A Guest blog by James Montgomery
When the Alba Party was just a few weeks old, it attempted an electoral pact with the SNP for the Holyrood Election. Alex Salmond was advising Scottish Independence voters to Vote SNP in the Constituency and Alba on the list to produce a Super Majority at Holyrood. Nicola Sturgeon declined that and instead set about on her ill-fated Unionist enabling SNP 1-2 strategy.
In 2022 the Alba Party once more offered an alliance along with the ISP they promoted a vote for all independence parties at the local authority council elections. This was another opportunity to maximise the independence vote. Once again Sturgeon’s SNP rejected any notion of an agreement with other independence supporting parties. Instead, she ordered a campaign based on SNP only and no other party. This action proved beneficial to the Unionist Parties and detrimental to the SNP and the independence cause.
Sturgeon’s inability to work with others allowed the unionists to form many unionist coalitions throughout Scotland. Locking the SNP out of many councils despite them being the largest party in most of Scotland was the unionists tactic. I believe the phrase most applicable here is, Ms Sturgeon cut off her nose to spite her own face.
This year when the SNP began their campaign to find a new leader all three candidates promised us that, independence and unity were their prime objectives. Of course, as soon as he had been elected, Mr Continuity Yousaf conveniently forgot all his campaign promises. From I will be your First Activist Scotland to, I will be your most humble servant King Charles in under a week!
Now once more we have the Alba Party offering a hand of unity and friendship to the SNP. Alba have been advocating and agitating for a Constitutional Convention in Scotland to reignite the independence campaign.
It was such a body headed by Canon Kenyon Wright who was a minister of the Scottish Episcopal Church as well as a political campaigner that proved the catalyst for Holyrood coming into being in the first place.
Wright chaired the Scottish Constitutional Convention, which laid the groundwork for the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999. All the political parties in Scotland including two of the English registered parties the British Labour Party and the British Liberal Party participated. Needless to say the Tories did not want anything to do with such a campaign.
The Conservative Party as its name indicates is loathe to any change, any modernisation, any extension of equality, fairness or democracy indeed all of these things are an anathema to Tories. Status quo and a yearning for some mythical good old days is their motivation. Their wet dream is to get England back to the times before Windrush when Mother England was predominately white and workers and the poor and under privileged all knew their place. Ridiculous but Tory Party ethos!
A Constitutional Convention is vital and necessary if we are to get Scottish Independence on the move again. The Alba Party plan includes a strategy of Scotland United for the UK General Election in 2024. All independence parties agreeing to one pro indy candidate per Scottish constituency.
Mr Salmond said that the three nationalist parties could all stand candidates in parts of the country under a “Scotland United” banner which would tell voters to put party rivalries aside and to vote for Scottish independence.
He said: “If you fight it as a normal election, then into that election, inevitably will come all sorts of stuff from the SNP Government’s track record, which frankly is going to be difficult to defend.
The beauty of a ‘Scotland United’ strategy, all united under one line in a manifesto means you’re fighting it on the single principle that a nation should be independent, as opposed to what some politician has or hasn’t done in the previous 5 years.
You have got to mobilise the people of Scotland behind a reasonable objective to give heart to the independence movement, which is supported by so many. They need a date and an event to mobilise around.
The place to begin all of this rests with a Constitutional Convention. It can be called almost immediately. All that is needed is willing and a suitable venue and representatives of all those interested in advancing Scotland’s cause. Politicians, Trade Unionists, Captains of industry, academics, clerics, ordinary citizens.
The onus really is on the SNP to show some willing and some leadership. For nine years now the party under Sturgeon has pushed away the YES Movement and those people who are the most strident when it comes to independence. For the sake of the SNP and Scotland that SNP behaviour needs reversed.
The SNP themselves must see that support for independence is growing while support for the SNP is falling. The most recent poll by Survation showed independence at 53% while support for the SNP is 12 points lower at 41%.
Uniting the entire YES Movement is the single most sensible and feasible strategy to pursue. The SNP will quickly feel the benefits if they embrace this all encapsulating plan.
However should they once again dismiss the overtures of the YES Movement they could face quite a backlash at the ballot box. The one independence candidate for each seat makes perfect sense. It means the independence vote is maximised throughout Scotland. It is a defacto Independence Plebiscite and referendum all-in-one, and it cannot be called out as illegal!
The Unionists will not boycott it or stand down candidates in any seat. Their prime objective is power in England at Westminster. The yoons are caught on the horns of a dilemma. England is where their priority lies so they will fight all seats.
If they were to make a Better Together MkII pact with their fellow English Parties then we have a referendum by another name. It becomes a binary choice General Election! It cannot be deemed illegal because it is the election to the Union Parliament fought on the rules laid down by Westminster!
Not only will it be ‘legal’ the result will engender recognition by the world. Westminster cannot deem it otherwise for if they do, they are calling themselves illegal! They are caught whichever way they jump!
Other factors to note, as this is a UK wide vote centred on England as always, the London media and politicos will be too busy in England trying to win the keys to No. 10 to bring their bile to Scotland in the manner they did in 2014.
This means Anas Sarwar, Douglas Ross and ACH are the unionist defence in Scotland. If we cannot easily kick those three into touch, we do not deserve independence!
For Scottish independence this is a win-win situation. The SNP and Scotland United will hold and win more seats together than they could possibly hope for fighting as separate parties and factions. The movement will once more be united and when that happens, Scotland wins!
Should Humza decide to listen to the devolutionists and wokerati and reject this sensible strategy he is condemning his party to huge losses at Westminster and beyond. I think it is obvious to most observers now that the Scottish electorate is sick and fed up with the SNP procrastination over independence!
If they say no, then we can expect Alba and ISP to stand if not in every seat certainly in seats of those that have done Scotland harm. That means they will contest every seat at present held by a unionist MP. Then they could pick SNP seats like those in Perth and North Perthshire. Ochil and South Perthshire, Stirling, Glasgow South, Paisley and Renfrewshire South, Aberdeen North, Aberdeen South, Lanark and Hamilton East, Ross, Skye and Lochaber, Dundee West, Dundee East, East Renfrewshire, Livingston, Glasgow North. Splitting the indy vote in these seats would likely result in most, if not all SNP seats being lost.
That is the price the SNP will pay if they keep ignoring and treating the independence movement with contempt. This time as the hand of friendship and unity is extended to you, I respectfully suggest you grasp it tightly, it is in your own best interests. More importantly it is in the best interests of Scotland.
A good place to start is to reschedule your ‘Special Conference’ to another weekend that does not conflict with the AUOB Bannockburn March. That shows your good faith and intentions.
Your choice SNP, Heroes or Zeros?
Extremely worthwhile and informative article by James Montgomery. Should open many eyes!
Laudable the offer certainly is, however, I would find it very difficult to cast my vote for the SNP.
Since Alex resigned the SNP has renaiged on every promise they made and I would not trust them in this most important vote. Their actions so far speak for themselves. I can’t see any better alternative to this though, so Humza Yusef has got a very short window to overturn my doubt about his ability and willingness to cooperate. Changing the date of the “Special Conference” would certainly be the first step. Hmmm.
“Your choice SNP, Heroes or Zeros?”
I think we all know what the response of the leadership cabal is to this already.
The question really is will leading “dissidents” like Jo Cherry, Ash Regan and Angus B MacNeil together with the remaining membership find their inner hero and force change at their special conference?
Independence will never be won at Westminster. Therefore, is it worth Alba contesting seats at the GE? Leave the SNP to suffer their losses. They can’t blame anyone else.
The SNP would dominate the United slate and many will struggle to vote SNP. Their campaign would put party before country, again.
It’s a hard pill to swallow but the real Indy parties should start their build up to the Holyrood elections. Keep their resources for the real battle, where Indy can be won, Holyrood.
There is no point in sending MP’s to London if they only settle down and don’t settle up! They are treated with disdain and a joke. They will never get anything from Westminster.
You miss the point this is more about reuniting our movement than anything else. I would also refer you to the UKGE of 1918 and point you towards the results on the island of Ireland.
Roddy, I really do believe your kidding yourself regarding unity within the movement. While Humza is leader he’d rather see the SNP destroyed than work with any other true Indy party. You said it your self what former SNP leader wouldn’t say in the Tories offered a section 30 then we’d have no option but to put the Tories back in power in order to delivery Scotland dream Independence.
We need a unified YES Movement either with or if needs be without the SNP
My view is that independence will be achieved without the SNP.
The SNP are now being seen for what they have become Devolutionist administrators who are absolutely against independence. Already as can be seen ftom the polls the SNP vote is collapsing whilst the independence vote is rising. Put simply the SNP are becoming utterly decoupled from independence in the eyes of the voting public. And this will only increase.
Ireland in 1918 went through the very same process. The Irish Home Rule Party decoupled from independence and were wiped out and replaced.
The SNP, unless they change, and change quickly are history. But frankly who needs an SNP as it has become. Independence certainly doesn’t
The SNP are now in place to stymie independence.
Roddy I am fully behind you on that. I’ll be going to Bellshill on Saturday 3rd of June to help out, all hand on board.
We really enjoyed your midweek Prism show, listening to Niel about Plaid Cymru its as if the SNP have taken a leaf out of their book on devolution.
Well done you. The breakthrough will come compliments of boots on the ground something no other party has these days.
The NuSNP have been infiltratrated beyond redemption. Useless is just a Sturgeonite puppet whose strings are pulled in London, his instructions come directly from our colonial masters. The Nu SNP will never enter a packed with Alba or the ISP for the liberation of Scotland. It’s all about destroying the independence movement , smothering it from the inside while keeping the gravy train flowing enriching themselves in the process. They are mismanaging Scotland by design to create the colonial naritive that we are to stupid to govern ourselves. This way the colonial masters can carry on with the theft of our resources. Divide and rule is the colonial game. We must get smart and vote with our feet for Alba and ISP a national liberation party to Unite everyone AUOB is what is needed to drive the cause forward . We will never get independence voting for a dud compromised SNP. Hope of a internal purge or cleansing of the Nu SNP dead beats is delusional .
Alastair your eyes are open and you can see what i have been seeing for a long time. Sturgeon has a job to do for her unionist masters and to date she has pretty much succeeded except on the point of Alex Salmond that she never managed to destroy him. She has partially succeeded in destroying the 1) The Economy 2) The snp. She and fellow cabal (unionists) are in the process of trying to destroy the yes movement and the appetite of the Scottish people for INDEPENDENCE but that does not seem to be working out to the way they thought it would. Her unionist masters never thought for one moment that this woman was a failure through and through and has never succeeded at anything. I have also believed for a long time this woman is the genuine article “a plant” for a very long time as there have been to many things that she has done to be coincidental and even now she is still pulling the strings in the background. Useless will continue down the same road until we manage to get rid of them possibly at the next election.
” this woman is the genuine article “a plant””
I expect we’ll soon see John, when/if the rumoured international post/reward requiring the Downing Street stamp of approval is announced. It will be interesting to see how they spin their way out of that one.
I hhjnk tour last set of options is the most likely way forwards.
I don’t see Humza Useless taking any agreement with Alba and ISP before or after GE 2024.
The best strategy is as you outlined and let’s get rid of Slippers Pete , The Lord Law of Dundee West and other devolution unionists in Nu SNP.
It is not that difficult to organise 59 candidates to stand for Scotland’s liberation in all parts of Scotland and only for that purpose. If the SNP elite don’t agree with that they need to be discarded. The Movement need a decision on this soon as a GE could be called at any time.
A follow up on Gordon Brown’s latest self-aggrandising outing. This appears to have been something a damp squib.
There’s a curious silence around Broon’s, Thursday evening “rally”. Nothing on the front pages of the Scottish, Unionist press, no mention at all (that I can detect) on the website of the British State broadcaster.
I say “curious” because I had expected the usual sycophantic pish about “words of wisdom from the great statesman” that have accompanied every previous rehash of Brown “riding to save the Union” (there have been rather a lot of these since 2014).
It seems even the arms of British State propaganda have grown tired of Brown’s empty rhetoric.
I shouldn’t really be surprised. The clues pointing to Brown’s now acknowledged impotence are apparent.
* Sir Keir Starmer is nowhere to be seen. Brown’s discussion paper proposing “radical” realignment of the UK constitution is now six month old and lies unread (where it really matters). Brown can “promise” whatever he wants, he has and will never have, the power to deliver (that auld trick has been played once too often). Starmer’s silence is deafening. Brown, Drakeford, Burnham et al can expend all the hot-air they want. Ultimately Starmer will turn round and say “Wot constitutional change? Not anything you ever heard from me.”.
* As Robin McAlpine points out, the Centre (the British permanent state) will never relinquish genuine power.
* Even within Labour, there is fundamental, ideological dispute. First Minister Mark Drakeford wants devolution of Justice to the Senedd, Starmer offers only “youth justice”. Really; the power to control the Children’s Panel, I couldn’t devise a more calculated (and symbolic) insult if I tried.
The rejection of Alex Salmond’s offer at the Holyrood election of 2021 should have told all in favour of independence exactly what Sturgeon’s “plan” was and SNP 1 and 2 delivered the result that she knew it would.
She subjected Scotland to a coalition with the wacky Greens and the tail wagged the dog as we knew it would, with the results that are plain to see. While in the Regional Vote the Greens only required 27,541 votes to elect each of their 8 MSPs, the SNP managed 2 MSPs that took 547,187 votes for each of them.
So, with just 255,314 votes at the 2021 election and just 4.17% of the total vote in Scotland they get 8 MSPs and jobs in government – thank you Nikla!
As far their meeting on 24 June is concerned it’s not a surprise because by that they get to avoid the derision of the Yes Movement – can you imagine the reception Useless would get if he turned up at Bannockburn? However, by choosing that date the SNP have shown their cowardice once again to the Movement and their total disregard for anything not designed by, or stated by, the SNP – oh sorry apart from the Greens of course.
A Scotland United pact for GE24 is essential. Just because the SNP have refused to participate in a pact at Holyrood and Local elections in the past does not mean that they won’t take part in 2024. Their situation has changed and their motivation should have changed also. They were in a dominant position in both of the previous instances and could afford to go ahead with SNP 1 & 2 orders. The SNP is now in an existential crisis, they are skint, they face further criminal investigation and probably charges, they cannot afford to lose the Short money paid to opposition parties at Westminster based on numbers of MPs. They are in a much weaker situation than in either of the previous elections, and it will be in their own self-interest to enter a Scotland United pact and survive as a party. They must be made to recognise this reality.