Senior Alba members offer to help party contest Scottish election

Four senior Alba Party members have offered to take over the pro-independence party to ensure it can contest the Scottish Parliament election.

The move comes after leader Kenny MacAskill revealed that the party was unlikely to field candidates in May due to its "perilous financial position".

On Sunday a joint statement by Tommy Sheridan, Angus MacNeil, Christina Hendry and Suzanne Blackley said the current leadership "feel unable to continue".

But MacAskill told BBC Scotland News he remained the party's leader and any move to change its Holyrood election plans would have to be financially viable.

The former SNP MP and MSP said Alba was currently "struggling to survive" and had to prioritise clearing its debts.

MacAskill added: "At the present moment we don't have the money to meet the deposits required. We don't have the money for any campaigning.

"What we are requiring to do is to meet the bills that we have."

He also said a change of leadership would require a "democratic mandate".

And MacAskill warned any plan to contest the election would have to include safeguards against incurring more debt.

He added: "As it is, we believe we can get out of this to meet all our obligations but fighting an election is certainly something that seems beyond us."

On Saturday, in an email seen by BBC Scotland News, MacAskill said the party faced an "immediate crisis" and it was unlikely it would be able to register for the Scottish Parliament election.

But on Sunday four elected members convened a meeting to explore the possibility of fielding candidates for the 7 May poll.

In a joint statement afterwards they said the party's current leadership had "left the door open for a transition team to take the party forward".

It continued: "There have been extraordinary efforts to date to ensure the survival of the party, and the current leadership deserve enormous credit.

"It is now clear that they feel unable to continue and, while that is regrettable, it should not mean the end of the party.

"We believe there is a strong appetite among the group of candidates and the wider membership to fight the election.

"It is vital that the Alba Party contests the election in May to ensure hundreds of thousands of pro-independence votes are not wasted."

The statement added that should the party fail to field candidates on the regional list it would allow unionist parties, including Reform, "an easy ride" into parliament.

It concluded by calling for:

• A vote of the entire membership to decide whether they want the party to continue to fight the election

• The launch of a "fighting fund" to raise the required amount to ensure the party's survival

• And a meeting with the existing leadership team to "discuss their offer of a transition"

The statement was signed by three ordinary NEC members - former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan; Christina Hendry, niece of late party founder Alex Salmond; and ex-SNP MP Angus MacNeil.

The group was completed by Suzanne Blackley, the party's national equalities convener.

When Alex Salmond launched the Alba Party in 2021, he hoped they could help bring together the independence movement.

They even ran under the banner of "Scotland United".

But years have gone by without an electoral breakthrough, and that looks an even more distant prospect given the party may not even manage to field candidates in May.

Leaving aside the precise reasons for Alba's financial woes - there is a live police investigation into claims of irregularities - the path ahead is a deeply uncertain one, with no clear agreement on how to navigate it.

A group of fairly well-kent faces have offered to step in to take the party into the election.

But that may not be a quick or easy fix. Kenny MacAskill does not seem minded to yield the leadership unless the group comes up with a credible plan which can fulfil the party's fiscal obligations.

There would need to be a formal transition, and it sounds like even a very cheap and cheerful leadership contest would be beyond the party's current bank balance.

That's before you get to the matter of having accounts signed off, squaring matters with the Electoral Commission, and then stumping up deposits for candidates.

Angus MacNeil is optimistic that this crisis will be enough to rally members together to turn things around, and that come May he and others will be campaigning under the Alba banner.

There is a long way to go if that is to be the case - and precious little time to achieve it.

Alba was launched by former SNP leader Alex Salmond in March 2021.

The ex-first minister said the aim was to build "a supermajority for independence" at Holyrood after the election that May.

Within days two MPs, MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, defected from the SNP to join the new party.

But Alba failed to win any seats and only polled 1.7% of the regional vote.

The sudden death of Salmond in October 2024 triggered a leadership contest in which MacAskill defeated former SNP leadership contender Ash Regan.

In October last year it emerged police were investigating "irregularities" in the party's finances after a complaint was raised in May.

It followed a row between the party and its former general secretary, Chris McEleny, who was dismissed early last year after initially being suspended for alleged gross misconduct.

At the time, a source close to McEleny said he was "completely content that the finances of the party under the leadership of Alex Salmond were both sound and compliant".

In his email to members on Saturday, MacAskill also said the party would continue to support Salmond's widow Moira in court action against the Scottish government.

Earlier this month millionaire businessman and rock drummer Paul McManus confirmed he would fund the action after Moira agreed to transfer the legal rights of the case.