira puesta en los comicios de mayo y con el objetivo de lograr una «supermayoría» indepdentista que haga inevitable un segundo referéndum de independencia. Pero escarbando un poco en el anuncio, se atisba el partido a la izquierda del SNP. [Alba Party has landed with its sights set on the May elections and the goal of achieving a pro-independence "supermajority" that would make a second independence referendum inevitable. But digging a little deeper into the announcement, a party to the left of the SNP can be seen.]
  141. ^ McMillan, Joyce (24 October 2024). "Alex Salmond's death must not be used to push SNP back to its fundamentalist past". The Scotsman. And his response, when he finally broke with the SNP to set up his new Alba Party in 2021 – still left-leaning, but increasingly reactionary on social matters, and ever more fundamentalist in their fantasy pursuit of immediate independence…
  142. ^ Murray, Craig (19 September 2024). "A New Left Wing Party in the UK?". ZNetwork.
  143. ^ Finnis, Alex (2 April 2021). "What does Alba mean? The name of Alex Salmond's new party explained, and what we know about it". The i Paper. Setting out its aims, the Alba Party said: "National independence for Scotland as an immediate necessity, and overwhelming priority, achieved by democratic means through a vote of people resident in Scotland. "The promotion of all Scottish interests, and the building of an economically successful, environmentally responsible and socially-just independent country, through the pursuit of a social democratic programme."
  144. ^ Rękas, Konrad [in Polish] (24 October 2022). "Escocia independiente fuera de la OTAN: propuestas del partido ALBA" (in Spanish). Así como el apoyo inequívoco al desarme global y la no proliferación, estos son los fundamentos de la política de seguridad para la Escocia independiente, propuesta por el Partido socialdemócrata-nacional ALBA, encabezado por el ex Primer Ministro Alex Salmond. [Along with unequivocal support for global disarmament and non-proliferation, these are the foundations of the security policy for an independent Scotland proposed by the social-democratic national Alba Party, led by former First Minister Alex Salmond.]
  145. ^ Jones, Tim (7 November 2023). "More political division in the Yes movement could be beneficial". The National (Scotland). All parties with elected representatives (SNP, Greens, Alba) are left-of-centre social democrats who favour European integration, progressive taxation, and large-scale welfare provision. However, these views are far from universal amongst potential voters for independence.
  146. ^ Webster, Laura (30 March 2021). "SNP Common Weal Group's George Kerevan and Craig Berry quit to join Alba Party". The National.
  147. ^ Morell, Raymond (31 March 2021). "Alba and the Crisis of Indy Movement Leadership". conter.scot.
  148. ^ Duclos, Nathalie (2025). "Fragmentation in the Scottish Independence Movement". In Emmanuelle Avril; Laurence Cossu-Beaumont; David Fée; Fabrice Mourlon (eds.). Fragmented Powers: Confrontation and Cooperation in the English-Speaking World. University of Toulouse, France: Emerald Publishing Limited. p. 112. doi:10.1108/9781836084129. ISBN 978-1-83608-412-9.
  149. ^ a b c Camp-Pietrain, Edwige (2025). "Les élections générales de 2024 en Écosse : confirmation de l'instabilité ou réalignement?" [The 2024 General Election in Scotland: Persistent Instability or Realignment?]. Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique. Is the United Kingdom (Still) Unstable? The 2024 General Election and Beyond. 30 (3). doi:10.4000/14qkf.
  150. ^ de Miguel, Rafa (4 May 2021). "Alex Salmond: "El Gobierno español estaría encantado de que Escocia volviera a la UE"". El País.
  151. ^ Gall, Gregor (2022). A New Scotland: Building an Equal, Fair and Sustainable Society. Pluto Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7453-4510-9. Under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP Scottish Government's links with big business grew significantly. In 2016, Sturgeon appointed Andrew Wilson, a corporate lobbyist and former RBS head of group communications, to write the SNP's economic strategy. Wilson (2018) advocated a pro-market vision for an independent Scotland. These developments opened up a split in the ranks of the SNP – especially over the proposal to keep using sterling after independence, effectively binding the Scottish economy to the interests of London finance capital. Many SNP members denounced the report as an ideological justification for pursuing neo-liberal policies. These tensions were one factor in the creation of the Alba political party, led by Alex Salmond, in 2021. Paradoxically, the SNP leadership's rightward shift towards accommodation with neo-liberalism (or at least with globalist sections of Scottish domestic capital) occurred just as anticapitalist resistance was growing in England via the Corbyn project within Labour.
  152. ^ Gall, Gregor (2022). "Asking an awkward question and needing an honest answer: What's left of the left?" (PDF). Scottish Left Review (130). Hampden Advertising Ltd: 3. Led by Alex Salmond, Alba, which most of the left in the SNP defected to, stood 111 candidates but had none elected.
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  155. ^ Nikolaidis, Matthias (29 April 2024). "Schottland: Umstrittener Regierungschef Humza Yousaf tritt zurück" (in German). Unüberwindbar scheint der Graben zur Alba-Partei, die sich ebenso für die Unabhängigkeit Schottlands einsetzt, aber Anstoß am wokem Nebenprogramm der SNP nimmt. [The divide with the Alba Party, which also advocates Scottish independence but takes offence at the SNP's woke side proposals, seems insurmountable.]
  156. ^ McMillan, Fraser (2021). "Parliamentary elections in Scotland, 6 May 2021". BLUE. 1 (1). Cairn.info: 91. As the elections approached, Salmond was not ready to leave the Scottish political scene and attempted a comeback as leader of the new Alba party. This party only fielded candidates in the regional proportional representation elections and adopted aggressive pro-independence positions, thus offering an alternative to members of the independence movement who opposed both the SNP's social liberalism and its cautious, pragmatic approach to securing a second referendum.
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  164. ^ Jova, Pierre (14 March 2023). "Kate Forbes, trop chrétienne pour les indépendantistes écossais ?". La Vie (in French). Du pain béni pour Alex Salmond, ancienne tête de proue du SNP, qui a fondé en 2021 l'Alba Party, concurrent de son ancien mouvement. Le 10 février 2023, en tournée dans la banlieue d'Aberdeen, port industriel de la mer du Nord, le tribun nationaliste a ridiculisé la loi sur la reconnaissance des genres, en évoquant une femme de la ville qui n'a pas les moyens de se chauffer: «C'est clairement la question la plus importante dans votre esprit, avec votre manteau sur la tête, à la maison, grelottant un samedi après-midi à Bucksburn», a-t-il ironisé, devant une assemblée conquise d'ouvriers, de pêcheurs et d'employés. « Revenons à la hauteur des enjeux qui comptent pour les gens!» [This is a godsend for Alex Salmond, former leader of the SNP, who founded the Alba Party in 2021 to rival his former movement. On 10 February 2023, while touring the suburbs of Aberdeen, an industrial port on the North Sea, the nationalist leader ridiculed the gender recognition law, referring to a woman in the city who cannot afford to heat her home: ‘That's clearly the most important issue on your mind, with your coat over your head, at home, shivering on a Saturday afternoon in Bucksburn,’ he quipped, before a captivated audience of workers, fishermen and employees. ‘Let's get back to the issues that matter to people!’]
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  173. ^ Rękas, Konrad [in Polish] (24 October 2022). "Escocia independiente fuera de la OTAN: propuestas del partido ALBA" (in Spanish). La Segunda Convención Nacional del Partido ALBA (representado en la Cámara de los Comunes del Reino Unido por dos parlamentarios) se opuso enérgicamente a la adhesión a la OTAN, exigió la liquidación de la base de submarinos nucleares británicos en Faslane, cerca de Glasgow, que forma parte del sistema TRIDENT, y la eliminación de armas nucleares del territorio del estado escocés liberado. [The Second National Convention of the Alba Party (represented in the UK House of Commons by two MPs) strongly opposed NATO membership, demanded the closure of the British nuclear submarine base at Faslane, near Glasgow, which is part of the TRIDENT system, and the elimination of nuclear weapons from the territory of the liberated Scottish state.]
  174. ^ Gordon, Tom (22 February 2022). "Alex Salmond's Alba party asks West to think about 'Russia's security interests' in Ukrainian crisis". The Herald.
  175. ^ "Immediate Ceasefire". 2023.
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  178. ^ Pittock, Murray (2021). Hanno Brand (ed.). Scotland and Brexit: the Road to Now. NISE Essays 7. Antwerp: Peristyle. p. 36. ISBN 9789464367508. In the May 2021 General Election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) did not reach the heights it had hit in the polls in the weeks before Brexit, but reached some 48% of the popular vote in the constituencies, with a lower vote for the 56 list seats, where the pro-independence Scottish Greens and the activist and more populist Alba Party (70% of whose supporters want a referendum in 12 months, as opposed to 48% of SNP and 35% of Green voters) shared about a fifth of the Nationalist vote between them.
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